May 31, 2014 By Patty Yauger pyauger@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read

A Perryopolis man received sufficient voter support to appear on the November ballot in the state House of Representatives, 52nd District race.

While the Fayette County Election Board has yet to add its second signature to the May 20 primary election results, it appears likely Ryan Warner will be on the fall ballot as the Republican challenger for Democratic candidate A.J. Boni, also of Perryopolis, for the seat.

Warner, who had initially sought the Republican nomination, was tossed from the ballot when his submitted petitions did not have the required 300 valid signatures.

There were no other Republican candidates listed on the ballot.

According to the preliminary results, Warner collected 498 write-in votes in Fayette County and an additional 183 write-in votes in Westmoreland County, for a total of 681 votes, more than twice the number needed to have his name added to the fall ballot.

Warner said that he was somewhat confident, as the write-in votes were being counted at the precinct polls after they had closed, that he would secure a spot on the November ballot. However, it took several more days for it to be confirmed by the election bureaus in Fayette and Westmoreland counties.

His decision to launch a write-in campaign was made, due to the support of family, friends and fellow Republicans.

“The support was very humbling,” he said Friday. “Ultimately it was a personal decision that was based on my wanting to give voters of this district a choice in the November election.”

Over the next several months Warner plans to convey his “common sense” platform to the district voters.

“We need to put families first,” he said. “I grew up here as a part of a middle class family, and I stayed here. Our children are born here and go to school here, but then have to leave here to find a job. I want to provide a way for them to stay here.”

On his list of priorities is to work to cut wasteful spending and oppose federal regulations to restrict coal production and use, said Warner.

“I look forward to sharing my message,” he said.

The 52nd District race drew several Democratic candidates when current state Rep. Deberah Kula, D-North Union Township, announced that she would seek the Democratic nod for the 32nd District senatorial seat held by retiring state Sen. Richard A. Kasunic, D-Dunbar.

In addition to Boni, a Perry Township supervisor, Connellsville Councilman Brad Geyer and Dunbar Township Tax Collector Marigrace Butela also sought the Democratic nod.

On the Republican ticket, Boni secured 102 write-in votes, with Geyer and Butela receiving 73 and 33 write-in votes, respectively, according to preliminary Fayette County numbers. However, all fell short of the required 300 votes to appear on the ballot.

Warner was the lone write-in for the position in Westmoreland County, according to the preliminary Republican tallies. He did not secure any Democratic write-in votes.

The 52nd District includes part of Fayette County, which consists of 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.

The district additionally includes parts of Westmoreland County, including East Huntingdon Township and Scottdale Borough.

Boni, meanwhile, said he looks forward to the fall campaign.

“That’s the great thing about living in the U.S. Everyone has the opportunity to run for office,” he said of Warner’s inclusion on the Republican ballot. “We never planned to not campaign. We will continue to share our message and my record (as a supervisor) with the voter’s in the 52nd District.”

Overall, voter turnout was light, said Larry Blosser, Fayette County election bureau director.

Of the 52,051 registered Democratic voters, 13,878 or 26.66 percent of those eligible cast a ballot in the May 20 primary, while only 3,915 of the 22,155 or 17.67 percent of registered Republican voters turned out at the polls.

The county registered a 22 percent overall voter turnout, said Blosser.

“All the counties reported low turnout,” he said.

In Westmoreland County, only slightly more than 12.2 percent of registered Republicans and 21.2 percent of Democratic voters cast ballots in the spring primary for a total of 36,722 voters or 15.39 percent turnout.

Blosser, meanwhile, speculated that the county election board would add its second signature to the results at the close of business on June 2, if the results go unchallenged.