Numerous competitive races on the ballot for Tuesday’s mid-term elections
Tuesday is the mid-term election, and there are plenty of competitive races on the ballot this year.
The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., while mail-in ballots must be returned to a voter’s local county elections office no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday.
What started off as a slow pace for mail-in ballots going out and being returned have since picked up the pace, and area elections directors are hoping for a good turnout on Election Day.
“I was originally thinking it would be a little sleepy with the number of mailed ballots requests we received, but it’s picked up and I think it’s going to be a pretty good turnout, because it’s an important election,” Fayette County Elections Director Marybeth Kuznik said.
As of Friday morning, there have been 19,449 mail-in ballot requests in Washington with 15,906 being returned, giving the voters there a return rate of 82% so far, according to official state Department of State records. In Fayette County, 9,483 voters requested mail-in ballots and 7,811 have been sent back to the office, giving that county an identical 82% return rate. Greene County has lagged behind slightly, with 1,761 ballots returned out of 2,229 requested, giving them a 79% return rate.
Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said she expected more mail-in ballot requests for this mid-term election, but the increase in returns in recent days and the likelihood of nice weather Tuesday has buoyed her hopes for a better turnout, which she predicted would fall just under 50%.
“The weather is going to be nice. So that plays a factor,” Ostrander said. “We’ve seen interest, but I was expecting more interest.”
She added that voters should check their voter registration information online at vote.pa.gov because some polling locations changed earlier this year to a precinct consolidation plan. All affected voters were notified of the changes, but people can check by going to the state’s election website.
In addition to the governor’s race between Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican challenger Stacy Garrity and Libertarian candidate Ken Krawchuk, there are a variety of competitive races for Congress and the state Legislature.
Republican U.S. Congressman Guy Reschenthaler of Peters Township is facing Democratic challenger Alan Bradstock of Dunbar running for the 14th Congressional District that includes all of Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties, along with parts of Somerset, Westmoreland and Indiana counties.
State Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township, is facing a challenge from Democratic candidate Jacob Cecil of Windber for the 32nd state Senate District that includes all of Fayette, Somerset and Bedford counties, and the Scottdale area of Westmoreland County.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, is facing a challenge from independent candidate Jodi Borello for the 46th state Senate District that includes all of Washington and Greene counties and the southern sliver of Beaver County.
State Rep. Joshua Kail, R-Beaver, is facing Democratic challenger Sydney Speicher of Midway for the 15th state House District that includes the western areas of Washington and Beaver counties.
State Rep. Andrew Kuzman, R-Elizabeth, is facing a challenge from Democratic candidate Dylan A. Altemara of Elizabeth Township in the 39th state House District that includes several Mon Valley communities in Washington and Allegheny counties.
State Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Peters, is facing Democratic challenger Jon Lloyd of Bethel Park for the 40th state House District that includes Peters Township in Washington County and Bethel Park and parts of Upper St. Clair in Allegheny County.
State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Cecil, is facing a challenge from Democratic candidate Mike Crossey of South Fayette for the 46th state House District that includes several communities in north central Washington County and some municipalities in southwestern Allegheny County.
State Rep. Tim O’Neal, R-South Strabane, is facing Democratic challenger Rebecca MacTaggart of South Strabane for the 48th state House District that runs diagonally from southwestern Washington County through the Washington area and to the Mon Valley.
And there will be a new legislator representing the 50th state House District, which includes all of Greene County and southeastern Washington County, after five-term state Rep. Bud Cook lost his re-election bid in the Republican primary in May. Republican Ben Humble of Waynesburg is facing Democratic candidate Lois Bower-Bjornson of Scenery Hill in the election to replace Cook.
Meanwhile, no candidates filed to run against the two Republican incumbent state representatives in Fayette County. Republican state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa of Springhill Township is running unopposed for her 51st House District seat that includes southern Fayette, while Republican state Rep. Ryan Warner of Perryopolis is running without a Democratic challenger for his 52nd House District position that includes the northern half of the county.