1998 Pennsylvania Senate election

1998 Pennsylvania Senate election

←  1996 November 3, 1998 2000  →
All even-numbered seats in the Pennsylvania State Senate 26 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Robert Jubelirer Bob Mellow Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 15, 1994 January 3, 1989 Leader's seat 30th 22nd Last election 30 20 Seats won 16 9 Seats after 30 20 Seat change Popular vote 708,680 663,497 Percentage 51.26% 47.99%
Results by gains and holds Results by winning party vote share      Democratic hold     Democratic gain      Republican hold     Republican gain      No election Republican:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Democratic:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
President Pro Tempore before election Robert Jubelirer Republican Elected President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer Republican

The 1998 elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 3, with 25 of 50 districts being contested. Primary elections were held on May 19, 1998. ^[1] The term of office for those elected in 1998 began when the Senate convened in January 1999. Pennsylvania State Senators are elected for four-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every two years. ^[2] The election coincided with the 1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, United States House of Representatives elections and the election of the entirety of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Republicans had controlled the chamber since the 1994 election.

Results summary

Retiring incumbents

Democrats

1. District 8: Hardy Williams retired.
2. District 16: Roy Afflerbach retired.

Republicans

1. District 18: Joseph Uliana retired to run for Congress.
2. District 28: Dan Delp retired.
3. District 34: Doyle Corman retired.

Primary elections

Democratic primary 1998 Pennsylvania Senate elections Democratic primary [1] District Candidates Votes Percent 2 Christine Tartaglione 10,617 100.00 4 Allyson Schwartz 13,400 100.00 6 Karen Selvaggi 4,997 100.00 8 Anthony H. Williams 10,842 100.00 10 No candidate filed for party. 12 Andrew T. Hornak 3,805 100.00 14 Ray Musto 11,360 100.00 16 Glenn Solt 8,087 100.00 18 Lisa Boscola 8,645 100.00 20 No candidate filed for party. 22 Bob Mellow 17,329 100.00 24 Dave Nasatir 3,347 100.00 26 Robert W. Small 3,260 100.00 28 Jackie Schenck Kramer 6,588 100.00 30 No candidate filed for party. 32 Rich Kasunic 14,471 100.00 34 H. Scott Conklin 7,506 100.00 36 Richard W. Clark Jr. 1,820 100.00 38 Leonard Bodack 13,903 56.95 Bonnie DiCarlo 10,509 43.05 40 Bob Seibert Jr. 15,448 100.00 42 Jack Wagner 24,619 100.00 44 No candidate filed for party. 46 Barry Stout 19,852 100.00 48 Lenny Marrella 4,166 100.00 50 Mary Ann McDanniels-Kulesa 5,095 100.00

Republican primary 1998 Pennsylvania Senate elections Republican primary [1] District Candidates Votes Percent 2 Jon S. Mirowitz 2,079 100.00 4 No candidate filed for party. 6 Tommy Tomlinson 6,997 100.00 8 Listervelt H. Ritter 1,075 100.00 10 Joe Conti 12,713 100.00 12 Stewart Greenleaf 16,490 100.00 14 No candidate filed for party. 16 Charlie Dent 9,042 100.00 18 Leonard Gruppo 7,679 100.00 20 Charles Lemmond 19,032 100.00 22 Glenn M. Cashuric 6,235 100.00 24 Edwin Holl 16,903 100.00 26 F. Joseph Loeper 14,707 100.00 28 Mike Waugh 11,829 66.21 Tom Skehan 6,037 33.79 30 Robert Jubelirer 12,035 100.00 32 David L. Brant 6,286 100.00 34 Jake Corman 8,395 44.41 Connie Lucas 6,814 36.05 Vicki Bumbarger Wedler 3,694 19.54 36 Noah Wenger 10,191 100.00 38 No candidate filed for party. 40 Melissa Hart 16,258 100.00 42 No candidate filed for party. 44 Jim Gerlach 10,840 100.00 46 No candidate filed for party. 48 David J. Brightbill 12,510 100.00 50 Robert D. Robbins 8,516 100.00

General election

Overview

Statewide outlook ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidates	Votes	%	Seats before	Seats up	Seats won	Seats after
	Republican	20	708,680	51.26	30	16	16 ()	30
	Democratic	22	663,497	47.99	20	9	9 ()	20
	Libertarian	4	7,603	0.55	0	0	0 ()	0
	Constitution	1	2,007	0.15	0	0	0 ()	0
	Reform	1	763	0.06	0	0	0 ()	0
Total		48	1,382,550	100.00	50	25	25	50

Close races

Three district races had winning margins of less than 15%:

District	Winner	Margin
District 34	Republican	4.2%
District 24	Republican	8.0%
District 18	Democratic (flip)	10.9%

