A.J. Boni secures Democratic party nomination for 52nd District
AJ Boni (D) who is campaigning for a state house seat in the 52nd district greets voters at the North Union 1 voting precinct at R. W. Clark Elementary School Tuesday morning.
Mary Grace Butela (D) who is campaigning for a state house seat in the 52nd district greets voters at the North Union 1 voting precinct at R. W. Clark Elementary School Tuesday morning.
Brad Geyer (D) who is campaigning for a state house seat in the 52nd district greets voters at the North Union 2 voting precinct at Marshall Elementary School Tuesday morning.
A 14-year Perry Township supervisor secured his party’s nomination for a seat in the state General Assembly in Tuesday’s primary election.
A.J. Boni, a Democrat, who is seeking the open house seat in the 52nd Legislative District, garnered the most votes Tuesday, while Democratic candidates Brad Geyer, a Connellsville City councilman, and Marigrace Butela, Dunbar Township tax collector, trailed behind. There were no Republicans on the ballot.
“I want to thank my family. I want to thank the team we had put together. We ran a very clean campaign on our proven record,” Boni said. “I want to thank the voters in the 52nd District, and I’m humble to go to Harrisburg to represent them. We’ll continue to represent the 52nd District in Harrisburg.
With 100 percent of Fayette County precincts reporting, Boni received 2,936 Democratic votes, according to unofficial results from the Fayette County Election Bureau.
Butela garnered 1,564 Democratic votes.
She was recently fined $120 by the Pennsylvania Department of State (PDS) after she failed to file her campaign finance report on time. The report for the second cycle was due May 9, but hers was not received until Tuesday. PDS Press Secretary Ronald Ruman noted that late applicants are given late fees of $10 per day for the first six days and $20 for each additional day following.
With 1,278 ballots, Geyer received the least amount of votes in Fayette County.
The 52nd District includes the city of Connellsville, Bullskin, Dunbar, Lower Tyrone, Menallen, North Union, Perry, Saltlick and Upper Tyrone townships; and Dawson, Dunbar, Everson, Perryopolis, Seven Springs, South Connellsville and Vanderbilt boroughs.
It also includes parts of Westmoreland County, which consists of East Huntingdon Township and Scottdale Borough.
While he was in last place with Fayette County voters, Geyer led in Westmoreland County with 305 votes, according to unofficial tallies. Boni was in second with 201 votes, and Butela trailed behind both of them with 100 votes.
Combining vote counts from both Fayette and Westmoreland counties, Boni came out on top. He received 3,137 Democratic votes. Butela garnered 1,664 votes and Geyer received 1,583.
The job pays $84,000 yearly. The term is for two years
The house seat is open as Deberah Kula, incumbent, sought and secured her party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary for the open seat in the 32nd Senatorial District.
Kula, of North Union Township, is completing her fourth term as state representative.