Questions remain whether 50th State House write-in candidate will challenge Cook again
While a shakeup at the top of the national Democratic ticket for president has dominated headlines in recent days, there remains uncertainty here over whether a local candidate will appear on the ballot for a state House race in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
It’s been three months since Stephanie Waggett lost the Republican primary to state Rep. Bud Cook for the 50th House District, but she secured enough write-in votes from Democrats to appear on the ballot for a rematch in the November general election.
But Waggett apparently has not responded to the state Department of State’s correspondence about whether or not she intends to run as a Democrat in the district that includes all of Greene County and the southeastern portion of Washington County.
Cook, a four-term Republican incumbent from West Pike Run Township, easily defeated Waggett in the GOP primary on April 23, receiving 3,920 votes compared to her share of 2,367. No Democratic candidate was on the ballot in the primary, so the 413 write-in votes Waggett received from Democrats – 338 of which came from Greene County voters – gave her more than the 300 needed to get on the ballot in the general election. Cook received 228 write-in votes from Democrats.
A letter sent from the Department of State’s elections bureau on June 4 to Waggett’s residence in Cumberland Township lists several requirements for her to be included on the general election ballot after winning the write-in campaign. However, Waggett already checked those boxes – such as paying a $100 filing fee, submitting a statement of financial interest to the State Ethics Commission and signing an affidavit for candidates – before the Republican primary.
That should pave the way for her to be placed on the ballot as a Democrat without her having to do anything else, unless she decides to formally withdraw before the Aug. 12 deadline. If she were to withdraw, that would give local Democrats 10 days to appoint their own nominee to run against Cook in the Nov. 5 election. The state is scheduled to transmit its list of state and federal candidates to county elections offices on Aug. 27.
Greene County Democratic Party Chairman Bill Pulkownik said his committee and Democrats from Washington County are in a “wait and see pattern” about whether they will have the opportunity to choose a new candidate. Of course, that depends on Waggett’s decision to stay in the race or remove her name from the ballot, although she has made no public statements in the three months since winning the write-in vote.
Waggett did not respond to a phone call or email Tuesday inquiring about whether she intends to have her name remain on the ballot as a Democrat.
A phone message left for the Department of State’s elections bureau in Harrisburg on Monday was forwarded to the public affairs department, which did not have information about the situation as of press time Tuesday.