District breakdown

District	Party		Incumbent	Status	Party		Candidate	Votes	%
2		Democratic	Christine Tartaglione	Re-elected		Democratic	Christine Tartaglione	30,764	76.21
						Republican	Jon S. Mirowitz	9,603	23.79
4		Democratic	Allyson Schwartz	Re-elected		Democratic	Allyson Schwartz	52,052	100.00
6		Republican	Tommy Tomlinson	Re-elected		Republican	Tommy Tomlinson	31,779	61.74
						Democratic	Robert C. Sooby	18,930	36.78
						Reform	D. Daniel Martino	763	1.48
8		Democratic	Hardy Williams	Retired		Democratic	Anthony H. Williams	34,901	87.41
						Republican	Listervelt H. Ritter	5,028	12.59
10		Republican	Joe Conti	Re-elected		Republican	Joe Conti	45,472	63.26
						Democratic	Kathie Brown	22,922	31.89
						Constitution	Jay Russell	2,007	2.79
						Libertarian	Ralph Crance	1,476	2.05
12		Republican	Stewart Greenleaf	Re-elected		Republican	Stewart Greenleaf	49,468	66.65
						Democratic	Andrew T. Hornak	22,960	30.94
						Libertarian	Maureen A. Hoban	1,791	2.41
14		Democratic	Ray Musto	Re-elected		Democratic	Ray Musto	34,162	100.00
16		Democratic	Roy Afflerbach	Retired		Republican	Charlie Dent	34,786	59.43
						Democratic	Glenn Solt	23,746	40.57
18		Republican	Joseph Uliana	Retired to run for Congress		Democratic	Lisa Boscola	33,888	55.44
						Republican	Leonard Gruppo	27,242	44.56
20		Republican	Charles Lemmond	Re-elected		Republican	Charles Lemmond	49,718	100.00
22		Democratic	Bob Mellow	Re-elected		Democratic	Bob Mellow	54,887	75.93
						Republican	Glenn M. Cashuric	17,400	24.07
24		Republican	Edwin Holl	Re-elected		Republican	Edwin Holl	37,635	53.99
						Democratic	Dave Nasatir	32,069	46.01
26		Republican	F. Joseph Loeper	Re-elected		Republican	F. Joseph Loeper	47,839	70.89
						Democratic	Robert W. Small	19,642	29.11
28		Republican	Dan Delp	Retired		Republican	Mike Waugh	36,883	63.62
						Democratic	Jackie Schenck Kramer	21,094	36.38
30		Republican	Robert Jubelirer	Re-elected		Republican	Robert Jubelirer	43,769	100.00
32		Democratic	Rich Kasunic	Re-elected		Democratic	Rich Kasunic	37,960	67.85
						Republican	David L. Brant	17,984	32.15
34		Republican	Doyle Corman	Retired		Republican	Jake Corman	30,129	52.08
						Democratic	H. Scott Conklin	27,724	47.92
36		Republican	Noah Wenger	Re-elected		Republican	Noah Wenger	43,949	81.17
						Democratic	Richard W. Clark Jr.	10,195	18.83
38		Democratic	Leonard Bodack	Re-elected		Democratic	Leonard Bodack	35,104	92.67
						Libertarian	Harold Kyriazi	2,778	7.33
40		Republican	Melissa Hart	Re-elected		Republican	Melissa Hart	49,571	67.42
						Democratic	Bob Seibert Jr.	22,392	30.46
						Libertarian	Ron Rosenberger	1,558	2.12
42		Democratic	Jack Wagner	Re-elected		Democratic	Jack Wagner	39,124	100.00
44		Republican	Jim Gerlach	Re-elected		Republican	Jim Gerlach	46,472	100.00
46		Democratic	Barry Stout	Re-elected [a]		Democratic	Barry Stout	51,074	100.00
48		Republican	David J. Brightbill	Re-elected		Republican	David J. Brightbill	43,939	69.49
						Democratic	Lenny Marrella	19,296	30.51
50		Republican	Robert D. Robbins	Re-elected		Republican	Robert D. Robbins	40,014	68.25
						Democratic	Mary Ann McDanniels-Kulesa	18,611	31.75

See also

• Elections in Pennsylvania
• List of Pennsylvania state legislatures

Notes

1. Cross-endorsed by the Republican Party.

References

1. The Pennsylvania Manual (PDF). Vol. 114. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. 1999. pp. 7–9. ISSN   0275-8814. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2001. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
2. Center, Legislativate Data Processing. "Members of the Senate". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
3. The Pennsylvania Manual (PDF). Vol. 114. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. 1999. pp. 7–20. ISSN   0275-8814. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2001. Retrieved August 3, 2025.