2015 Pennsylvania elections

Elections were held in Pennsylvania on November 3, 2015, to fill judicial positions (including three seats on the Supreme Court), to fill a vacancy in the Pennsylvania State Senate, to allow judicial retention votes, and to fill numerous county, local and municipal offices.

2015 Pennsylvania elections

←  2014 November 3, 2015 (2015-11-03) 2016  →

The necessary primary elections were held on May 19, 2015.

Justice of the Supreme Court

2015 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election

←  2009 November 3, 2015 2017  →
3 seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court 4 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Candidate Kevin Dougherty David Wecht Christine Donohue Judith F. Olson Michael George Anne Covey Party Democratic Republican Last election 3 4 Seats before 2 2 Seats won 3 0 Seats after 5 2 Seat change 3 Popular vote 3,237,329 [a] 2,502,380 [a] Percentage 55.0% 42.5%
County results: Democrats:     <50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%     >90% Republicans:     <50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%     >90%

There were three open seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

• Justice Joan Orie Melvin resigned on May 1, 2013. Governor Tom Corbett nominated Superior Court Judge Correale Stevens as an interim appointee. ^[1] Justice Stevens indicated he would run for a full term. ^[2]
• The second vacancy was caused by the resignation of Justice Seamus McCaffery on October 27, 2014.
• The third vacancy was due to the mandatory retirement of Chief Justice Ronald Castille on December 31, 2014. ^[3]

Judge Paul Panepinto, a registered Republican, of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, ran in the general election as an Independent candidate. ^[4]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Christine Donohue, Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ^[5]
• Kevin Dougherty, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas ^[6]
• John H. Foradora, President Judge of the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas ^[7]
• Anne E. Lazarus, Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ^[8]
• David Wecht, Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ^[9]
• Dwayne Woodruff, Judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas ^[10]

Endorsements

Kevin Dougherty

Political parties

• Pennsylvania Democratic Party ^[11]

David Wecht

Political parties

• Pennsylvania Democratic Party ^[11]

Results

Democratic primary results (vote for not more than 3) ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Wecht	379,819	22.02%
	Democratic	Kevin Dougherty	368,629	21.37%
	Democratic	Christine Donohue	368,247	21.35%
	Democratic	Anne Lazarus	289,726	16.79%
	Democratic	Dwayne Woodruff	200,193	11.60%
	Democratic	John H. Foradora	118,561	6.87%
Total votes			1,725,175	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Cheryl Allen, Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ^[13]
• Ann Covey, Judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ^[14]
• Michael George, President Judge of the Adams County Court of Common Pleas ^[15]
• Judith Olson, Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ^[16]
• Correale Stevens, incumbent Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ^[2]
• Rebecca L. Warren, Montour County district attorney ^[17]

Withdrew

• Renee Cohn Jubelirer, Judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ^[18]

Endorsements

Anne Covey

Political parties

• Pennsylvania Republican Party ^[19]

Michael George

Political parties

• Pennsylvania Republican Party ^[19]

Judy Olson

Political parties

• Pennsylvania Republican Party ^[19]

Results

Republican primary results (vote for not more than 3) ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Judith Olson	303,735	22.00%
	Republican	Michael George	302,778	21.93%
	Republican	Anne Covey	285,007	20.64%
	Republican	Cheryl Allen	183,273	13.27%
	Republican	Rebecca L. Warren	159,450	11.55%
	Republican	Correale Stevens (incumbent)	146,528	10.61%
Total votes			1,380,771	100.0%

General election

Endorsements

Christine Donohue (D)

Newspapers

• The Patriot-News ^[20]
• The Philadelphia Inquirer ^[21]
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^[22]

Michael George (R)

Newspapers

• The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^[23]

Judy Olson (R)

Newspapers

• The Patriot-News ^[20]
• The Philadelphia Inquirer ^[21]
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^[22]
• The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^[23]

David Wecht (D)

Newspapers

• The Patriot-News ^[20]
• The Philadelphia Inquirer ^[21]
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^[22]
• The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^[23]

Results

2015 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election (vote for not more than 3) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin Dougherty	1,088,716	18.50%
	Democratic	David Wecht	1,079,452	18.34%
	Democratic	Christine Donohue	1,069,161	18.17%
	Republican	Judith Olson	895,741	15.22%
	Republican	Michael George	803,748	13.66%
	Republican	Anne Covey	802,891	13.64%
	Independent	Paul Panepinto [b]	145,190	2.47%
Total votes			5,884,899	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican
	Democratic gain from Republican
	Democratic hold

Judge of the Superior Court

2015 Pennsylvania Superior Court election

← 2013 November 3, 2015 2017  →

Nominee Alice B. Dubow Emil Giordano Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,058,753 933,691 Percentage 53.1% 46.9%

County results Dubow:     50–60%     60–70%     80–90% Giordano:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Judge before election Patricia Jenkins Republican Elected Judge Alice Dubow Democratic

A seat was up for election due to the appointment of Judge Correale Stevens to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Governor Corbett appointed Patricia Jenkins to the vacancy through the 2015 election, who opted to not run for re-election. ^[25]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Robert J. Colville, Judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas ^[26]
• Alice Dubow, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas ^[26]

Results

Primary results by county

  Dubow

•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%

  Colville

•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%

Democratic primary results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alice Dubow	389,282	58.75%
	Democratic	Robert J. Colville	273,346	41.25%
Total votes			662,628	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Emil Giordano, Judge of the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas ^[26]

Results

Republican primary results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Emil Giordano	464,178	100.0%
Total votes			464,178	100.0%

