Pennsylvania Statewide Court Race Goes to Recount

Unofficial returns showed Democrat Lori Dumas leading Republican Drew Crompton by nearly 17,000 votes in the race for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court.

HARRISBURG — A statewide recount is being ordered in the Nov. 2 election for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s statewide Commonwealth Court after two candidates finished within a half-percentage point of each other, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Wednesday.

Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid issued notice that she will order the statutorily required statewide recount, Wolf’s Department of State said.

Two seats on Commonwealth Court are opening up next year. Republican Stacy Wallace, a lawyer, won one of them in last week’s election.

For the second seat, unofficial returns submitted to the Department of State by all 67 counties showed Democrat Lori Dumas leading Republican Drew Crompton by nearly 17,000 votes, but well within the margin under state law for a mandatory recount.

Crompton had until noon Wednesday to waive a recount, the department said.

Dumas is a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge. Crompton is a former state Senate GOP aide who was sworn in last year to temporarily fill an opening on the court.

The court handles cases involving state and local governments.

Counties have two weeks to carry out a recount.

Almost 2.8 million ballots were cast in the election, or about 31% of Pennsylvania’s 8.7 million registered voters.