Bartolotta bashes Solobay in 46th Senatorial
Republican state Sen.-elect Camera Bartolotta celebrates her victory Tuesday at Mon Valley Country Club with her son, Dante, left and boyfriend, Chuck Kerber.
Camera Bartolotta.
A Republican political newcomer defeated incumbent Democratic State Sen. Tim Solobay Tuesday in his bid for a second, four-year term by a wide margin in their home county of Washington.
According to unofficial results, Solobay received just 45.2 percent of the vote in Washington County to Bartolotta’s 54.7 percent. With 161 precincts of the 172 in Washington County reporting, the raw vote was Bartolotta 25,811 to Solobay’s 21,314.
Twelve of Washington County’s 184 precincts lie within the 37th Senatorial District, which was not on the ballot this year.
Solobay was slightly ahead in Greene by 21 votes, but Bartolotta had a late surge in Beaver that gave her the edge there, 3,897 to 3,840.
In Greene County, with all 44 precincts reporting, Solobay held a 21-vote lead over Bartolotta, 4,484 to 4,463.
The raw totals were 34,171 Bartolotta and 29,638 Solobay, with 17 precincts yet to be counted in Washington County.
“From the bottom of my heart, it’s been remarkable what has happened in the last 277 days,” Bartolotta said, after being introduced by her son, Dante. “Apparently, we made history.”
Bartolotta is the first woman to represent the district.
Solobay, with State Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane, watched the results trickle in Tuesday night at The George Washington hotel. The atmosphere there was described as “subdued” while Bartolotta remained cautiously optimistic at Monongahela Country Club.
The race pitted Solobay, a resident of Canonsburg where he is assistant fire chief, against the owner of Duke of Oil quick lube in Monongahela. She had the backing of State Sen. Scott Wagner’s Reform PA PAC. Wagner of York County, president of Penn Waste Inc. and KBS Trucking, describes himself on his website as a small business owner who “has been supporting conservative causes and campaigns for the past 30 years.”
Neuman teared up as he introduced Solobay, calling him his mentor and friend.
“This isn’t the speech I was planning tonight,” Solobay said. “I’d like to thank my family and the great staff that has put up with me for 16 years. We do have a great opportunity with the new governor, and hopefully, it will be a good redirection for Pennsylvania. When things happen, you have to move forward. It’s a new chapter and opportunity in our life.”
He attributed his loss, partially, to a negative campaign waged against him.
Solobay served in the state House for 12 years before he was elected to the state Senate in 2010. The Democrat had a 5,000-vote margin in 2010 when he defeated Republican Kris Vanderman for an open seat to succeed retiring state Sen. Barry Stout, a powerful Democrat, and a leader in the transportation industry.
Contributing to this story were Staff writers Karen Mansfield and Scott Beveridge.