2017 Pennsylvania elections

Elections were held in Pennsylvania on November 7, 2017, to fill judicial positions on the Supreme Court, Superior Court, and the Commonwealth Court, to allow judicial retention votes, and to fill numerous county, local and municipal offices.

2017 Pennsylvania elections

←  2016 November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07) 2018  →

The necessary primary elections were held in May 2017.

Special elections

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

133rd legislative district

A special election for the 133rd legislative district took place on December 5, following the death of Democratic state representative Daniel McNeill. ^[1]

Democrats selected McNeill's wife Jeanne McNeill as their nominee. ^[2] Republicans nominated David Molony and Libertarians nominated Samantha Dorney. ^[3]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 133 special election, 2017

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeanne McNeill	2,302	67.43
	Republican	David Molony	992	29.06
	Libertarian	Samantha Dorney	120	3.51
Total votes			3,414	100.00
	Democratic hold

197th legislative district

Democratic state representative Leslie Acosta was re-elected during the 2016 elections, but later resigned after pleading guilty to charges of embezzlement. ^[4] A special election for the 197th legislative district took place on March 21.

Republicans nominated Lucinda Little for the seat. Democrats originally nominated health clinic administrator Frederick Ramirez, but a Commonwealth Court ruling declared that Ramirez did not reside in the district and removed him from the ballot. ^[5] Democrats attempted to replace Ramirez with Philadelphia Parking Authority auditor Emilio Vazquez, but the Court ruled (and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania confirmed) that the filing deadline had passed, preventing the substitution. ^[6] Vazquez subsequently ran a write-in campaign, along with Green Party candidate Cheri Honkala. ^[7]

Following the special election, four elections officers were charged with interference after allegations of duress and voter intimidation were made. ^[8]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 197 special election, 2017

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Emilio Vazquez (write-in)	1,972	73.20
	Green	Cheri Honkala (write-in)	286	10.62
	Write-in		235	8.72
	Republican	Lucinda Little	201	7.46
Total votes			2,694	100.00
	Democratic hold

Justice of the Supreme Court

2017 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election

←  2015 November 7, 2017 2021  →

Nominee Sallie Mundy Dwayne Woodruff Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,090,485 995,540 Percentage 52.3% 47.7%

Mundy:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Woodruff:     50–60%     60–70%     80–90%

Justice before election Sallie Mundy Republican Elected Justice Sallie Mundy Republican

One seat was up for election after Justice Michael Eakin resigned on March 15, 2016. Republican Superior Court judge Sallie Updyke Mundy was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf to the seat vacated by Justice Eakin and was subsequently confirmed on June 27, 2016. ^[9] Justice Mundy ran for a full 10-year term.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Sallie Mundy, incumbent Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ^[10]

Results

Republican primary results ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sallie Mundy (incumbent)	469,214	100.0%
Total votes			469,214	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Dwayne Woodruff, Judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback ^[12]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dwayne Woodruff	633,112	100.0%
Total votes			633,112	100.0%

General election

Results

2017 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sallie Updyke Mundy (incumbent)	1,090,485	52.28%
	Democratic	Dwayne Woodruff	995,540	47.72%
Total votes			2,086,025	100.0%
	Republican hold

Judge of the Superior Court

2017 Pennsylvania Superior Court election

←  2015 November 7, 2017 2019  →
4 seats of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Majority party Minority party   Candidate Maria McLaughlin Deborah Kunselman Carolyn Nichols Geoff Moulton Mary Murray Craig Stedman Emil Giordano Wade Kagarise Party Democratic Republican Last election 6 9 Seats won 3 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 3,991,975 3,554,632 Percentage 52.16% 46.44%
County results Democrat:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     80–90% Republican:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Four seats of the Superior Court were up for election.

• A seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen in September 2015. Governor Wolf appointed Republican Carl Solano as the interim appointee. Solano did not run for a full term.
• Seat vacated by the elevation of Judge Christine Donohue to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2015. Lillian Ransom, a Democrat, was appointed by Governor Wolf to fill the seat through the election. Ransom indicated she would not run for a full term.
• Third vacancy created by the elevation Judge David Wecht after being elected, along with Judge Donohue, to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2015. Democrat Geoffrey Moulton was appointed by Governor Wolf to fill the seat, and ran for a full term.
• A fourth seat became vacant due to then–Judge Sallie Mundy's appointment to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in July 2016. The seat remained vacant through the election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• William Caye, Allegheny County prosecutor ^[14]
• Deborah Kunselman, Judge of the Beaver County Court of Common Pleas ^[15]
• Maria McLaughlin, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas ^[16]
• Carolyn Nichols, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas ^[17]
• H. Geoffrey Moulton Jr., incumbent Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ^[18]

Withdrawn

• Albert Flora Jr., criminal defense attorney ^[15]
• Lillian Harris Ransom, incumbent Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ^[15]

