Good Friday morning. The race for the U.S. Senate continues to heat up, as do the temperatures in our region this weekend.

Here’s a status update on all the primary races that have been finalized since Wednesday morning – or remain up in the air today. 

U.S. Senate: Still no winner. As of early Friday morning, Dr. Mehmet Oz holds a 1,100 vote (0.1%) lead over David McCormick for the GOP nomination. As Pennsylvania calls for an automatic recount for results decided by 0.5 points or less, that looks like the direction we are headed. The winner of the GOP race will face Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who coasted to the Democratic Party nomination.

AP: Ciarrocchi, Scheller Pull Out Wins: The Associated Press has called Guy Ciarrocchi and Lisa Scheller as the winners in their respective primary races for the U.S. House.

What’s Next: The Canvassing Begins: As the eyes of the Commonwealth are peeled to the results of the GOP U.S. Senate battle between Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick, many wonder what happens next.

U.S. Congress

PA6: GOP: Guy Ciarrocchi was declared the winner in the four-candidate race for the GOP nomination. He will face Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester), who was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary, in the general election. 

PA7: GOP: Lisa Scheller was declared the winner over Kevin Dellicker for the Republican Party nomination. She will advance to the general election to challenge Rep. Susan Wild, who was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary. 

PA12: DEM: State Rep. Summer Lee maintains a narrow lead over Steve Irwin for the open seat in Pittsburgh that appears likely to hold. Lee has declared victory in the race, although Irwin has not conceded yet as a few thousand votes are outstanding. 

State Senate

SD16: GOP: Sen. Pat Browne (R) still trails 30 votes behind conservative challenger Jarrett Coleman (an airline pilot recently elected to the Parkland School Board). The totals are 17,002 votes to 16,972 with 97% of the expected vote counted. It’s unclear exactly how many votes are outstanding, from where or whether they’re mail vs. same-day, according to the Morning Call. The winner will face Democrat Mark Pinsley in the general election in this Trump +7 district. 

State House

HD9: GOP: Marla Gallo Brown appears to have defeated James Kerin and Darryl Audia in this Trump +26 Lawrence County district. Brown will face Democratic incumbent Chris Sainato in the general election.

HD10: Dem: Incumbent Amen Brown was moved from his old district to the 10th District this past redistricting cycle but that didn’t slow him down. He currently holds a slim lead over challengers Cassandra Greene and Sajda Blackwell in this safe Democratic district. 

HD117 OPEN: Michael Cabell appears to have defeated Clint Lanning and Eugene Ziemba in a tight race for the GOP nomination in this solidly red district. There is no present challenger in the fall.

HD189 GOP: Steve Ertle appears to have bested John Petrizzo in the GOP race to succeed state Rep. Rosemary Brown, in this +14 Biden district. The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Tarah Probst, who was unopposed in the primary, in the general election.

Note: District-level Presidential results for State House and Senate come from Dave’s Redistricting App.

News

‘How Pa. GOP gov pick could turn election lies into action’: The Associated Press reports that “Doug Mastriano is not the only candidate who won a Republican primary on Tuesday after embracing Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen. But no GOP contender did more to subvert that presidential election — and no one may be better positioned to subvert the next one — than Mastriano if he’s elected Pennsylvania’s governor.”

In Recent Weeks, David McCormick’s Team Hired a GOP Operative Known For His Work Challenging Elections. The New York Times reports that “the operative, Mike Roman, was the director of Election Day operations for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, and he later played a key role in fighting Pennsylvania’s election results.”

‘Pa. Senate GOP’s election inquiry continues; consultant contract extended’: PennLive reports that “the polls have closed on yet another election In Pennsylvania but a panel of Republican state senators continue their pursuit of a taxpayer-funded investigation into the 2020 and 2021 elections.”

‘Oz, McCormick campaigns tell us why they think they – eventually – will win Pa.’s GOP Senate primary’: PennLive reports that “with Pennsylvania’s county election administrators continuing to chew through mail-in and absentee ballots Thursday, the front-runners in the nearly deadlocked Republican U.S. Senate primary offered both argued that their paths to victory remained wide open.”

‘Mastriano claims ‘mandate’ with Pa. primary win, but can he broaden his reach in a general election?’: PennLive reports that “on the day after he captured the Republican nomination for governor with 42% of the primary vote, state Sen. Doug Mastriano claimed a mandate and said he would begin reaching out to non-GOP voters.”

‘Lancaster County nearly done counting misprinted mail-in ballots’: LNP | LancasterOnline reports that “Lancaster County’s elections office had fewer than 1,000 mail-in ballots left to process as of Thursday afternoon.”

‘John Fetterman ‘feeling good’ as he continues to recover, raises $1.6M within 24 hours of primary victory’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “two days after he became the Democrats’ standard-bearer in one of the country’s most important U.S. Senate races, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was continuing to rest in a Lancaster hospital, recovering from a stroke he had late last week.”

‘Barletta not running again for office, reflects on governor’s race’: The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that “Lou Barletta’s most recent run for public office will be his last. The former Hazleton councilman, mayor and congressman said Wednesday that he has no intention of running again for an elected position.”

Primary Election: What Did We Learn?  The Philadelphia Gay News reports that “it’s clear that the LGBT community made its voice heard in this election. Now we need to listen and work together for November’s general election, because everything will be at stake. There’s hope for the future.”

