{"id":194705,"date":"2026-05-17T05:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T05:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/194705\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T05:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T05:39:09","slug":"primary-2026-a-look-at-races-across-the-region-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/194705\/","title":{"rendered":"Primary 2026: A look at races across the region"},"content":{"rendered":"

Primary election voters heading to the polls Tuesday will fill out ballots featuring relatively few contested races in a region where neither candidate in this cycle\u2019s most competitive and closely watched race faces a primary challenger.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the presumptive midterm election matchup in the 8th Congressional District between incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan of Dallas Twp. and Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti \u2014 an already acrimonious contest that\u2019s sure to intensify as the candidates campaign across the purple district that includes all of Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike and parts of Luzerne and Monroe counties.<\/p>\n

Bresnahan is the lone GOP candidate, and Cognetti the lone Democrat, to appear on primary ballots for the 8th District seat the former narrowly won in 2024. But the uncontested partisan primaries will set the stage for a fierce summer and fall in the race that could have major implications on the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

\"ScrantonScranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and U.S. Rob Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)<\/p>\n

With Republicans fighting to hold and Democrats vying to regain control of the lower chamber for the final two years of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report\u2019s House Race Ratings shifted the 8th District race last month from leaning Republican to a toss-up. That\u2019s how the election forecaster identifies the most competitive races where either party has a good chance of winning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a far cry from the region\u2019s other congressional race in the 9th District spanning all or parts of 12 counties, including all of Susquehanna, Wyoming and Schuylkill and part of Luzerne. That race also features two uncontested primary candidates \u2014 incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser of Jackson Twp. and Democratic challenger Rachel Wallace of East Brunswick Twp., Schuylkill County \u2014 who\u2019ll both all but certainly advance to November.<\/p>\n

\"RachelRachel Wallace, a congressional candidate seeking to win Dan Meuser\u2019s seat in the 9th district, answers questions during a town hall at Roma in Pottsville, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Wallace\u2019s town hall was in response to U.S. Representative Dan Meuser\u2019s constituent forum which was originally advertised as a private event for those who received an email invitation. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL\/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)<\/p>\n

A third candidate, Jenn Brothers of Susquehanna County, announced in March plans to seek the 9th District seat as an independent candidate in November\u2019s midterms. Brothers had campaigned as a Democrat but never filed petitions to seek the Democratic nomination, so she won\u2019t appear on Democratic primary ballots.<\/p>\n

Brothers\u2019 potential to split the Democratic vote in November would benefit Meuser, whose seat is already considered safe for the GOP. The Cook Political Report ratings list the race as \u201csolid Republican,\u201d predicting Meuser will \u201ccruise to reelection in this ruby red \u2026 district, which Trump carried by a 38-point margin in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"U.S.U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., speaks before President Donald Trump arrives at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mt. Pocono, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Matt Rourke\/AP)<\/p>\n

This election cycle also features races for governor and lieutenant governor, but only the Republican primary for lieutenant governor is contested. That race is between John Ventre of Westmoreland County and Jason Richey of Allegheny County, the candidate endorsed by both the state Republican Party and presumptive GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity.<\/p>\n

Garrity, the state treasurer, is officially unopposed in the Republican primary and will likely advance to a November matchup with incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro despite a grassroots Republican write-in campaign for Franklin County GOP state Sen. Doug Mastriano. Shapiro, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary for governor, comfortably won that office in 2022, defeating Mastriano by nearly 800,000 votes.<\/p>\n

Incumbent Democratic Lt. Gov. Austin Davis of Allegheny County, Shapiro\u2019s 2022 running mate, is also uncontested in Tuesday\u2019s Democratic primary as he seeks reelection.<\/p>\n

State Senate<\/p>\n

A pair of local incumbent state senators, Democratic Sen. Marty Flynn and Republican Sen. Lisa Baker, do face primary challenges this cycle when only even-numbered Senate districts are on the ballot.<\/p>\n

In the 22nd state Senate District that includes parts of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, Flynn, a Dunmore Democrat who\u2019s represented the district since 2021, faces a challenge from Jeffrey Lake of Clarks Summit, a political newcomer and self-described progressive Democrat. The two faced off in the race\u2019s lone debate earlier this month, sparring over data center development and other issues<\/a>, and the winner Tuesday will likely face Republican Sharon Soltis Sparano of La Plume Twp., who is uncontested for the GOP nomination, in November.<\/p>\n

