VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — Republicans Scott Wagner and Lou Barletta won nominations to run against Democratic incumbents Governor Tom Wolf and Senator Bob Casey on Tuesday.
Wagner defeated two first-time candidates from the Pittsburgh area, Paul Mango and Laura Ellsworth, to win the Republican nomination for governor. In 2014, Wagner was the first write-in candidate to win election to the Pennsylvania State Senate.
Locally, Mango was the favored candidate, beating Wagner by nearly 500 votes in Venango County. Out of the 46 precincts in Venango County, Wagner took 36% of the votes (1,523 votes), while Mango won nearly 48% (2,034 votes), and Ellsworth won 16% (705).
In the state overall, Wagner won 44% (323,714 votes), while Mango took almost 37% (269,820), and Ellsworth won about 19% (137,500).
Incumbent Democrat Governor Tom Wolf ran unopposed and took nearly 100% of the votes with 1,535 votes in Venango County and 741,258 votes statewide.