Dem Boerio, Republican Reschenthaler nominated for new 14th Congressional District
When voters in the newly drawn 14th Congressional District head to the polls in November, they’ll see Democrat Bibiana Boerio and Republican Guy Reschenthaler on the ballot.
Unofficial election results saw the Westmoreland County Democrat besting Tom Prigg of Canonsburg, Adam Sedlock of Chalk Hill and Bob Solomon of Oakdale.
Reschenthaler, a state senator from Jefferson Hills, edged out state Rep. Rick Saccone, who earlier this year also lost in a special congressional election to fulfill the term in the current 18th District.
Boerio’s victory in the four-county district was overwhelming, thanks to her home county, where Democrats gave her more than 72 percent of the vote, accounting for 13,325 of Boerio’s 18,075 total votes.
The district encompasses all of Fayette, Greene, Washington and a large portion of Westmoreland County.
Early Wednesday, she thanked everyone who came out to vote and to support her throughout the district.
“I’ve come to really enjoy the new district,” said Boerio, 64, of Unity Township. “It’s a nice representation of the southwest corner of Pennsylvania.”
Boerio said the district shares common regional themes, but each county has its own character and personality. She said it’s been fun for her to get to know residents and learn of the different challenges and opportunities each county represents.
She added that she’s looking forward to November as well as getting to know people from both parties.
“People are tired of politicians fighting with each other,” Boerio said, adding that her experience in the private and public sectors has taught her to cross borders as well as the aisle. “We have to work together to make their lives better, and I know how to do that.”
Sedlock received strong support from his county home, bringing in 70 percent of the Fayette County vote. Greene voters supported Sedlock, too. He took the county with 44 percent of the vote.
In a post on his campaign’s Facebook page, Sedlock thanked his supporters, and pledged to continue supporting the community and the “New Democratic Party.”
“Now is the time that we, the new (Pennsylvania) 14th, must unite, practice political sanity and turn this district blue,” he wrote.
The majority of Washington County Dems supported Solomon, giving him 31.6 percent of the vote.
Boerio finished third in Greene and Washington; second in Fayette.
Greene and Fayette Republicans supported Saccone, while their counterparts in Westmoreland and Washington supported Reschenthaler.
Reschenthaler said he was “proud and honored” to win the party nod, thanking those who helped him along the way.
“In this race, we showed that the constituents of the #pa14 are ready for a fresh, young face in Congress,” he wrote in a post to his campaign’s Facebook page. “My compliments to Rick Saccone for putting up a tough fight.”
Boerio is a former executive vice president and chief financial officer for Ford Motor Credit Company and managing director for Jaguar Cars, Ltd. She also served as interim president of Seton Hill University in 2013 and 2014.
As a chief of staff for former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, Boerio said she worked with health care experts on the development of Obamacare. She criticized the Trump administration and Republicans for attacks on the program. She also touted the importance of broadband access — a particular problem in rural Greene County.
Reschenthaler, a 35-year-old attorney, won a special election for the state Senate in a 2015 and won a full term in 2016. He formerly served as a magisterial district judge.
He advocated for making tax cuts approved by the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress last year permanent and cutting red tape that he said was strangling job growth.
“I’m very bullish on our energy sector,” Reschenthaler said during the campaign, adding that further natural gas drilling and energy exploration will lead to reduced energy costs and petrochemicals that are “at the ready.”
Pennsylvania hosted 21 contested primary races for the state’s 18 U.S. House seats, the most since 1984, according to the Associated Press. The fact that seven seats came open this year helped spur the unusually high number of contested races. Also contributing: Democrats’ anti-Trump fervor and a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that found the state’s congressional maps to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans. The court mandated a redrawing of the maps.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.