Election results and data for this article are sourced from the Associated Press, the Centre County Elections Office and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Unofficial Election Returns. All information reflects the status of the races as of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, prior to The Gazette’s publication deadline.
The Centre County Board of Commissioners reported the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, that about 13,000 vote-by-mail ballots will need to be rescanned to input ballot data into the county’s election software accurately, impacting the accessible data available prior to The Gazette’s publication deadline.
CENTRE COUNTY — Just after 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, The Associated Press declared Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States. Tuesday’s election saw the Republican Party take majority of the U.S. Senate. In the House, however, there are still 57 seats undecided for who will end up with the majority.
Centre County residents took to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5, to vote for the presidential role as well as other local and statewide candidates.
According to the Centre County Elections Office website, as of Monday, Oct. 28, a total of 109,820 people were registered to vote in Centre County. Of the registered voters, 45,244, roughly 41%, were registered Democrat; 44,276, around 40%, were registered Republican; 16,538, or around 15%, were registered without political party affiliation; 630, 0.57%, were registered Libertarian; 176, 0.16%, were registered Green party; and 2,953, or around 2.6%, were categorized as “other,” according to the Centre County Elections Office website.
A total of 66,923 ballots were cast between the 87 Centre County precincts. Total voter turnout was 60.92%. Just after 2 a.m., The Associated Press called Trump as the winner of Pennsylvania with 97% of the vote counted. He won Pennsylvania with 50.7% of the state’s vote. As of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, 34,204 Centre County residents voted for Trump and 31,481 voted for Kamala D. Harris.
Here is a closer look at additional political offices up for election. Local results are from a summary report of unofficial election results by the Centre County Elections Office as of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, prior to The Gazette’s publication deadline.
PENNSYLVANIA US SENATOR
The Senate, composed of 100 members with two senators from each state, had a Pennsylvania seat on the ticket.
As of the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 6, The Associated Press has not officially called the race, however, with 97% of the votes counted, Republican candidate Dave McCormick is leading with 49.1% of the votes, followed by incumbent Bob Casey, with 48.3% of the vote. In Centre County specifically, Casey, who was seeking his fourth term in the U.S. Senate, received a total of 30,970 votes. Republican candidate Dave McCormick received 33,451 votes in Centre County.
McCormick’s win would flip the seat in the Senate contributing to the new Republican majority.
PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL
Republicans gained another notable win in the Pennsylvania attorney general race, with Republican candidate Dave Sunday as the projected winner with 51% of the vote statewide compared to Democratic candidate Eugene DePasquale’s 45.9%. In Centre County, as of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, Sunday received 34,700 votes and DePasquale received 28,927.
PENNSYLVANIA AUDITOR GENERAL
The Pennsylvania auditor general acts as the state’s chief financial overseer, conducting audits of government agencies to ensure public funds are used legally and transparently. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Republican candidate Tim DeFoor who received about 51.3% of the Commonwealth’s votes in comparison to Democratic candidate Malcolm Kenyatta’s 45.9%. As of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, Centre County voters cast a total of 34,408 votes for DeFoor. Kenyatta received 28,690. This will be DeFoor’s second term.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE TREASURER
The Pennsylvania treasurer safeguards the Commonwealth’s financial assets. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Republican candidate Stacy Garrity who won 52.1% of the vote. Democrat Erin McClelland won 45.6% of the vote. As of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, Garrity received 34,863 votes in Centre County, outperforming McClelland, who received 28,560 in the county. Garrity will be serving her second term as Pennsylvania’s state treasurer.
PENNSYLVANIA US REPRESENTATIVE
The House of Representatives is composed of representatives from each state. Of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, Pennsylvania has 17 representatives allotted after the 2020 census.
For District 15, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Howard, maintained his seat for a ninth congressional term. The Associated Press called the race around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, with Thompson receiving 72.9% of the congressional district’s vote. His opponent, Democrat Zach Womer, received 27.1%.
As of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, Thompson won 36,070 votes and Womer received 29,293 in Centre County alone.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATOR
Rep. Cris Dush maintained his spot as senator in the General Assembly 25th senatorial district. The Associated Press declared Dush the winner of the election around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, with Dush receiving 68.9% of the votes for District 25. His opponent, Democrat William McGill, received 31.1% of the vote. In Centre County, Dush received 24,460 votes and McGill received 20,409 as of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6.
In the General Assembly 35th senatorial district, Democrat Wayne Langerholc ran uncontested for the senator seat. In Centre County, Langerholc received 13,092 votes.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE
In Centre County, three representative seats in the 77th, 82nd and 171st districts were on the ballot.
In the 77th legislative district, with 76% of votes counted as of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, The Associated Press declared incumbent Democrat Scott Conklin, who is seeking his 10th term, as the winner, receiving 58% of the votes. His opponent, Republican Marie Librizzi, received 42%.
Conklin received 13,785 votes in Centre County as of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, and Librizzi received 9,967 votes in the county.
For the 82nd district, though the race was not yet officially called prior to The Gazette’s publication deadline, 88% of votes were counted with incumbent State Rep. Paul Takac, D-Centre, leading with 51.7% of the vote over opponent, Republican Therese Hollen, who holds 48.3% of the vote. The win would mark Takac’s second term in office.
Takac received 13,693 votes in Centre County while Hollen received 12,814.
In the 171st district, Republican Kerry Benninghoff ran uncontested, receiving 12,655 votes in Centre County.
