County Voters Return Most Pols to Washington, Harrisburg

It was a big night for Democrats in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, prompting what County Commissioner Josh Shapiro termed a "jubilant" mood at the party's county headquarters in Plymouth Meeting, but most Montgomery County Republicans who were bidding to keep their jobs on Tuesday did so successfully.

Incumbents sweep Congressional races

The county's delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives will remain intact as incumbents easily swept their Congressional Races.

Republican Jim Gerlach easily beat back a 6th District challenge from Manan Trivedi, who lost to Gerlach for the second time, while Pat Meehan enjoyed a similarly convincing win over Democratic challenger George Badey in the 7th District. Mike Fitzpatrick had a still easier time in the 8th District with Democratic challenger Kathy Boockvar, who was defeated more soundly in Montgomery County than in neighboring Bucks County's portion of the district.

Democratic stalwarts Allyson Schwartz and Chaka Fattah, meanwhile, shrugged off their Republican challengers.

Schwartz more than doubled the 13th District vote total of her Republican challenger, Joe Rooney, while Fattah, whose 2nd District includes Cheltenham Township, amassed more than 89 percent of the vote while facing Republican Robert Allen Mansfield and independent James Foster.

A rough night for State Legislature challengers, with one exception

Incumbents also had a big night in State House and Senate races. Democratic State Senator Daylin Leach kept his seat in the 17th District, defeating Charles Gehret, while Democrat Matt Bradford will return to Harrisburg for a third House term after easily brushing aside Republican challenger Jim Phillips in the 70th.

Democrat Madeleine Dean, who defeated Nick Mattiacci last spring in a special election to fill the House seat vacated by Shapiro when he became a county commissioner, beat Mattiacci again in the 153rd.

Republican incumbent Todd Stephens, of Horsham, fended off a challenge from Democrat Will Sylianteng in the 151st district, while Republican Thomas Murt, meanwhile, was easily re-elected over challenger Ronald Kolla in the 152nd.

Mike Vereb dispatched Kelly Devine in the 150th, but the stunner of the evening may have been Democrat Mark Painter's victory over two-time Republican incumbent Tom Quigley in the 146th. Quigley, the former mayor of Royersford, had easily defeated Painter in 2010.

In the 148th District, Mary Jo Daley won the House seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Mike Gerber, defeating Republican challenger Mike Ludwig.