General election

Results

2015 Pennsylvania Superior Court election ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alice Dubow	1,058,753	53.14%
	Republican	Emil Giordano	933,691	46.86%
Total votes			1,992,444	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Judge of the Commonwealth Court

2015 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court election

←  2011 November 3, 2015 2017  →

Nominee Michael Wojcik Paul Lalley Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,060,314 946,079 Percentage 52.8% 47.2%

County results Wojcik:     50–60%     60–70%     80–90% Lalley:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Judge before election Dan Pellegrini Democratic Elected Judge Michael Wojcik Democratic

There was one vacancy to fill on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, due to the mandatory retirement of President Judge Dan Pellegrini.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Todd Eagen, labor attorney ^[27]
• Michael Woljcik, former Allegheny County solicitor ^[28]

Results

Primary results by county

  Wojcik

•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%

  Eagen

•   50%–60%
•   60%–70%
•   70%–80%
•   80%–90%
•   90%–100%

Democratic primary results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Wojcik	331,601	53.35%
	Democratic	R. Todd Eagen	290,008	46.65%
Total votes			621,609	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Paul Lalley, senior associate attorney at Campbell, Durant, Beatty, Palombo & Miller, Lalley firm ^[29]

Results

Republican primary results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Lalley	475,657	100.0%
Total votes			475,657	100.0%

General election

Results

2015 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court election ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Wojcik	1,060,314	52.85%
	Republican	Paul Lalley	946,079	47.15%
Total votes			2,006,393	100.0%
	Democratic hold

37th Senatorial District Special Election

There was one vacancy to fill in the Pennsylvania State Senate, in the 37th district, created by the resignation of Matthew H. Smith.

Pennsylvania Senate, District 37 special election, 2015 ^{[30] [31]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Guy Reschenthaler	30,565	55.1
	Democratic	Heather Arnet	24,888	44.9
Total votes			55,453	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• Philadelphia mayoral election, 2015

Notes

1. Voters selected up to three candidates, so vote totals are inflated.
2. Appeared on ballot under the "Independent Judicial Alliance" party designation.

References

1. "6/28/13 - Executive Nominations - Report From Committee" (PDF). Committee on Rules and Executive Nominations - PA General Assembly Senate.
2. Jackson, Kent (January 28, 2015). "Stevens announces run for Supreme Court". The Citizens' Voice.
3. Becker Kane, Jenna. "The Pennsylvania 2015 State Supreme Court Election in Comparative Perspective". Temple University.
4. Brennan, Chris (July 31, 2015). "Paul Panepinto running as independent for high court". Philadelphia Inquirer .
5. Field, Nick (December 11, 2014). "Donohue Seeks Dem Endorsement for PA Supreme Court". Politics PA.
6. Field, Nick (February 17, 2015). "Dougherty Formally Announces Candidacy for Supreme Court". Politics PA.
7. Cassidy, Matt (March 3, 2015). "Judge Foradora Announces Supreme Court Candidacy". Politics PA.
8. Field, Nick (November 20, 2014). "Lazarus Announces Bid for PA Supreme Court Seat". Politics PA.
9. Daniels, Melissa (May 19, 2015). "Six judges nominated to vie for three seats on Pa. Supreme Court". Trib Live.
10. "Judges with Pittsburgh ties enter race for Pa. Supreme Court". Trib Live. November 24, 2014.
11. Thompson, Charles (February 21, 2015). "Pennsylvania Democrats endorse David Wecht and Kevin Dougherty for Supreme Court primary". The Patriot-News .
12. "2015 Municipal Primary". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
13. Field, Nick (December 8, 2014). "Superior Court Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen Seeks Spot on PA Supreme Court". Politics PA.
14. "Supreme Court candidate Covey campaigns in Erie". Erie Times-News . April 17, 2015.
15. Field, Nick (January 14, 2015). "Michael George Joins Race for PA Supreme Court". Politics PA.
16. Beatty, Brigid (February 6, 2015). "Judicial candidate vows to restore faith in system". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review .
17. "Warren expected PBA 'not-recommended' snub". The Danville News. January 29, 2015.
18. Fields, Nick (January 8, 2015). "Cohn Jubelirer Declares Candidacy for PA Supreme Court Seat". Politics PA.
19. "Covey, George, Olson Lead PA GOP Judicial Ticket". PA GOP. February 2, 2015.
20. "For Supreme Court - Christine Donohue, Judith Olson and David Wecht: Editorial". The Patriot-News . October 22, 2015.
21. Holmberg, Eric (October 29, 2015). "PA Supreme Court 2015: Newspaper endorsement roundup". Pittsburgh's Public Source.
22. "For Supreme Court: The best choices are Olson, Donohue and Wecht". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . October 25, 2015.
23. "For Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Elect Michael George, Judy Olson & David Wecht". The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . October 17, 2015.
24. "2015 Municipal Election". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
25. "Delco Judge Jenkins Nominated to Superior Court". Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. November 20, 2013.
26. Belculfine, Lexi (May 19, 2015). "Philadelphia judge beats Colville for Superior Court nomination". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette .
27. Addy, Jason (May 11, 2015). "Eagen Cites Family History in First TV Ad (VIDEO)". Politics PA.
28. Fucci, Ryan (December 5, 2014). "Michael Wojcik Declares Candidacy for Judge of Commonwealth Court".
29. Strum, Lora (December 9, 2014). "Lalley Formally Announces Bid for Commonwealth Court". Politics PA.
30. "2015 General Election Results". Allegheny County Elections Division. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
31. "2015 General Election". Washington County, Pennsylvania. Retrieved November 6, 2015.