ABOVE PHOTO: A voter feeds their paper ballot into a reader during the primary election, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, at the Millcreek Township 23rd District polling place at First Alliance Church, in Millcreek Township, Pa. Counties in Pennsylvania have told Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers that it is too late to move up the state’s 2024 presidential primary date if counties are to successfully administer the election. (Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News via AP, File)
By Marc Levy
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s 2024 primary election may lack drama in the high-stakes races for president and U.S. Senate, but the fields for lower-ballot contests are filling up for the state’s attorney general’s office and a handful of its 17 seats in the U.S. House.
The deadline was Tuesday at 5 p.m. for Republicans and Democrats to submit voter signatures to get on the April 23 primary ballot.
The battleground state’s primary election is relatively late — and, by then, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden may have locked up the delegates they need to become their parties’ nominees in the November general election for president.
Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick appear unlikely to face primary opponents. Control of the U.S. Senate is on the line in 2024, and Casey’s bid for a fourth term is expected to be one of the nation’s most expensive and closely watched races.
Still, primary voters will have choices in other races.
The state allows one week to file court challenges to a candidate’s paperwork, and courts have one more week after that — until Feb. 27 — to render a decision. April 8 is the last day to register to vote before the primary, and April 16 is the last day to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot.
Independents and minor party candidates file paperwork on a different timeline, with a deadline of Aug. 1.
A look at who has filed in each race, according to information from state election officials:
PRESIDENT
Biden, Trump and Trump’s remaining primary opponent, Nikki Haley, have filed to run for president.
U.S. SENATE
McCormick and Casey have filed.
CONGRESS
All 17 incumbents — nine Democrats and eight Republicans — are running for reelection in Pennsylvania’s 17 congressional seats.
Only a handful of the seats are expected to be competitive in the November general election.
For the primary, 41 candidates filed to run, including 13 Democratic challengers and 11 Republican challengers.
Most notable are challengers in two districts.
In the 7th District in eastern Pennsylvania, there are three Republicans vying for the nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild of Allentown. They are state Rep. Ryan MacKenzie, IT firm owner Kevin Dellicker and lawyer Maria Montero.
Meanwhile in southcentral Pennsylvania’s 10th District, which includes Harrisburg, three Democrats — former TV news personality Janelle Stelson, Harrisburg City Council member Shamaine Daniels and retired Marine Corps pilot Michael O’Brien — are seeking the nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry of York County.
Every incumbent has a general election challenger, except for two: Democratic U.S. Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon of Delaware County and Dwight Evans of Philadelphia.
In the primary, just four have a challenger: Evans and Pittsburgh-area Democratic U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, and Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly of Butler and Bryan Fitzpatrick of Bucks County.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Five Democrats filed for the party’s primary.
They include state Rep. Jared Solomon of Philadelphia, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, former state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former federal prosecutor Joe Kahn and Keir Bradford-Grey, the former head of Philadelphia’s and Montgomery County’s public defense lawyers.
On the Republican side, York County’s district attorney, Dave Sunday, filed to run.
TREASURER
Stacy Garrity, the Republican incumbent, filed to run for a second four-year term. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Ryan Bizarro of Erie filed to run.
AUDITOR GENERAL
The Republican incumbent, Tim DeFoor, filed to run for a second four-year term. On the Democratic side, two filed to run: state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley.
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