WEST CHESTER — The ballots that Chester County voters will see in the coming presidential election in November have been set, with all but a few outstanding mail-in votes left to count Wednesday.
Incumbent President Joe Biden will lead the Democratic ticket that includes nine local county legislators, two first-time challengers, an incumbent U.S. senator and a likewise incumbent U.S. congresswoman, and three candidates for state row offices. On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump will head his party’s ticket, with down-ballot races featuring two incumbent Harrisburg legislators and a host of first-time challengers to current state officials.
In the county, turnout was a meager 23 percent, with only 87,552 voters casting ballots out of the 381,352 registered voters. The low turnout could be attributed to the relative lack of races on both party’s tickets in the primary.
But someone looking for interesting tidbits from Tuesday’s results need look no further than the presidential races on both the Democratic and Republican sides.
Biden, who won the county in 2020, had little opposition on the ticket, in the form of Dean Phillips, a congressman from Minnesota who dropped out of the race in March but whose name still appeared on the ballot. Biden received 93 percent of the vote, with 44,173 votes, to Phillips’ 3 percent, or 1,580. But there was an unusually large number of write-in ballots cast, as an organized group calling itself Uncommitted PA tried to send a message to the president that some voters are displeased with his handling of the war in Gaza.
Where in the 2020 primary there were but 947 write-in ballots cast in the presidential race, this year showed that 1,603 write-ins were cast. Similar results appeared across the state, and in Philadelphia and its suburbs, a total of 21,475 write-in votes were cast. (It is impossible to know for certain how many of those were “No Joe” votes; not until results are certified will it be clear who the voters wrote in.)
All vote totals are unofficial until certified by the county Board of Elections.
For Trump, who is currently on trial in New York City on a hush money/election interference criminal case, the results could also be seen as a message that not all GOP voters support his re-election.
In the county, of the 38,373 Republican votes for president, Trump received 27,967, or 72 percent, while former U.S. United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley received 9,312. Haley had, like Phillips, dropped out of the race in March but still saw her name on the state’s ballot. Thus, 24 percent of the county’s Republicans voted for a candidate who was not even running.
Across the state, Haley received 156,769 votes, or 16.5 of the GOP votes cast, to Trump’s 788,654, or 83 percent.
West Chester University political science professor John Kennedy said her strong showing “should be very concerning for the Trump campaign.
“Especially, the numbers she tallied in the Philadelphia suburbs, where she received almost a quarter overall,” he said in an e-mail Wednesday. “It’s important to also stress that Pennsylvania is a closed primary state, meaning that (unlike several other states earlier in the primary season) this cannot be attributed to Democrats (or even Independents) crossing over and meddling in the race. These are registered Republicans voicing their dismay with the former president.
“For many it might simply be a protest vote in an election that has already been decided,” Kennedy noted. “But for some, there might be a greater willingness to sit out the fall election, vote for a third-party candidate, or even vote for Biden. Any significant combination of the latter would seemingly doom Trump’s chances in a state that he lost four years ago by roughly 80,000 votes.”
For one lifelong Republican, Haley’s showing was telling as well.
“A lot of Republicans just can’t stomach (Trump) as the nominee this fall,” the person, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “President Biden has issues as well shoring up his base, but nothing similar to Trump. The GOP will probably blow the election with Trump at the top of the ticket this year. What a waste.”
Of the other federal races, U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, running for re-election, will face Republican businessman Dave McCormick in the fall. Casey received 46,405 votes from county Democrats, while McCormick received 35,323 votes from his Republican supporters.
U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th, of Easttown, was unopposed on the ballot for a fourth term, and received 46,405 votes from party supporters. She will face newcomer Neil Young, a Great Valley school teacher making his first run for office. He got 35,979 votes on the Republican ballot. It is the fourth time that Houlahan has faced a neophyte candidate for Congress since taking office in 2019.
At the state level, county voters selected candidates in two state Senate races and nine state House races.
In the 9th state Senate District, incumbent Democrat John Kane of Birmingham will face Republican Mike Woodin, an Avon Grove School Board member from London Britain. In the 19th Senate District, incumbent Carolyn Comitta of West Chester will face former state Rep. Duane Milne of Willistown. The 9th District encompasses western Delaware County and eastern Chester County, while the 19th District runs from the eastern part of the county all the way to Oxford.
The races for state House of Representatives include: incumbent Republican John Lawrence of West Grove, who was the winner in a primary race against attorney Carmela Ciliberti of New London, 4,010 votes to 2,525 votes, will face Democrat Cristian Luna of West Grove in the 13th Legislative District; incumbent Democrat Dan Williams of West Sadsbury will face business owner Dale Hensel of Sadsbury in the 74th Legislative District; incumbent Democrat Danielle Friel-Otten of Uwchaln will face real estate professional Rodney Simon of Uwchlan in the 155th Legislative District.
Also, incumbent Democrat Chris Pielli of West Goshen will face business owner Kris Vollrath of West Goshen in the 156th Legislative District; incumbent Democrat Melissa Shusterman of Tredyffrin will face business consultant Regina Mauro of Tredyffrin in the 157th Legislative District; incumbent Democrat Christina Sappy of East Marlborough will face Realtor Tina Ayala of West Bradford in the 158th Legislative District; incumbent Republican Craig Williams of Chadds Ford will face businesswoman Elizabeth Moro of Pennsbury in the 160th Legislative District; and incumbent Democrat Kristine Howard will face Charlestown businesswoman Melissa Dicranian in the 167th Legislative District. Luna, Simon, Vollrath, Ayala, Moro, and Dicranian are all first-time candidates.
Incumbent Paul Friel of North Coventry is also running for re-election in the 26th Legislative District, but there was no GOP candidate listed.
For complete election results, go to www.chesco.org
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
