Republicans win state House races in Washington, Greene counties
Workers are busy Tuesday morning processing mail-in and drop-off ballots at the Washington County Election Office.
Mihalek
Cook
Kuzma
Workers in Washington County spent Tuesday opening and processing mail-in ballots. Greene County received about 2,400 mail-ins ahead of Election Day, while paid volunteers in Washington worked through 20,000, the highest number of mail-in ballots the county has ever seen.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Stacks of mail-in ballots, organized neatly by precinct, were spread throughout a large office at the Washington County Election Office Tuesday, where workers processed the nearly 20,000 votes mailed in or dropped off ahead of Election Day.
Workers process mail-in ballots Tuesday morning inside the Washington County Election Office.
Republican candidates are poised to represent all of the state legislative districts in Washington and Greene counties as the GOP swept through with victories in Southwestern Pennsylvania while struggling in statewide races.
Incumbent Republican state Reps. Natalie Mihalek and Bud Cook held off their Democratic challengers in their races while new GOP candidate Andrew Kuzma won an open seat, according to unofficial results late Tuesday.
Mihalek, who represents Peters Township and Bethel Park, along with parts of Upper St. Clair, said her victory against Democrat Chris Todd was vindication for her message.
“Tonight’s results reiterate that voters are looking for common sense non-partisan solutions that lead to economic growth, strong schools and safe communities,” said Mihalek, who is a Peters Township resident first elected in 2018. “That’s what I’ve always strived to bring to the table, and being able to serve the voters of the 40th District with these objectives has been and remains one of the highest honors of my life.”
Meanwhile, Kuzma will now represent the 39th District that snakes around the Monongahela River around Washington and Allegheny counties. The attorney and former Elizabeth Township commissioner defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Puskaric in the May primary and then easily beat Democrat Rick Self in the general. Kuzma could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Cook, of Daisytown, had represented portions of Washington and Fayette counties in the 49th District since he was first elected in 2016, but his new district was melded into all of Greene County and parts of the Mon Valley and southern Washington County. He easily defeated Democratic challenger Doug Mason and will now replace retiring state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, who served the Greene County-centric district for a decade.
“She did a whale of a job for the people of Greene County and that district,” Cook said. “We didn’t always get along, but we always got along. I’ve just got a different style. They’re still getting used to us in Harrisburg, and I don’t know if they ever will.”
He said he’s ready to represent Greene County in the 50th District with his focus on agriculture and energy development, while also keeping an eye on the Mon Valley.
“I’m just amazed when I drive through Greene County how absolutely beautiful it is. … We’ve got to go out and sell what we have to get people to move in,” Cook said. “We’re still going to be promoting the Mon Valley. I may not have as much as I used to have. But the valley is the valley, baby.”
He also promised to be a thorn in the side of the establishment, including in Washington County, where he has questioned decisions made with Local Share Account casino gambling money earmarked for local projects.
“I am after the politically connected. It’s not about parties. It’s about the politically connected vs. the outsider,” Cook said. “You will see that come to fruition.”
If the unofficial results hold, Republicans would represent all districts in Washington and Greene counties in what would be the finishing touches on transforming the region from a Democratic stronghold to a GOP panacea. All other state Senate and House races in the two counties were unopposed and won by Republican incumbents.
Washington County counted nearly all 20,000 of its mail-in and absentee ballots Tuesday, and officials were able to release those results shortly after 8 p.m. There are additional mail-in votes that were delivered on Election Day that still must be tabulated.
The count of mail-in votes will take longer in Greene County as elections workers spent most of Tuesday verifying and confirming about 2,400 ballots before beginning to count them after the poll books were returned upon the polls being closed. It was not known when they would complete the count of the vote, which must be done continuously without stopping if a county accepts state money earmarked for election work.