Republican Guy Reschenthaler, an Iraq War veteran, won the race for the open 37th District seat in the Pennsylvania state Senate previously occupied by a Democrat.
Reschenthaler, the 32-year-old GOP nominee and a former Navy prosecutor and district judge, beat out Democrat Heather Arnet for the seat from which Matt Smith, another Democrat, resigned in June.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported:
The Democrats have a registration edge in the district--taking in three dozen northern, southern and western suburbs--but the GOP long held the seat before Mr. Smith’s election in 2012. ... The victory gives the GOP a 31-19 majority in the Senate. Because this was a special election, Mr. Reschenthaler will be sworn in not in January but as soon as election results are certified, perhaps by mid November. He will serve the final year of Mr. Smith’s term.
In response to the win, Reschenthaler cited his service in the Navy and experience as a district judge as the reasons for which he won the support of Pennsylvania voters.
"The public knew I was committed not only to public service but to making sure we have good government," the veteran stated.
"I'm humbled," Reschenthaler said, according to another local news outlet, the Tribune-Review. "The voters understand that the issues that we face transcend party labels, and they understand that we need common sense to solve them."