If you were a Democrat on the ballot in Schuylkill County for the 2024 General Election, your chances of winning were slim to none coming into the day.
By the end of the day, they were basically less than none, if that’s possible.
Every Republican on the ballot here easily cruised to victory, from President-elect Donald Trump all the way down to the State Legislature races.
Trump earned his second-largest victory over a Democrat candidate in Schuylkill County during Tuesday’s vote. He defeated Kamala Harris by a 41.99% margin. That’s second only to his performance in 2016, when he pasted Hillary Clinton by 43.01%.
The 45th and 47th President’s presence on the ballot likely has something to do with improving the chances of down-ballot candidates, especially the locals running for offices in Harrisburg.
Three Schuylkill County residents smashed their opponents in races for State House of Representatives. One didn’t even have an opponent. And incumbent State Sen. Dave Argall cruised to victory in his race, too.
Joanne Stehr was unopposed in her re-election bid for the 107th District, which covers parts of Schuylkill and Northumberland counties.
In the 123rd District, which is situated entirely in Schuylkill County, Republican Tim Twardzik picked up 72.83% of the vote to trounce Democrat Michael Zvalaren, who earned 26.93%, a 45.9% difference.
Twardzik said he was honored to have won Tuesday’s vote by such a wide margin. Specifically, he thanked the staff working at his district offices for their hard work during this last term.
“I wish to thank everyone for re-electing me and I am looking forward to serving the needs of every resident of this District for another two years in our State Capitol,” Twardzik told The Canary via text message Tuesday night.
Just south of that district in the 124th, Republican Jamie Barton easily defeated Tina Burns by a 71.64-28.2% margin. That district is in southern Schuylkill and northern Berks counties.
“It’s really humbling when you see it come across like that,” Barton told The Canary on Tuesday night. “I’m blessed to have the support in the 124th.”
Barton said such a convincing result gives him encouragement to keep running.
Up north, in the 116th which includes part of Luzerne County, Dane Watro rolled to victory of Deborah Adoff, picking up 72.57% of the vote to her 27.22%
And in that State Senate race for the 29th District, Argall cruised to victory once more, picking up 71% of the vote overall. John Zugarek, the Democrat, had 25.9%, and Libertarian Tim Henning earned about 3% of the vote.
Argall said in a statement released to The Canary on Wednesday morning, “Tuesday’s results were amazing—and historic. I was very pleased to win every single precinct in this Senate district for the first time in Carbon, Schuylkill, and southern Luzerne counties.”
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