Results

Democratic primary results (vote for 4) ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maria McLaughlin	460,250	23.30%
	Democratic	Carolyn Nichols	448,675	22.72%
	Democratic	Deborah Kunselman	432,937	21.92%
	Democratic	Geoffrey Moulton Jr. (incumbent)	361,547	18.31%
	Democratic	William Caye II	271,533	13.75%
Total votes			1,974,942	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Emil Giordano, Judge of the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas ^[19]
• Wade Kagarise, Judge of the Blair County Court of Common Pleas ^[20]
• Mary Murray, Judge of the Allegheny County Magisterial District Court ^[21]
• Paula Patrick, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas ^[22]
• Craig Stedman, Lancaster County district attorney ^[23]

Withdrawn

• Carl Solano, incumbent Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ^[15]

Results

Republican primary results (vote for 4) ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Craig Stedman	380,027	24.66%
	Republican	Emil Giordano	320,394	20.79%
	Republican	Wade Kagarise	317,511	20.61%
	Republican	Mary P. Murray	295,138	19.15%
	Republican	Paula A. Patrick	227,751	14.78%
Total votes			1,540,821	100.0%

Third parties

Candidates

• Jules Mermelstein (Green), attorney and former Upper Dublin Township commissioner (1992–2011) ^[24]

General election

Results

2017 Pennsylvania Superior Court election (vote for 4) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maria McLaughlin	1,078,522	14.09%
	Democratic	Deborah Kunselman	1,041,965	13.61%
	Democratic	Carolyn Nichols	978,842	12.79%
	Republican	Mary Murray	918,705	12.00%
	Republican	Craig Stedman	914,284	11.95%
	Democratic	Geoffrey Moulton Jr. (incumbent)	892,646	11.66%
	Republican	Emil Giordano	885,996	11.58%
	Republican	Wade Kagarise	835,647	10.92%
	Green	Jules Mermelstein	106,969	1.40%
Total votes			7,653,576	100.0%
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold
	Democratic gain from Republican
	Republican hold

Judge of the Commonwealth Court

2017 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court election

←  2015 November 7, 2017 2021  →
2 seats of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Majority party Minority party   Candidate Ellen Ceisler Irene Clark Christine Fizzano Cannon Paul Lalley Party Democratic Republican Last election 7 2 Seats won 1 1 Seat change Popular vote 1,946,679 1,905,581 Percentage 50.53% 49.47%
County results Democrat:     50–60%     60–70%     80–90% Republican:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Two seats were up for election.

• Judge Bernard McGinley retired from the court on January 31, 2016. ^{[25] [26]} Governor Wolf appointed Democrat Joseph Grove to fill the vacancy, who ran for a full term.
• Judge Bonnie Brigace Leadbetter became a senior judge on January 31, 2016. Julia Hearthway was appointed to fill the vacant seat. ^[27] Judge Hearthway, a Republican, did not run for a full term, and vacated her seat on September 1, 2017. ^[28]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bryan Barbin, state representative ^[29]
• W. Timothy Barry, municipal solicitor ^[30]
• Ellen Ceisler, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas ^[31]
• Irene McLaughlin Clark, former Judge of the Pittsburgh Municipal Court ^[32]
• Joseph Cosgrove, incumbent Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ^[33]
• Todd Eagen, managing partner, Welby, Stoltenberg, Cimballa & Cook, LLC ^[34]

Results

Democratic primary results (vote for 2) ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ellen Ceisler	280,209	24.28%
	Democratic	Irene Clark	237,287	20.56%
	Democratic	W. Timothy Barry	215,904	18.71%
	Democratic	Todd Eagen	180,654	15.65%
	Democratic	Joseph Cosgrove (incumbent)	169,869	14.72%
	Democratic	Bryan Barbin	70,201	6.08%
Total votes			1,154,124	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Christine Fizzano Cannon, Judge of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, former Delaware County commissioner (2007–2011) ^[35]
• Paul Lalley, senior associate, Campbell Durrant, P.C ^[36]

Declined

• Julia Hearthway, incumbent Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ^[33]

Results

Republican primary results (vote for 2) ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Lalley	400,090	53.57%
	Republican	Christine Fizzano Cannon	346,755	46.43%
Total votes			746,845	100.0%

General election

Results

2017 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court election (vote for 2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christine Fizzano Cannon	994,163	25.81%
	Democratic	Ellen Ceisler	988,295	25.65%
	Democratic	Irene Clark	958,384	24.88%
	Republican	Paul Lalley	911,418	23.66%
Total votes			3,852,260	100.0%
	Republican hold
	Democratic hold

Judicial retention

Supreme Court

Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor (R) Retention, 2017

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,074,905	68.25
No	500,162	31.75
Total votes	1,575,067	100.00
Source: PA Department of State [13]

Justice Debra Todd (D) Retention, 2017

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,121,007	70.83
No	461,751	29.17
Total votes	1,582,758	100.00
Source: PA Department of State [13]

