Bartolotta defeats Borello in 46th state Senate race
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta admitted it’s been a “bloody, bloody” year politically that began with a bruising primary against a fellow Republican followed by an upstart campaign from an independent candidate.
But Bartolotta was victorious in Tuesday’s midterm election, winning her fourth term in office by handily defeating Jodi Borello in the 46th state Senate district.
“As much as I got kicked in the teeth during the primary for being a moderate and working across the aisle, that is how you get things done,” Bartolotta said in a phone interview while celebrating with supporters at Bella Sera in Cecil Township. “I’m not an extremist. That’s where people understand where the rubber hits the road.”
Bartolotta, R-Carroll, beat GOP rival Al Buchtan in the May primary by a 53.5 to 47.5% margin in the costly race. She expanded on that margin against Borello, leading by a 56 to 44% shortly before 11 p.m. with most precincts reporting in the district that includes Washington and Greene counties and the southern sliver of Beaver County.
“I think the big win is for everybody who works in the energy field (and) for everyone who wants to be able to pay their energy bill without selling their kidney,” Bartolotta said of her victory, alluding to Borello’s previous work as a community organizer for the Center for Coalfield Justice.
But even with Bartolotta’s victory, she might be facing a new normal of possibly being in the minority as Democrats are making a charge to win the state Senate for the first time in more than three decades.
“I’m not going to predict anything,” she said of the Senate majority. “My head is down and my blinders are on. We’ve been working tirelessly. It’s been nonstop for weeks because we knew what the mission was. … “It’s been a bloody, bloody year. We’ve been literally the firewall against crazy, crazy stuff. We fought, fought, fought and are going to prevail, at least in this Senate seat.”
Borello took solace in the close race and said she was proud of her campaign.
“Tonight the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania sent a clear and powerful message: Our Communities Come First. While the numbers tonight are not what we hoped for, the movement we built together is far from over,” Borello said in a written statement. “We showed that real representation isn’t about red or blue; it’s about community, common sense, and standing up for neighbors. We have shown Harrisburg what independent, community-first leadership looks like and we are not going anywhere.”
Moving forward, Bartolotta said the Legislature must focus on making life more affordable for everyone and help make the American dream attainable for younger people. She may have to do that with a Democratic-controlled Senate for the first time in her 12-year political career.
“Let’s buckle down and make commonsense decisions. Not looking for the extremes,” she said. “It was an all-out push for every day, regular folks.”
She will be joined in the chamber by fellow three-term Republican state Sen. Pat Stefano of Bullskin Township after he easily defeated his Democratic challenger Jacob Cecil for the 32nd state Senate district. Stefano beat Cecil by a margin of 71 to 29% for the district that includes all of Fayette, Somerset and Bedford counties, along with a small sliver of Westmoreland County.