As Expected, Romney Carries Pennsylvania

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney had little trouble winning the Pennsylvania Republican primary for President of the United States, with his closest competition coming from a man who no longer is in the race. 

Romney finished with 57 percent of the vote, followed by former Sen. Rick Santorum at 19 percent. . Texas congressman Ron Paul finished third with 13 percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was last with 11 percent of the vote. 

Montgomery County Republicans gave Romney a more emphatic nod than the rest of the state, awarding him about 67 percent of the vote. Santorum captured about 13 percent of the county vote, which still gave him 44 more votes than libertarian Paul, who officially remains in the race for the nomination.

In the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, incumbent Sen. Bob Casey of Lackawanna County easily defeated Joseph Vodvarka of Allegheny County by a four-to-one margin in the Democratic primary. 

Vodvarka, who spent the evening with his family at his home, said he thought his message of fair trade resonated with voters who are concerned about jobs being shipped overseas. He blamed the media for not taking an interest in his campaign, pointing to stories about the Republican U.S. senate candidates and contending there had been a dearth of coverage of his candidacy.

“They mentioned everyone else, but they never said my name,” Vodvarka said. “The media avoided me like the plague.” 

Former coal company owner Tom Smith will face Casey in November after winning a five-man race for the Republican nomination. 

In the race for Pennsylvania Attorney General, Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Kane defeated former military prosecutor Patrick Murphy of Bucks County.

Murphy fared better much against Kane in Montgomery County than he did statewide, getting the nod from more than 62 percent of the county's Democrats.

In November, Kane will face Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. 

In the race for Pennsylvania Auditor General, state Rep. John Maher of Upper St. Clair easily defeated Dauphin County businessman Frank Pinto in the Republican primary.

"The voters declared today that Pennsylvania deserves an auditor for auditor general," Maher said during his victory speech at the  in Bethel Park. 

Maher will face York County state representative Eugene DePasquale in November. 

In the race for state treasurer, Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. She will face incumbent state treasurer Robert McCord, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. 

The relative lack of contested races contributed to a light voter turnout across the county, but registered Republicans showed up at the polls in greater proportion than Democratic voters. About 24 percent of registered county Republicans, or 50,454 voters, came to the polls, compared to 39,557 Democrats, a 16 percent turnout.