‘Pennsylvania judge halts bridge tolling plans, for now’: The Associated Press reports that “a judge has ordered a temporary halt to Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to toll as many as nine major bridges on interstates in Pennsylvania, siding Wednesday with Cumberland County and a handful of municipalities that are challenging the process as both illegal and unconstitutional.”

‘EXPLAINER: How mailed ballots slow results in Pennsylvania’: The Associated Press reports that “counting of mailed ballots in Pennsylvania is drawing renewed scrutiny amid a too-close-to-call U.S. Senate primary between Republicans David McCormick and Dr. Mehmet Oz.”

City & State PA’s Biggest Winners & Losers This Week: City & State PA highlights the three winners and losers in Pennsylvania politics last week.

‘5 takeaways from the Pennsylvania primary election’: The Philadelphia Inquirer details “what we learned about Donald Trump’s influence over the GOP, the Democratic rally behind Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, and how abortion will be a major issue in the governor’s race.”

‘John Fetterman’s nomination was a rejection of Conor Lamb’s electability claims’: The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “Fetterman’s humble, grumpy vibe and the argument that he could appeal to progressives and disaffected Democrats was the electability pitch that ultimately won over voters.”

‘Mastriano might actually beat Shapiro in Pa. governor race, observers say’: Billy Penn reports that “Democrats said they wanted the Trump-endorsed candidate to win. Now that he has, will it backfire?”

‘Fern Hollow Bridge was severely decaying before collapse, 2021 report indicates’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “the release of the report provides the first glimpse into what the city of Pittsburgh and PennDOT knew about its condition less than four months before the bridge fell and raises questions about what both governments could have done to prevent its failure and the injuries to nine people who were in six vehicles on the span during the collapse.”

‘Leaders renew push for increase in state’s minimum wage’: KDKA reports that “State Secretary of Labor and Industry Jennifer Berrier was in Pittsburgh on Thursday calling for a raise in the state’s minimum wage. She says it’s long past due and Pennsylvania’s leaders should set the minimum at $15 an hour.”

‘Pennsylvania schools double solar power use since 2020’: Pittsburgh City Paper reports that “according to a new report by clean energy nonprofit Generation180, the amount of solar installed at K-12 schools in Pennsylvania almost doubled from 2020-2022, with Pittsburgh’s Woodland Hills School District listed as one of its success stories.”

‘Shapiro opposes school funding system’: Citizens Voice reports that “Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed a brief in support of Wilkes-Barre Area and five other Pennsylvania school districts in the court case alleging the state’s current school funding system fails to provide all students with a high-quality public education.”

‘Pa. commission approves updated science standards for K-12 students’: PennLive reports that “a state regulatory review commission on Thursday approved an updated set of K-12 science standards that will guide future instruction for Pennsylvania in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, areas.”

‘Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to return to duty on Monday’: PennLive reports that “Lt. Gov. John Fetterman declared that he will be able to resume his duties as the state’s second-in-command on Monday.”

‘PennDOT cancels public hearing on I-78 bridge project after judge halts state’s interstate tolling plan’: The Allentown Morning Call reports that “a public hearing scheduled for this afternoon on the I-78 Lenhartsville Bridge Replacement Project has been cancelled after a judge put a temporary halt to Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to toll some interstate bridges.”

‘Lehigh Valley’s tight Coleman-Browne and Miller-Zrinski Senate primary races may hinge on hundreds of provisional ballots’: The Allentown Morning Call reports that “more than 1,200 as-yet-uncounted provisional ballots — issued to voters who are not eligible for regular ballots — could wind up being major factors in two very close Lehigh Valley Senate primary races.”

‘Despite high vaccination rates among Pa. prisoners, some COVID restrictions remain in place’: Spotlight PA reports that “more than two years after the first coronavirus cases were reported in Pennsylvania state prisons, some of the mitigation measures Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration implemented to cut down on the spread of COVID-19 are still in place.”

‘Which politicians answered and or dodged Clout’s three Election Day questions?’: Philly Clout reports that “politicians love to lunch on Election Day. But first they have to visit Clout’s hot seat to answer three questions.”

‘Philly ballot questions all pass, removing gendered language from City Charter and giving Council say over zoning board’: Billy Penn reports that “on election night, a familiar result came in: Philly’s charter change ballot questions passed across the board.”

Opinion  
John Baer: Mastriano vs. Shapiro: This Pa. governor’s race will be like nothing we’ve ever seen
Paul Muschick: Gov. Doug Mastriano? Why that is not such a long shot. And other predictions for November
Mark Segal: Primary election: What did we learn?
Stephanie Catarino Wissman: Natural gas is fundamental to manufacturing in Pennsylvania
Tony Norman: Onward Christian Nationalists, marching off to war …
Joe Corrigan: How the Philadelphia Democratic Party got it so wrong in this primary
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Botched Lancaster ballots undermine voter confidence 
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Pa. Republican Party chair Lawrence Tabas should resign over Doug Mastriano debacle 
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: A new era of Pennsylvania politics 
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Who are they? And what do they want?
LNP | LancasterOnline Editorial Board: We must fully reject white nationalism and hatred before they take even deeper root here
Anthony O’Brien: Bad government policy, not corporate greed, is responsible for inflation
Nancy Eshelman: When will the gun violence stop? The sad truth is that no one has a clue
Joyce M. Davis: Black people shouldn’t be the only Americans angry after Buffalo | Social Views