Vanata defeats Russo in Republican race for Greene County district attorney
A new district attorney will likely be taking the reins in Greene County next year.
Brianna Vanata easily defeated incumbent District Attorney David Russo in the Republican primary, setting her up to win the position in the November general election.
Russo was first elected district attorney with just 37% of the vote in 2019 when he was involved in a three-way battle for the position between Democrat Jessica Phillips and write-in candidate Patrick Fitch.
But in a two-way battle for the position in the Republican primary, Vanata dominated with more than 72% of the vote. There were no Democratic candidates for the position, and it was unclear Tuesday night if either Vanata or Russo had received enough write-in votes on that side of the ballot for the November election.
In the Republican race for Greene County commissioner, Betsy Rohanna-McClure and Jared Edgreen cruised to their nominations over Larry Freeman and Cameron Downer. Rohanna-McClure and Edgreen will face off in the November general election against Democrats Blair Zimmerman and Christine Bailey, who beat Michael Holloway Jr. in the primary.
In the Republican race for treasurer, Jeannie High Grimes received 58% of the voting in defeating Julie Gatrell.
In the magistrate position that includes Waynesburg Borough and central and western portions of Greene County, incumbent District Judge David Balint cruised to victory in both the Republican and Democratic primaries against Leslie Joy Gordon.
In the other magistrate position that includes Franklin Township and northeastern Greene County, Tom Ankrom, who cross-filed, easily defeated Kelly A. Stepp and “Crazy” Charlie Jones to become the next district judge for that area.