Ed Levine, left, and Pat Hanrahan, right.
Election officials from Montgomery County continued to wrap up their count of 23,000 mail-in ballots over the weekend, ending with less than 100 outstanding ballots left to be counted.
With that, unofficial results on the county’s election dashboard show Democrat incumbent Judge Ed Levine with an insurmountable lead over Republican challenger Pat Hanrahan, meaning Levine will have won reelection once the in-person and mail-in ballots are merged together and verified by the county on Tuesday.
When reached for comment, Levine provided the following statement:
“It is a tremendous honor to be reelected as your Magisterial District Judge for District 38-1-28. First, I would like to thank the North Penn Community for their support. This is a special place that has an amazing, diverse, and passionate community. Being reelected as your District Judge is truly humbling. Thank You.
I would also like to thank all my supporters, volunteers and committee members. I am thankful for all the time and effort you all put into this campaign. We had a message, we had a strategy, and we worked hard. I appreciate what all of you have done for me and I will work as hard as I worked on this campaign to uphold your expectations and the dignity of this office.
I also want to take this time to recognize my opponent, retired Hatfield Township police officer Pat Hanrahan for his 30 years of service to our community. He ran a tough campaign and I never underestimated him or his supporters for a second.
Over the last six years, I have earned a reputation as a fair, knowledgeable and ethical jurist and I will continue to live up to that reputation. I encourage those interested or uncertain about how things work at this court to come in, ask questions, observe, and learn about our judicial system. The door will always be open.”
While Hanrahan did not outright claim defeat, he inferred the race was over and took a pragmatic view of his efforts, adding that he was grateful for his supporters and was looking forward to what is ahead.
His statement reads, in full:
“What a ride… It was an honor to have opportunity to represent the community in four outstanding municipalities. Giving people a choice is what this process is about. Every race needs a challenger. This journey was outstanding.
Having lived and growing up in the North Penn community made this extra special. A special thank you to my family and committee along with my supporters. I could not have done it without you. The time, passion and dedication that was put in is very much appreciated. The energy and kind words along with the smiles and thumbs up were spectacular.
Through the entire process I learned every step of the way. I have grown as a person, and this will provide me with great insight for my future life endeavors.”
With 100% of in-person precincts reporting on election night, Hanrahan had built a nearly 500-vote lead by pulling approximately 57% of the in-person vote. Unofficial county election results showed Hanrahan taking the in-person vote 5,164 to Levine’s 3,960. However, by Thursday Levine had had reversed the race on via mail-in ballots and held a lead of 641 votes.
As of Nov. 8, Levine had 6,813
votes to 5,892 for Hanrahan with only 89 mail-ballots to be counted countywide. At their
current totals, the difference between candidates is beyond the recount request
threshold.
Editor’s note: A prior version of this article indicated that the vote counts would begin certification on Tuesday. We have since been informed that while the process of verifying the in-person votes and merging them with the vote-by-mail ballots will occur on Tuesday, certification will not occur until provisional ballots are adjudicated and several thousand write-in votes are reviewed and compiled. That process could continue through next week, according to one source.
See also:
Election Update: All 4 Incumbent Dems Now Leading North Penn School Board Race
North Penn School Board Candidate Debate Scheduled for Monday, Open to Public
Editorial: In Defense of Civility and Public Service
Editorial: Academic Facilities Before Sports Facilities — It’s Time to Reprioritize North Penn
