HARRISBURG, Pa. (WFMZ) — If the ballot for voters in Pennsylvania’s 16th Senate District looked familiar, that’s because it was. The same two candidates — Republican Jarrett Coleman and Democrat Mark Pinsley — faced each other in 2022, and they did so again here in 2026.
Pinsley was also on the ballot as the Democrats’ nominee in 2018, when he tried to unseat Republican Pat Browne. Coleman took care of that four years later, when he defeated Browne in 2022’s GOP primary election.
This time around, Coleman is the incumbent seeking a second term, hoping to keep the district’s seat from being turned over to a Democrat for the first time in three decades.
Early results showed Pinsley having more than double the number of Coleman’s votes, but the gap between the two candidates narrowed as the night of counting ballots went on.
Coleman is a former airline pilot and Parkland School Board member; Pinsley serves as Lehigh County’s controller.
The 16th District race had been singled out by Spotlight PA as one of Democrats’ top four flip opportunities in the state Senate. Others were the 24th District in Berks and Montgomery counties and the 40th District in Lackawanna, Monroe, and Wayne counties.
Republicans hold 27 of the upper chamber’s 50 seats, half of which were up for grabs in Tuesday’s election. Democrats haven’t held the majority since 1993.
The 16th District covers upper Bucks and western Lehigh counties, including parts of Allentown.
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