Gov. Tom Wolf said on Thursday that the special election to fill the vacancy in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District will take place on May 21, the same day as the commonwealth’s primary election.
The announcement comes one day after U.S. Rep. Tom Marino officially resigned from Congress. The Lycoming County Republican was elected to a fifth term in the House in November, but announced last week that he would be stepping down to take a private sector job.
‘Having heard the concerns of county officials, I am scheduling the special election to fill the remainder of Congressman Marino’s term on May 21, 2019 to coincide with the primary election,’ Wolf wrote on Twitter.
There is no primary for the special election and the winner will serve out the remainder of Marino’s term, which will end in January 2021. Nominees will be selected by local party leaders at nominating conferences.
Centre County commissioners were among those in the 12th District who advocated for the special election to be held the same day as the primary, citing the extra costs and deployment of election workers that would be associated with having it on a separate date.
‘…I think many of the commissioners within the 12th Congressional District really would recommend he set that as the same day as the primary,’ Board of Commissioners Chairman Michael Pipe said at Tuesday’s meeting. ‘It would help us to save on costs, with mobilizing our poll workers, making sure our election machines aren’t being used for another election.’
Clinton County commissioners also said this week they hoped it would coincide with the primary, estimating a special election on another day would cost about $30,000. Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins said Centre County’s cost would likely be ‘a couple times that,’ because of a larger population.
The 12th District includes portions of Centre, Bradford, Clinton, Juniata, Lycoming, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union and Wyoming counties. In Centre County, the 12th District includes State College, Ferguson Township, Harris Township, College Township, part of Halfmoon Township and the Penns Valley area.
Wolf had 10 days to issue a writ of election following Marino’s resignation, with a special election to be scheduled at least 60 days later. The governor followed a similar tack in 2018 when U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan resigned his 7th District seat and Wolf scheduled the special election to coincide with the November election.
Who will be on the ballot for the 12th District remains to be seen. Ferguson Township Democrat Marc Friedenberg, who lost to Marino in November, said he will seek his party’s nomination once again. He is holding a kickoff rally to officially announce his candidacy at 11 a.m. Thursday at Hyatt Place, 219 W. Beaver Ave., State College.
State Rep. Fred Keller, of Snyder County, said he is interested in pursuing the Republican nomination and Northumberland County Commissioner Kymberley Best said she is considering a run for the Democratic nomination.
