State House, Senate races unresolved Tuesday night
County website provided few clues on outcomes
The results of Tuesday’s Primary Election remained a mystery for Delaware County voters as of press time Tuesday, with only a fraction of precincts reported on the county website.
The unofficial tally recorded “zero of 428 precincts” reporting in for machine votes, although at least 9,373 had been catalogued for statewide races in a smattering of wards.
The county also sent out a total 39,865 mail-in and absentee ballots in the runup to Tuesday’s election, comprised of 9,327 Republican ballots and 30,538 for Democrats. Of those, county Director of Election Operations James Allen reported 6,232 Republican and 20,805 Democratic ballots had been returned as of Monday evening; a total of 27,037.
“So we (are) at 67.8% returned so far — not including what comes in the mail and through the drop boxes this evening and on Election Day,” he said Monday. “We would expect to get about 72%-74% returned in a Primary Election, with others deciding to vote in person or perhaps not vote at all.”
About 16,189 Democratic mail-in votes and 4,624 mail-in ballots for Republicans had been recorded in statewide elections as of 10:19 p.m., the last update before an 11:30 p.m. press time. Those ballots could be opened and counted immediately upon the stroke of 8 p.m., and mail-in numbers starting hitting the county election return website about 8:14 p.m., well ahead of any machine tallies.
No Delaware County Republicans and only two incumbent Democrats — Greg Vitali in the 166th and Brian Kirkland in the 159th — faced primary challenges in House races Tuesday. State Sen. Anthony Williams, D-8 of Philadelphia, also had a challenge from teacher and union activist Paul Prescod, also of Philadelphia.
Early mail-in numbers indicated Vitali, Williams and Kirkland had leads over their respective challengers in Delco, while Williams maintained a commanding lead in Philadelphia throughout the night as returns updated frequently in that municipality.
Vitali, who has held the seat for 30 years, faces political strategist David Matthew Brown, while Kirkland, seeking a fourth term, faces Chester activist Carol Kazeem.
As of press time, Vitali had 1,442 mail-in votes to Brown’s 773. Vitali additionally had 85 votes in unofficial machine tallies versus Brown’s 41.
Brown moved to the district six years ago but has worked there for 10. A current member of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee and chair of Pennsylvania Secular Democrats, he has also served as a campaign advisor for Haverford Township Democrats and has assisted other local and municipal candidates in their races. A violinist, teacher and composer, Brown is also a member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 77.
In a somewhat unusual turn of events, Brown received the endorsement of the local party by a margin of two-to-one in the district covering parts of Haverford, Radnor and Lower Merion townships. He attributed this partly to his prior work with the local committee and partly to his dogged pursuit of support among the rank-and-file.
Vitali previously conceded that he perhaps could have done a better job reaching out to and educating local committee people, at least some of which apparently did not know he is the minority Chair of the Democratic chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.
But Vitali, whose sole mission in the House has been environmental steward and conscience, argued that the work he does is largely one of defense against what he deemed “bad legislation” becoming law and ravaging Pennsylvania’s natural resources, to the detriment of its citizens.
While Brown might boast of local party endorsement, Vitali noted he had the backing of environmental groups like the Sierra Club, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, Clean Air Action Fund, Clean Water Action and PennEnvironment, as well as Planned Parenthood and the AFL-CIO.
These groups, Vitali argued, have people in Harrisburg that see first-hand the work he does on the floor and with the administration to head off disastrous environmental legislation, or to rally comrades against overturning a veto of same.
Brown contended that Vitali has lost touch with his district, though, and has failed to bring his own ideas to the table rather than fighting back against those of others. While Vitali
did co-sponsor 75 bills in the 202½022 session, Brown points out he was the prime sponsor on only one bill that would prohibit billboard placements near things like schools, parks and playgrounds.
Reached earlier in the day, Vitali noted he did not know the results the 2020 Primary Election, when he defeated Jennifer Leith by about 60% to 40%, until the following Saturday. That election took place in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, and Vitali said he is hoping for faster results this time.
“But frankly, at this point, it’s out of my hands,” he added. “I just kind of want to relax. I have legislative work to do tomorrow morning, I need to get organized and do the things I’ve kind of been deferring because of the campaign.”
The winner of that contest will face Republican Kimberley Razzano, also of Haverford. Razzano lost a bid for 2nd Ward Haverford Commissioner to Democrat
Sherry Forste-Grupp in last year’s municipal elections.
Kirkland, the nephew of longtime state rep and current Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland, was first elected in 2016 after serving as Special Projects Coordinator for the city. His main focus areas have been improving education, increasing school funding and job creation, and issues facing seniors and veterans.
Kirkland was in the lead by press time Tuesday with 606 write-in votes to Kazeem’s 509. He also had a slight machine edge with 110 votes to 108.
Kirkland sits on the Committee on Committees, as well as the Tourism and Recreational Development, Urban Affairs, Gaming Oversight committees. He was the prime sponsor on four bills this session, which included providing free medical records to homeless veterans so they can apply for disability benefits; allowing terminally ill people to terminate leases early; and requiring ammunition sellers to check photographic identification of customers to ensure ammunition is not getting into the hands of underage children.
Kazeem, a Chester native and mother of three, is a trauma-informed outreach worker who is currently getting a law degree. She is a voracious advocate for criminal justice reform, and a vocal proponent for a $15 minimum wage and fair funding for all public schools statewide.
If elected, she aims to continue fighting gun violence, improving environmental regulations, and expanding affordable housing across the district, which encompasses Chester, Chester Township, Eddystone, Lower Chichester, Marcus Hook, Parkside, Trainer, Upland, and parts of Ridley and Upper Chichester.
The winner of that race will face Republican Ruth Moton of Upper Chichester in the November General Election. Moton, who ran unopposed, will be taking her third stab at the seat in six years. Kirkland defeated her in 2018 and 2020, both by margins of approximately 3:1.
Williams appeared to have bested Prescod in Philadelphia 9,670 to 7,690 as of 11:20 p.m. with 185 of 227 precincts reporting. In Delco, Williams had 110 to 30 votes for Prescod on machines and 865 to 304 write-in votes.
Should Williams maintain that lead, with no Republican in the race, he would also be the de facto winner of the General Election barring a herculean write-in effort organized by an as-yet-unknown Republican contender sometime before the fall.
Williams has held the seat since 1998, though he has dabbled in other races
since, including a governor bid in 2010 and a run for Mayor of Philadelphia in 2019. An outspoken proponent for civil rights and criminal justice reform, Williams currently sits on the Communications and Technology, Law and Justice, Rules and Executive Nominations and Senate State Government committees, and is minority chair of the Intergovernmental Operations Committee.
He is the prime sponsor on 14 bills this session, including a bill to relieve grocer and convenience store workers from having to pay personal income tax during the COVID pandemic; to enact a firearm registration database to track stolen and lost guns; and to establish a “hit-and-run alert system” requiring repair shops to notify authorities of suspected vehicles that might have been in such crashes.
Prescod is a history teacher in Philadelphia’s public schools and union activist who worked with local labor unions to pass the Essential Worker Protection Act in 2020 and continues advocating for essential workers like UPS drivers, sanitation workers and postal workers.
If elected, he has vowed to pass a fair funding formula for public schools, enact a statewide Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, implement a state tax on the endowments of wealthy universities, oppose legislation making it harder for unions to organize, raise the minimum wage to at least $15 per hour and expand healthcare coverage.
The district includes parts of Philadelphia County, as well as Collingdale, Colwyn, Darby, Darby Township, Folcroft, Lansdowne, Norwood, Sharon Hill and Yeadon in Delaware County.