BELLEFONTE — On Tuesday, April 23, polls opened at 7 a.m. and remained open until 8 p.m. for Centre County residents to cast their ballots in the 2024 primary election. Voters selected candidates for president, U.S. House and Senate, Pennsylvania attorney general, Pennsylvania auditor general, Pennsylvania treasurer and state House and Senate to appear on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election.
As of Monday, April 22, a total of 8,720,317 voters were registered in Pennsylvania, of which 3,894,977 were registered as Democrat, 3,498,954 were registered as Republican, 983,701 had no affiliation and 342,685 were registered as other.
Centre County had a total of 101,133 registered voters, with 42,360 registered as Democrat, 41,069 registered as Republican, 13,940 with no affiliation and 3,764 registered as other.
As of Tuesday, April 23 when polls closed in Centre County, a total of 23,477 ballots were cast between the Centre County precincts, of which 15,138 were cast on election day, and 8,339 were absentee or mail-in ballots. 12,038 of those ballots cast were Democratic, and 11,439 were Republican. Total voter turnout was 28.13% (only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in those parties’ primary elections).
U.S. PRESIDENT
Former President Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination and incumbent President Joe Biden won enough delegations in other primaries to also secure the Democratic nomination. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign in early March, was still on the ballot for Pennsylvania’s Republican primary election, and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips appeared on the ballot for the Democratic ticket despite him also suspending his campaign in March.
The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday, April 23, in favor of Trump for the Republican nomination with about 84% of the vote statewide and Biden with 93% of the vote statewide.
As of the evening of April 23 after polls closed in Centre County, Trump received 8,877 votes, and Haley received 2,138.
Biden received 10,391 votes, and Phillips received 660.
PA ATTORNEY GENERAL
The role for attorney general is up for grabs after Michelle Henry announced she would not be seeking reelection. Henry was appointed as attorney general to replace Josh Shapiro when he became the state’s governor at the start of 2023.
Several Democrats are looking to represent their party on the ballot in November, including Eugene DePasquale, Jack Stollsteimer, Joe Khan, Keir Bradford-Grey and Jared Solomon.
The Associated Press called the race for DePasquale, who received about 36% of the vote statewide and in Centre County. In Centre County, DePasquale received 4,099 votes, Bradford-Grey received 2,645, Khan received 2,165, Solomon received 1,152and Stollsteimer received 1,233.
Two Republican candidates competed for the party’s nomination. Dave Sunday won about 70% of the vote statewide compared to Craig Williams’s 30%. In Centre County, Sunday won with about 75% of the vote, with 7,636 votes total. Williams received 2,570 votes.
PA AUDITOR GENERAL
For Pennsylvania auditor general, Timothy DeFoor, the incumbent, ran for the Republican Party unopposed for the slot on the November ballot. DeFoor received 9,867 votes out of the 9,940 cast in Centre County.
The Associated Press called the race for the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania with Malcolm Kenyatta winning 64% of the vote statewide. He ran for the nomination against Mark Pinsley, who received 36% of the vote statewide.
In Centre County, Kenyatta received 7,263 votes and Pinsley received 3,924.
PA TREASURER
Similar to the race for Pennsylvania auditor general, the Republican incumbent, Stacy Garrity, ran uncontested as the Pennsylvania treasurer nominee for her party. She received 845,746 votes statewide.
In Centre County, Garrity received 10,007 votes of the 10,075 votes cast.
As for the Democratic Party, the Associated Press called the race in favor of Erin McClelland, who received about 54% of the vote compared to Ryan Bizzarro’s 46% statewide.
In Centre County, McClelland received 6,178. Bizzarro received 4,943 votes.
UNCONTESTED RACES
Several races in the 2024 Pennsylvania primary election went uncontested, meaning the candidates will appear on the ballot in November representing their party. Some of the candidates in the Republican Party include Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate, Glenn Thompson for U.S. House District 15, Marie Librizzi for the 77th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Therese Rohal-Hollen for the 82nd Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Kerry Benninghoff for the 171st Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Cris Dush for the 25th Senatorial District in the Pennsylvania Senate, Wayne Langerholc for the 35th Senatorial District in the Pennsylvania Senate, DeFoor for auditor general and Garrity for state treasurer.
For the Democratic Party, a handful of races were also unopposed, such as Robert Casey for U.S. Senate, Zach Wormer for U.S. House District 15, H. Scott Conklin for the 77th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Paul Takac for the 82nd Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of representatives.
Next up for voters will be the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The last day to register to vote in the general election is Monday, Oct. 21, and the last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 29. Mail-in or absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and military and overseas absentee ballots must be submitted for delivery no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4, but will be received until Tuesday, Nov. 12.
To register to vote in the primary, go to centrecountyvotes.gov.
