Few races on ballot in Carbon Tuesday
Carbon County’s 43,174 voters will have the opportunity to participate in the 2018 General Election in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, when each of the county’s 51 precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voters who do go to vote will only see five or six races on the county ballots, depending on where they live, and in all but one race, the county’s vote totals will only be a part of balloting that includes other areas.
There are four contested races that give Carbon voters choices to make, including those for Pennsylvania Governor, U.S. Senator, U.S. House of Representatives and Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The governor’s race, for a four-year term, features incumbent Democrat Tom Wolf, and his running mate John Fetterman, being challenged by Republican Scott R. Wagner, whose lieutenant governor running mate is Jeff Bartos. Two minor parties — Green and Libertarian — have candidates as well, the Green Party ticket being Paul Glover/Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick and the Libertarian Party having a slate of Ken V. Krawchuk/Kathleen S. Smith.
Meanwhile, another Democratic incumbent, Sen. Bob Casey, who has never lost an election in Pennsylvania, has three opponents seeking the six-year term, including Republican Lou Barletta, Green Party candidate Neal Gale and Libertarian aspiree Dale R. Kearns Jr.
Pennsylvania Rep. Doyle Heffley, a Republican incumbent from Lower Towamensing Township, who has represented most of Carbon County during his tenure that started in 2011, is seeking re-election to his fifth two-year term. His opponent is Democrat Kara Scott of Bowmanstown. The district includes all of the county, with the exception of Summit Hill Borough.
The fourth contested race is for the newly created 9th congressional district seat. The district was created when the Pennsylvania courts decided the Republican Party illegally gerrymandered the congressional boundaries and the court drew up its own map. That action last week withstood a third attempt by the GOP leadership to overturn the move, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the case of House Speaker Mike Turzai and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, saying the GOP map violated constitutional guarantees of free and equal elections.
The end result is Carbon County now finds itself in the new 9th, which also includes Schuylkill, Berks, Lebanon and Columbia counties, as well as parts of Luzerne, Montour and Northumberland counties.
The candidates for that two-year term are Democrat Denny Wolff and Republican Dan Meuser.
State Sen. John Yudichak, a Democrat who represents the 14th senatorial district, of which Carbon is a part, is running for another four-year term and is unopposed.
The 14th District will include all of Carbon County and parts of Luzerne County, including the cities of Hazleton, Nanticoke, Pittston and Wilkes-Barre; the townships of Bear Creek, Buck, Fairview, Foster, Hanover, Hazle, Jenkins, Newport, Plains, Plymouth and Wilkes-Barre; and the boroughs of Ashley, Bear Creek Village, Edwardsville, Exeter, Freeland, Hughestown, Jeddo, Laflin, Larksville, Laurel Run, Luzerne, Plymouth, Sugar Notch, Swoyersville, Warrior Run, West Hazleton, West Pittston, West Wyoming, White Haven, Wyoming and Yatesville.
State Rep. Jerry Knowles, a Republican, is running without opposition for another two-year term. His name will appear on only the Summit Hill ballots in Carbon, as that borough is now a part of the 124th Legislative District.
In addition to Summit Hill, the district comprises the townships of East Brunswick, East Union, Kline, North Union, Rush, Schuylkill, Union, Walker, West Brunswick and West Penn and the boroughs of Coaldale, Deer Lake, McAdoo, New Ringgold, Orwigsburg, Port Clinton, Ringtown and Tamaqua in Schuylkill County; the townships of Albany, Greenwich, Perry, Tilden and Windsor and the boroughs of Hamburg, Lenhartsville and Shoemakersville in Berks County.
