Centre County voters cast their ballots in the 2026 Pennsylvania primary elections, with polls closing at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
A total of 20,315 ballots were cast for the 2026 Gubernatorial Primary, representing 24.37% of the county’s 83,360 registered voters, according to centrecountypa.gov.
Below are unofficial results of the 2026 Pennsylvania primary election as of 11:16 p.m. on Tuesday.
Democratic Governor
Incumbent Josh Shapiro ran uncontested for the Democratic ticket, receiving 11,443 total votes with 135 write-ins. Shapiro, the 48th governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was first sworn into the Office of the Governor in 2023.
Republican Governor
Stacy Garrity, the Republican candidate for the gubernatorial nomination, ran uncontested and received 7,205 total votes, with 752 write-ins.
Garrity, a retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel, served as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s 78th treasurer.
Democratic Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Austin Davis, who also ran uncontested for the Democratic nomination, received 11,314 total votes with 64 write-ins. Davis, who is the youngest Lieutenant Governor in the county, is also the first Black Lieutenant Governor.
The lieutenant governor serves as chair of the state Board of Pardons alongside the attorney general and three governor-appointed additional members, reviewing criminal cases to decide if a pardon or commutation should be suggested to the governor for final approval or denial, according to the state’s constitution.
Additionally, Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the State Senate.
Republican Lieutenant Governor
Jason Richey ran against John Ventre for the Republican nomination and received 5,190 votes in total, pulling ahead of Ventre by 2,723 votes. Richey, who has worked as a litigator for over thirty years, was endorsed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Garrity.
Ventre, who did not win the election, received 2,467 votes. He is a member of the Committee of Seventy, which is a nonpartisan civil leadership initiative focused on advancing representative government through civilian engagement and advocacy, according to the organization’s website.
Democratic Representative in Congress
Ray Bilger ran uncontested for the Democratic nomination and received 11,412 total votes with 57 write-ins. Bilger, who has led teams for the Air Force, National Security Agency and State Department, was the NSA Technical Director for Cyber Analysis from 2015 to 2017.
Republican Representative in Congress
Incumbent Glenn “GT” Thompson ran uncontested for the Republican nomination and received 7,759 total votes with 258 write-ins. Thompson, who is a Penn State alum, currently represents the Fifteenth District in the House of Representatives.
Democratic Representative in the General Assembly 77th Legislative District
Incumbent Scott Conklin ran uncontested for the Democratic nomination and received 4,655 total votes with 34 write-ins. Conklin, who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2006, was a primary sponsor of a bill that aimed to regulate the sale of land belonging to former state correctional institutions.
Republican Representative in the General Assembly 77th Legislative District
Michelle Schellberg also ran uncontested for the Republic nomination, receiving 2,501 total votes with 60 write-ins. Schellberg currently serves as chairwoman for the Center County Republican committee.
Democratic Representative in the General Assembly 82nd Legislative District
Incumbent Paul Takac ran uncontested and received 4,497 total votes with 13 write-ins for the Democratic nomination. Takac has represented the 82nd legislation district—which includes Penn State’s University Park campus—since 2022. On Oct. 1, 2025, he spoke at a Harrisburg press conference given by Conklin and Rep. Dallas Kephart, cosponsors of the aforementioned bill aiming to regulate the sale of former SCI land.
Republican Representative in the General Assembly 82nd Legislative District
Kirsten McTernan ran uncontested for the Republican nomination and received 2,644 total votes with 89 write-ins. She ran for the State College Area School Board in 2025.
Democratic Representative in the General Assembly 171st Legislative District
John Zangari, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, received 2,220 total votes with 18 write-ins. In the past, Zangari served as a Lehigh County corrections officer, and he currently works as the Administrative and Facilities Assistant in Penn State’s Department of Sociology and Criminology at University Park.
Republican Representative in the General Assembly 171st Legislative District
Incumbent Kerry Benninghoff ran uncontested for the Republican nomination and received 2,524 total votes with 38 write-ins. Benninghoff, who currently represents the 171st Legislative District, also serves as Republican chairman of the House Transportation Committee. He is also a member of the Gaming Oversight and Rules committees.
The full list of Centre County unofficial General Primary Elections results is available at centrecountypa.gov. The next step for these candidates is the November 3 general elections.
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