The 2022 Primary Election is on Tuesday and this year, in Schuylkill County, Republican voters have some big decisions to make.
There are contested primaries in nearly every race on every ballot across the area, including these races:
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- US Senator
- State House of Representatives
There are more races up for grabs, including a few on the Democrat side, too. We’ll take a look at all those races here.
Just a reminder: Polls on Tuesday open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. As we have since our launch, Coal Region Canary will provide updated election results on Tuesday.
Where to Vote in Schuylkill County
2022 Schuylkill County Primary Election Preview
After the last couple of years we’ve had, these elections on Tuesday and later again in November are big ones. We don’t think it’s cliché to say that.
In the last two years, Schuylkill County residents saw the biggest examples of government overreach many of us have probably ever seen. And if voters make the right choices, perhaps there’s a chance we can guarantee we’ll never see a repeat of that ever again in our lifetimes.
9 GOP Candidates for Governor
The end of 2022 marks the end of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reign of terror, which was capped off by his tyrannical approach to the COVID pandemic. But the apple may not fall far from the tree if the Democrats have their way in the General Election.
They’re pushing through Attorney General Josh Shapiro as the Democrat preferred candidate. He’s running unopposed in the Primary, meaning the coast is clear to November for him.
But that’s definitely not the scenario on the Republican side. There are 9 candidates on the ballot seeking the Governor’s residence:
- Lou Barletta
- Doug Mastriano
- Nche Zama
- Dave White
- Melissa Hart
- Bill McSwain
- Charlie Gerow
- Joe Gale
- Jake Corman
9 More on GOP Ballot for Lieutenant Governor
There are 9 Republican candidates vying for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, too. The current office holder, John Fetterman, is running for US Senate.
Here are the 9 names voters will see on their GOP ballot:
- Clarice Schillinger
- James Earl Jones
- Rick Saccone
- John Brown
- Chris Frye
- Jeff Coleman
- Russ Diamond
- Carrie Lewis DelRosso
- Teddy Daniels
3 Democrats Vying for Lt. Governor’s Office, Too
Democrat voters get to choose who their Lieutenant Governor candidate will be in November, even though their gubernatorial candidate was chose for them.
Here’s the trio running for Lt. Governor on the Democrat ballot:
- Austin Davis
- Ray Sosa
- Brian Sims
Oh Yeah … That Senate Race
We mentioned the Governor and Lieutenant Governor races first because they seem to be getting overshadowed by the race for US Senate. Sen. Pat Toomey isn’t seeking re-election and that leaves an open seat and, of course, both parties desperately want this particular swing state chair in the Senate.
Republicans want to keep Pennsylvania’s second Senate seat red but Democrats are aimed at flipping it.
The GOP field looks like this:
- Kathy Barnette
- Mehmet Oz
- George Bochetto
- Jeff Bartos
- Dave McCormick
- Sean Gale
- Carla Sands
The Democrat field of Senate candidates looks like this:
- Alex Khalil
- Conor Lamb
- Malcolm Kenyatta
- John Fetterman
Locally, there are some big elections, too. Redistricting has shifted the political borders across Schuylkill County for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. And there are two contested GOP primaries on Tuesday’s ballots.
107th District Primary
The new 107th District now includes parts of Schuylkill and Northumberland counties. Here’s who’s running for that seat on the GOP ticket:
- Joanne Stehr
- Ron Tanney
The winner of that Primary likely has an easy ride to Harrisburg in November. The Democrats haven’t fielded a candidate for the Primary.
116th District Primary
The new 116th District now includes parts of Schuylkill and Luzerne counties. Here’s who’s filling up the GOP ballot for that race:
- Dyllan Angelo-Ogurkis
- John Churra
- Gary Perna
- Mike Larocca
- Nico Makuta
- Dane Watro
The winner of this race will move on to face Democrat Yesenia Rodriguez in the General Election.
123rd District Primary
The new 123rd District is completely within Schuylkill County. It’s also the only State House race locally that isn’t contested. Incumbent Tim Twardzik is unopposed in the GOP Primary. And he’ll move on to face Democrat Kathy Laughlin Benyak in the General Election in November.
124th District Primary
In the 124th District, incumbent Jerry Knowles is retiring so it’s open season on his seat. There are 3 candidates racing for the Republican nomination:
- Jamie Barton
- Elle Rulavage
- Jill Saunders
The winner will be meeting Democrat Tina Burns in the General Election.
GOP State Committee
The race for State Committee is contested on the Republican ballot, too. Voters can pick 4 of the 5 candidates:
- Brian Manning
- Larry Wittig
- Maria Casey
- Mary Beth Dougherty
- Seth Hubler
