2011 Election Results: Pennsylvania appellate courts

November 9, 2011

Pennsylvania: With almost all precincts counted in the Keystone State, the new composition of the appellate courts has been decided.

Contested races:

The two contested races on the intermediate appellate courts had candidates within five points of each other, leading to close races. On the Superior Court, David N. Wecht won the open seat with about 55% of the vote. Wecht is a judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. His opponent, Vic Stabile, brought in about 45% of the vote.

The race for the Commonwealth Court was even closer, with Anne Covey winning with 52.3% of the vote. Covey will join the court in January, capping her twenty-six year career as an attorney. Her opponent for the seat, Barbara Ernsberger, will return to practicing law.

Retention elections:

In Pennsylvania, incumbent candidates run for retention to the appellate courts, creating a unique system unlike the rest of the nation. Yesterday, there were six retention elections and all incumbents were reeelected.

• J. Michael Eakin - retained to the Supreme Court with 73.6% of the vote;

• John Bender - retained to the Superior Court with 71.8% of the vote;

• Mary Jane Bowes - retained to the Superior Court with 73.5% of the vote;

• Renee Cohn Jubelirer - retained to the Commonwealth Court with 70.6% of the vote;

• Mary Hannah Leavitt - retained to the Commonwealth Court with 72.1% of the vote; and

• Robert Simpson - retained to the Commonwealth Court with 72.8% of the vote.

All six retained justices and judges won new 10-year terms yesterday.

All results are posted from the Pennsylvania Department of State, Unofficial Elections Returns. As of this writing, 98.56% of precincts (9,121 out of 9,254 Districts) had been counted.