By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

Pennsylvania Republicans scored a momentum-boosting victory Tuesday night when GOP Supreme Court candidate Joan Orie Melvin defeated Democrat Jack Panella in the first statewide race since President Barack Obama won here last year.

The race will provide fodder for Republicans that they now have momentum in 2010 to reverse Democratic gains of the last two election cycles. For Democrats, it’s a disheartening defeat for party that holds a 1.2 million voter registration advantage in Pennsylvania.

With more than 98 percent of the votes reported, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Orie Melvin led Panella 53 percent to 47 percent. If those numbers hold, Orie Melvin’s margin of victory would be greater than what many analysts expected for a very close contest.

In addition to the Supreme Court victory, Republicans also nearly swept an array of Superior and Commonwealth Court races. One Superior Court race remained undecided as of this article’s publication, but Republicans won five other campaigns for lower court seats.

“It’s a pretty dominant effort on the part of our ticket,” said Mike Barley, state GOP spokesman.

Analysts differ on how many conclusions observers can draw from an off-year judicial election, but it seems clear that, at least on Nov. 3, the GOP base was far more energized.

Turnout was dismal in Allegheny County despite a mayor’s race there. Voters also were no-shows in Philadelphia, possibly raising questions that SEPTA’s strike in the city suppressed turnout.

In addition to the boost it provided Republicans, the Supreme Court election might also be remembered for the nasty tone each campaign set in the race’s last weeks. Panella ran attack ads saying Orie Melvin won’t protect women if she takes office, while the Republican shot back by linking the Democrat to a Luzerne County judicial corruption scandal.

The two sides also traded barbs over campaign contributions.

The campaign also featured a Supreme Court candidate who reportedly raised more money than any other candidate for the office in Pennsylvania history.

Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a group that advocates judges be appointed rather than elected, issued a release Tuesday afternoon saying Panella had raised $2.35 million, a total just higher than then-record $2.34 million now-sitting justice Seamus McCaffery raised in 2007.

Republican Jane Orie Melvin raised just $733,948, the group reported.

“This is troubling, because the money comes from lawyers, law firms, unions, and businesses who frequently litigate in the state courts,” said Lynn Marks, PMC executive director. “These are not the types of records Pennsylvania should be proud of. But when you elect judges in partisan contests, the elections become more expensive, not less so.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 10:19 pm and is filed under Front Page Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.