Houlahan maintains lead in 6th District over Emmons

Democratic U. S. Rep Chrissy Houlahan appeared to have a comfortable lead in preliminary results of her race for reelection Wednesday over a conservative Chester County businessman making his first bid for office.

As of 2 p. m., results from Chester and Berks County election officials showed Houlahan with a plurality of 22,250 votes out of 343,336 votes counted in the 6th Congressional District, which encompasses all of Chester County, southern Berks County and the City of Reading.

The results showed Houlahan with 134,556 votes from Chester County and 48,237 votes from Berks for a total of 182,793. Businessman John Emmons, the Republican, had 121,878 votes from his home county, and 38,665 from Berks, for a total of 160,543 votes.

As in all elections, these results are not offi cial until they are certifi ed by the local boards of elections. That process is likely to take longer this year because the state has allowed counties to process and count mailin and absentee ballots that are received by the county Offi ce of Voter Services by Friday, if they are postmarked by 8 p. m. Tuesday.

The Associated Press declared Houlahan the winner of the race early Wednesday afternoon. She could not be reached for comment.

In an email, Emmons said he was waiting until results were fi nal to make a statement on the race. “Vote counting continues, so we won’t have clarity on the status, beyond that, until the last votes are counted,” he said. “Once there is clarity, we’ll issue a statement.”

The fi rst- term representative, who has drawn local and national attention for being the fi rst Democrat, and only woman, to hold the 6th Congressional seat is a social progressive who promotes herself as a moderate Democrat that rose to prominence in the aftermath of President

Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, whose policies she generally opposes. Her campaign has stressed building health care affordability and accessibility, strengthening educational opportunities, and supporting military veterans, among other issues.

Emmons, who is running his fi rst- ever campaign after becoming active in Chester County Republican politics at the grassroots level, describes himself as a Reagan Republican who advocates smaller government, a socially conservative agenda regarding abortion rights and gun ownership, and allowing businesses to free themselves of government- mandated obstructions.

Houlahan, 53, of Easttown, is a former U. S. Air Force officer and businesswoman who taught school in Philadelphia under Teach for America and later headed the Springboard Collaborative educational program.

Emmons, 62, of New London, stressed his concerns about government expansion and the need to promote business opportunities without unfair interference.

Emmons Houlahan