2001 Pennsylvania elections

Pennsylvania's state elections were held November 6, 2001. ^[1] Necessary primary elections were held on May 15, 2001. ^[2]

Justice of the Supreme Court

2001 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election

November 6, 2001 2003  →

Candidate Michael Eakin Kate Ford Elliott Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,051,360 954,053 Percentage 52.43% 47.57%

County results Eakin:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Elliott:     50–60%     60–70%     80–90%

Elected Justice Michael Eakin Republican

Democratic primary

Candidate

• Kate Ford Elliott

Results

Democratic primary results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kate Ford Elliott	576,627	100.00
Total votes			576,627	100.00

Republican primary

Candidate

• Michael Eakin, Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Results

Republican primary results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael Eakin	533,396	100.00
Total votes			533,396	100.00

General election

Results

Justice of the Supreme Court election, 2001 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael Eakin	1,051,360	52.43
	Democratic	Kate Ford Elliott	954,053	47.57
Total votes			2,005,413	100.00

Judge of the Superior Court

2001 Pennsylvania Superior Court election

November 6, 2001 2003  →
3 seats of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Majority party Minority party   Candidate Richard B. Klein Mary Jane Bowes John T. Bender David Wecht Lydia Y. Kirkland Stephanie Domitrovich Party Republican Democratic Seats won 3 0 Popular vote 2,899,151 2,477,625 Percentage 53.92% 46.08%
County results Republican:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Democrat:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Stephanie Domitrovich
• Lydia Y. Kirkland
• David Wecht

Results

Democratic primary results (vote for 3) ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Wecht	493,322	35.15
	Democratic	Lydia Y. Kirkland	465,945	33.20
	Democratic	Stephanie Domitrovich	444,293	31.65
Total votes			1,403,560	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• John T. Bender
• Mary Jane Bowes
• Palmer Dolbin
• Richard B. Klein

Results

Republican primary results (vote for 3) ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mary Jane Bowes	428,013	29.14
	Republican	Richard B. Klein	370,987	25.25
	Republican	John T. Bender	336,485	22.90
	Republican	Palmer Dolbin	333,583	22.71
Total votes			1,469,068	100.00

General election

Results

Judge of the Superior Court election, 2001 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard B. Klein	1,011,943	18.82
	Republican	Mary Jane Bowes	1,006,251	18.71
	Republican	John T. Bender	880,957	16.38
	Democratic	David Wecht	830,824	15.45
	Democratic	Lydia Y. Kirkland	825,424	15.35
	Democratic	Stephanie Domitrovich	821,377	15.28
Total votes			5,376,776	100.00

Judge of the Commonwealth Court

2001 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court election

November 6, 2001 2009  →
3 seats of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Majority party Minority party   Candidate Mary Hannah Leavitt Renee Cohn Robin Simpson James J. Dodaro Jerry Langan Irwin W. Aronson Party Republican Democratic Seats won 3 0 Popular vote 2,839,610 2,435,548 Percentage 53.83% 46.17%
County results Republican:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Democrat:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Irwin W. Aronson
• James J. Dodaro
• Jerry Langan

Results

Democratic primary results (vote for 3) ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James J. Dodaro	428,546	35.18
	Democratic	Jerry Langan	413,117	33.92
	Democratic	Irwin W. Aronson	376,393	30.90
Total votes			1,218,056	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Renee Cohn
• Mary Hanna Leavitt
• Robin Simpson

Results

Republican primary results (vote for 3) ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Renee Cohn	441,330	33.67
	Republican	Robin Simpson	440,610	33.62
	Republican	Mary Hanna Leavitt	428,685	32.71
Total votes			1,310,625	100.00

General election

Results

Judge of the Commonwealth Court election, 2001 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mary Hannah Leavitt	951,745	18.04
	Republican	Renee Cohn	948,921	17.99
	Republican	Robin Simpson	938,944	17.80
	Democratic	James J. Dodaro	865,903	16.41
	Democratic	Jerry Langan	821,909	15.58
	Democratic	Irwin W. Aronson	821,377	14.17
Total votes			5,348,799	100.00

Judicial retention

Supreme Court

Stephen Zappala, Sr. Retention, 2001

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	978,709	75.35
No	320,175	24.65
Total votes	1,298,884	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

Superior Court

Stephen J. McEwen Jr. Retention, 2001

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	909,377	75.03
No	302,669	24.97
Total votes	1,212,046	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

Commonwealth Court

Shelly Friedman Retention, 2001

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	890,799	73.75
No	317,068	26.25
Total votes	1,207,867	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

References

1. Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information Archived 2011-11-08 at the Wayback Machine
2. Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information Archived 2011-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
3. "2001 Municipal Primary - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State . Retrieved June 11, 2025.
4. "2001 Municipal Election - Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State . Retrieved June 11, 2025.