\"CommunityCommunity members gather to listen to Pennsylvania\u2019s 22nd Senate District Democratic primary election candidates incumbent Marty Flynn and Jeffery Lake debate at Brennan Hall on the University of Scranton\u2019s campus in Scranton on Thursday, May 6, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

Baker, a five-term GOP incumbent who lives in Lehman Twp., is working to fend off a primary challenge from conservative Republican Tyler Meyers of Sugar Notch in the 20th state Senate District that includes parts of Luzerne and Wayne and all of Pike, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties. Susquehanna County Democrat Jackie Baker of Liberty Twp., whom Lisa Baker comfortably defeated in the 2022 general election, is uncontested for the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.Sen. Lisa Baker and Tyler Meyers. (SUBMITTED)<\/p>\n

In the 40th state Senate District that includes parts of Lackawanna and Wayne and all of Monroe counties, incumbent Republican Sen. Rosemary Brown of Middle Smithfield Twp., Monroe County, and Democrat Brian Wrightson of Archbald are uncontested in the primary and poised to face off in November for the Senate seat Brown has held for one term.<\/p>\n

Both Brown and Flynn won election to the Senate after tenures in the state House.<\/p>\n

Lackawanna County<\/p>\n

The majority of state House candidates that represent or hope to represent Lackawanna County constituents are uncontested in the primary.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Republican primary in the 114th state House District \u2014 currently represented by incumbent Democratic state Rep. Bridget Malloy Kosierowski of Waverly Twp. \u2014 is the only state House race in Lackawanna where two candidates from the same party who are seeking the same office will appear on the primary ballot.<\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Burgerhoff, left, and Logan Lombardo. (SUBMITTED)<\/p>\n

David Burgerhoff of Scranton and Logan Lombardo of Clarks Summit are vying for the GOP nomination in that district, with the winner advancing to a matchup with Kosierowski in November. Kosierowski, who defeated Burgerhoff in 2022 and didn\u2019t face a Republican challenger in 2024, is uncontested for the Democratic nomination in pursuit of another reelection.<\/p>\n

In the 112th state House District primary, incumbent Democratic state Rep. Kyle Mullins of Blakely is uncontested and poised to advance to a November matchup with Joseph J. Sabia Jr. of Archbald, who is uncontested for the GOP nomination. Tamara Misewicz-Healey, a co-founder of the 11,000-plus-member Stop Archbald Data Centers movement, recently announced a write-in campaign for the 112th District seat in November\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n

Incumbent Democratic state Rep. Kyle Donahue of Scranton, meanwhile, is also uncontested for his party\u2019s nomination in the 113th District. Republican Lucas O\u2019Brien of Moscow is uncontested for the GOP nomination there.<\/p>\n

And in the 118th District that includes parts of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, incumbent Democratic state Rep. Jim Haddock of Pittston Twp. and Republican Luzerne County Councilman John Lombardo of Pittston are uncontested in their respective party primaries and poised to face each other later this year.<\/p>\n

Luzerne County<\/p>\n

There are more competitive state House primary races in the districts that include all or parts of Luzerne County.<\/p>\n

For example, incumbent Republican state Rep. Jamie Walsh of Ross Twp. faces a primary challenge from Bill Jones, a Dorrance Twp. Republican, in the 117th District. The winner will likely face Democrat Jeremy Benscoter of Hunlock Twp., who is uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the 117th.<\/p>\n

\"JamieJamie Walsh, left, and Bill Jones (Submitted)<\/p>\n

In the 120th District, Democratic Luzerne County Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith of Wyoming and fellow Democrat Fern Leard of Dallas Twp. will face off in the Democratic primary for the opportunity to face incumbent GOP state Rep. Brenda Pugh of Dallas Twp. in November. Pugh, who defeated Leard to win her seat two years ago, is uncontested in the Republican primary as she seeks reelection.<\/p>\n

\"FernFern Leard, left, and Joanna Bryn Smith are competing in the upcoming primary election for the 120th state House District. (Submitted)<\/p>\n

