Polls are closed in Pennsylvania’s primary, but though some contenders for the general election have been determined, one big race is still too close to call.
In the race for governor, Democrats voted for the unopposed Attorney General Josh Shapiro while Republicans elected the ultra-conservative state Sen. Doug Mastriano. Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman clinched the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, but the Republican race remained tight between Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick.
Below is a look at the races and the results.
Who won the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race?
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Polls closed Tuesday night, but a winner had still not been declared by Friday morning. The election appears all but certain to go to a recount next week. That means that all 67 counties in Pennsylvania will need to tally the votes again in this race.
Heart surgeon Mehmet Oz, the television personality best known for the “Dr. Oz” show, led former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick by just 1,127 votes with 99% of ballots counted as of Friday, a difference of just 0.1%.
Decision 2022
Coverage of the 2022 elections
Both Oz and McCormick had about 31% of the vote. In accordance with Pennsylvania law, the race automatically goes to a recount if the difference between both candidates remains at 0.5% or less of the vote.
They staved off a late surge by political commentator Kathy Barnette, who grabbed almost 25% of the vote despite a late controversy over images of her marching in Washington, D.C. on the day of the deadly 2021 Capitol riot.
More about the race between Oz and McCormick here.
Who won the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race?
State Lt. Gov. John Fetterman handily staved off challengers Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, despite having to spend Election Night at a hospital recovering from a stroke and having a pacemaker installed.
Fetterman is one of the standard bearers for the progressive movement of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party. His biggest challenger was Lamb, a moderate liberal who fashioned his campaign around being able to win over moderate voters in a purple state.
The strategy, however, did not pay off as Fetterman won every single county with 99% of the vote counted, according to NBC News.
More on the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate here.
Who won the Republican nomination for governor?
Despite extensive hand-wringing form many within the party, ultra-conservative state Sen. Doug Mastriano snagged the Republican nomination for governor.
With the victory, Mastriano completed a meteoric rise through the state Republican Party ranks, despite efforts from many of the party’s establishment trying to keep him from winning the nomination.
His far-right view on the 2020 presidential election results – he still wants to audit the votes – and his attendance at the “Stop the Steal” protests in Washington D.C. during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 have caused many in his own Republican party to worry that he could get “clobbered” in the general election later this year.
Mastriano, however, led in the polls as Election Day neared and was endorsed by Trump over the weekend.
He had 44% of the Republican vote with 99% of ballots counted as of Friday, blowing out next-best challenger Lou Barletta, who took 20% of the vote.
More on the Republican primary for governor here.
Who won the Democratic nomination for governor?
It was a straightforward affair on the Democratic side as Attorney General Josh Shapiro ran unopposed.
Shapiro, a former Montgomery County commissioner who lives in Abington Township, raised record-setting amounts of cash for his campaign. He had so much cash, in fact, that in the closing weeks of the primary election cycle, his campaign bought television ads promoting Mastriano.
Shapiro helped cement his reputation with a landmark grand jury investigation into child sexual abuse coverups inside Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses, as well as defending Pennsylvania’s 2020 election result against attempts in court to overturn it by former President Trump and his allies.
Shapiro has also positioned himself as a protector of reproductive rights.
As more states place restrictions on abortions, and as a leaked draft opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court suggests the high court is poised to overturn the abortion rights guaranteed under the Roe v. Wade case, Shapiro has vowed to veto abortion restrictions that may be passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature.
More about the Democratic primary for governor here.
Who won the U.S. House primaries?
In the greater Philadelphia region, Democratic incumbent Dwight Evans won his 3rd District race.
On the Republican side, Brian Fitzpatrick held off challengers for his seat in the 1st District and Christian Nascimento will take on incumbent Democrat Madeleine Dean for a 4th District seat.
Meanwhile, the Republican primaries for the 6th and 7th districts remained too close to call Wednesday afternoon. Guy Ciarrocchi had a slight lead in the race to unseat Democrat Chrissy Houlahan in the 6th District, while Lisa Scheller also had a slim lead in her bid to unseat Democrat Susan Wild in the 7th District.
You can check the results of other races here.
