MERCER – It took until after 11:30 p.m., but the final ballots counted put state Rep. Parke Wentling over the top for a fifth term in the state House.
McGonigle led most of the night as early returns came in, but the final round of ballots included all four districts in Greenville, and all three districts in Wentling’s hometown of Hempfield Township.
Those ballots were tallied at 11:35 p.m., putting Wentling ahead by nearly 1,000 votes.
Unofficial results gave Wentling 13,453 votes (51.6%) to McGonigle’s 12,581 (48.2%)
Neither McGonigle nor Wentling were available at the 11 o’clock hour Tuesday night.
The winner of the election will represent a 7th District in western Mercer County that was redrawn in after the 2020 Census. The district was expanded to take in Wentling’s residence.
Wentling was first elected to represent the 17th District in 2014.
McGonigle has been a county commissioner since winning the 2015 election. He was re-elected in 2019 and will remain in office through next year’s municipal elections.
The seat is now held by eight-term state Rep. Mark Longietti, D-7, Hermitage, who opted not to seek re-election. Longietti endorsed McGonigle in the primary and general elections and appeared in television commercials on his fellow Democrat’s behalf.
In Mercer County’s other state House race, state Rep. Tim Bonner, R-8, Pine Township, was unopposed for re-election to a second term. He will return to the state House to represent the redrawn 17th District.
In 2020, Bonner won three contested elections — first in a special election to replace former state Rep. Tedd Nesbitt, who was elected as a Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge, then in that year’s Republican primary, and finally in the November general election.
Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com
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