Superior Court

Judge Jacqueline Shogan (R) Retention, 2017

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,073,774	69.31
No	475,429	30.69
Total votes	1,549,203	100.00
Source: PA Department of State [13]

Mayoral elections

Pittsburgh

Main article: 2017 Pittsburgh mayoral election

Lancaster

Main article: 2017 Lancaster, Pennsylvania mayoral election

Allentown

Main article: 2017 Allentown mayoral election

Harrisburg

Main article: 2017 Harrisburg mayoral election

Ballot questions

Proposed Constitutional Amendment Amending the Homestead Property Tax Assessment Exclusion

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	963,324	53.99
No	821,002	46.01
Total votes	1,784,326	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

Amendment results by county

Yes:

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

No:

•   60–70%
•   50–60%

References

1. Engelkemier, Paul (September 18, 2017). "Turzai Sets Date for Special Election to Replace McNeill". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
2. Engelkemier, Paul (October 3, 2017). "Pa. Dems Announce Candidate for 133rd House District Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
3. Engelkemier, Paul (December 6, 2017). "McNeill Wins Husband's Seat in Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
4. Sasko, Claire (December 9, 2016). "Convicted State Rep. Leslie Acosta to Resign". Philadelphia Magazine. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
5. Scolforo, Mark (February 24, 2017). "Too few flushes get legislative candidate thrown off ballot". Associated Press. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
6. Engelkemier, Paul (March 13, 2017). "HD-197: Supreme Court Keeps Democratic Candidate Off the Ballot". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
7. Brennan, Chris (March 3, 2017). "North Philly feud costs Democrats a shot at a state House seat". Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
8. Engelkemier, Paul (October 30, 2017). "Four Charged With Interference in the 197th House District Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
9. Mendicino, Anthony (June 28, 2016). "Sallie Updyke Mundy appointed to Pennsylvania Supreme Court". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved July 22, 2016.
10. Engelkemier, Paul (February 2, 2017). "PA GOP Caucus Straw Poll Results". Politics PA.
11. "2017 Municipal Primary Official Results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
12. Engelkemier, Paul (February 15, 2017). "Supreme Court Candidate: Dwayne Woodruff". Politics PA.
13. "2017 Pennsylvania Elections - Summary Results". Pennsylvania Department of State. November 7, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
14. Field, Nick (January 9, 2017). "Caye Announces Superior Court Candidacy". Politics PA.
15. Engelkemier, Paul (March 8, 2017). "Statewide Candidates Get on the Ballot". Politics PA.
16. Engelkemier, Paul (February 8, 2017). "Philly Judge McLaughlin Enters Superior Court Race". Politics PA.
17. Field, Nick (January 12, 2017). "Trio of Superior Court Candidates Emerge". Politics PA.
18. Stephan, Hope (January 19, 2017). "Appointed Superior Court judge launches campaign for full term". The Patriot-News .
19. Engelkemier, Paul (August 31, 2017). "Giordano endorsed by PA United Steelworkers". Politics PA.
20. Ray, Phil (November 20, 2016). "Kagarise seeking Superior Court post". Altoona Mirror .
21. Miller, Brittany (January 4, 2017). "Judge announces candidacy for Pa. Superior Court". The Patriot-News .
22. Engelkemier, Paul (March 7, 2017). "Superior Court Candidate: Paula Patrick". Politics PA.
23. Robinson, Wesley (January 12, 2017). "DA Craig Stedman mulling run for state Superior Court". The Patriot-News .
24. Engelkemier, Paul (August 15, 2017). "Third Party Candidate Enters Race for Superior Court". Politics PA.
25. "Subsequent Commissioned Judge Biographies - Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Historical Society". Archived from the original on December 7, 2020.
26. "Kenneth Roberto v. PA State Police" (PDF). Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court . April 27, 2016.
27. Field, Nick (June 14, 2016). "PA-Gov: Wolf Names Supreme Court, Other Judicial Nominees". Politics PA.
28. "William J. Green IV v. Thomas W. Wolf" (PDF). Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court . December 4, 2017.
29. Engelkemier, Paul (February 6, 2017). "Barbin Jumps into Commonwealth Court Race". Politics PA.
30. Engelkemier, Paul (February 10, 2017). "Judicial Hopefuls Make Last Minute Pitch Before Dems Endorsement". Politics PA.
31. Field, Nick (January 5, 2017). "Ceisler to Seek Seat on Commonwealth Court". Politics PA.
32. Engelkemier, Paul (February 8, 2017). "Clark Tosses Hat into Commonwealth Court Race". Politics PA.
33. "Cosgrove seeking full term on Commonwealth Court". Times Leader . May 6, 2017.
34. "Candidate Spotlight – Todd Eagen – Commonwealth Court". PA Dems . May 15, 2017.
35. Engelkemier, Paul (January 27, 2017). "Delco Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon Jumps into GOP Commonwealth Court Race". Politics PA.
36. Field, Nick (December 13, 2016). "Lalley Enters Commonwealth Court Race". Politics PA.