A pair of Wilkes-Barre Democrats, city council Chairwoman Jessica McClay and Michael Stadulis, face each other in the Democratic primary for the 121st District seat long held by retiring Democratic state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski. The Democratic primary winner will likely face presumptive Republican nominee Mike Harostock, the mayor of Bear Creek Village, who is uncontested in the GOP primary.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael J. Stadulis and Jessica McClay are vying for the Democratic nomination in a Democratic primary race for the 121st Legislative District in Pennsylvania. (PHOTOS FROM CANDIDATE\u2019 WEBSITES)<\/p>\n

Like the 118th District, the 119th District does not feature a contested primary on either the Democratic or Republican side. Incumbent Republican state Rep. Alec Ryncavage of Hanover Twp. is uncontested for the GOP nomination in his pursuit of reelection in the 119th. Democrat Lauren McCurdy of Wright Twp. is unopposed for her party\u2019s nomination there.<\/p>\n

The primary is also uncontested in the 116th District that includes parts of Luzerne and Schuylkill counties, where incumbent Republican state Rep. Dane Watro of Kline Twp., Schuylkill County, is unopposed. No Democratic candidates filed to run.<\/p>\n

Other counties<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the region, longtime incumbent Republican state Rep. Tina Pickett of Wysox Twp., Bradford County, is uncontested for the GOP nomination in the 110th District that includes parts of Bradford County and all of Wyoming County. Democrat Pamela J. Hemann of Meshoppen Twp., Wyoming County, is uncontested for her party\u2019s nomination in the district.<\/p>\n

Incumbent Republican state Rep. Jonathan Fritz of Honesdale, who seeks reelection in the 111th District that includes all of Susquehanna County and part of Wayne County, is uncontested for the Republican nomination. He\u2019ll likely face Democrat Kyle Devlin of Susquehanna, who\u2019s uncontested in the Democratic primary, in November.<\/p>\n

In the 139th District spanning parts of Pike and Wayne counties, incumbent Republican state Rep. Jeff Olsommer of Sterling Twp., Wayne County, is uncontested for the GOP nomination. Democrat Dominique Azzollini of Dingman Twp., Pike County, is uncontested for the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n

Incumbent Democratic state Rep. Tarah Probst of Stroudsburg is uncontested for her party\u2019s nomination in the 189th District that includes parts of Pike and Monroe counties. Republican Danica Hartenfels of Smithfield Twp., Monroe County, is the only primary candidate seeking the GOP nomination there.<\/p>\n

Democratic primary ballots in the 115th District, which covers part of Monroe County, will feature only one candidate after a successful petition challenge knocked Democrat Anna Lopez off the ballot. Lopez subsequently announced a Democratic primary write-in campaign against incumbent Democratic state Rep. Maureen Madden, who seeks reelection. Both Madden and Lopez are Coolbaugh Twp. residents.<\/p>\n

Barring a write-in victory by Lopez, Madden will advance to November when she\u2019s likely to face Republican Richard Szabo, also of Coolbaugh Twp., who is unopposed for the GOP nomination in the 115th.<\/p>\n

The 176th District also includes part of Monroe County. Incumbent Republican state Rep. Jack Rader of Jackson Twp. is unopposed for the GOP nomination. No one filed to seek the Democratic nomination there.<\/p>\n

Farther south, incumbent Schuylkill County Republican state Reps. Jamie Barton of East Brunswick Twp., JoAnne Stehr of Hegins Twp. and Tim Twardzik of Butler Twp. are uncontested for the GOP nominations in the 124th, 107th and 123rd state House districts, respectively.<\/p>\n

The 124th spans parts of Berks and Schuylkill counties. Democrat Tina Burns of Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, is uncontested for her party\u2019s nomination there.<\/p>\n

Fellow Democrat Ryan Coleman of Hegins Twp. is uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the 107th District covering parts of Schuylkill and Northumberland counties.<\/p>\n

And John Deatrich, the mayor of Palo Alto borough, is uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the 123rd District located entirely within Schuylkill County.<\/p>\n

Election Day<\/p>\n

Polls will open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m., but anyone still waiting in line when the polls close is legally permitted to vote.<\/p>\n

County elections departments must receive mail-in ballots by 8 p.m. Tuesday for them to be counted.<\/p>\n

More election information is available online at pa.gov\/agencies\/vote<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Primary election voters heading to the polls Tuesday will fill out ballots featuring relatively few contested races in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[836,201,182,803,139,28,50,231,178,180,179,729],"class_list":["post-194705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-election","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-politics","tag-schuylkill-county","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}