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Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2017
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| 2017 Election Dates | |
|---|---|
| Deadline to file candidacy | |
| March 7, 2017 | |
| Primary election | |
| May 16, 2017 | |
| General election | |
| November 7, 2017 | |
| 2017 State Judicial Elections | |
|---|---|
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The terms of nine judges on Pennsylvania's state-level courts expired on December 31, 2017. In 2017, three judges faced retention by voters; the other six seats were up for partisan election. A seventh seat, vacant on the superior court, was also filled by partisan election, for a total of 10 seats.
The supreme court race: Justice Sallie Mundy (R) was appointed to the supreme court in 2016 by Gov. Tom Wolf. Judge Dwayne D. Woodruff (D) began serving on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 2006. Mundy and Woodruff were the only candidates for Mundy's seat. They advanced through the May 16 primary and faced each other in the November general election.
The superior court race: Ten candidates, including incumbent Judge H. Geoffrey Moulton Jr. (D), filed to run for the four seats on the superior court. The five Republicans and five Democrats competed in a partisan primary on May 16. Four Republicans, four Democrats, and one Green Party candidate faced off in the November general election.
The commonwealth court race: Eight candidates, including incumbent Judge Joseph M. Cosgrove (D), filed to run for the two seats on the commonwealth court. Six Democrats faced one another in the partisan primary on May 16; two advanced to the November general election. Because there were only two Republicans, they advanced through the primary to compete in the November general election.
Candidates
Supreme Court
- Main article: Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, 2017
Justices facing retention
A retention vote is not competitive; the judge does not face any challengers. The only choice for voters is whether to retain the judge on the court.
■ Thomas Saylor (R) 
■ Debra Todd (D)
Partisan election, Mundy's seat
■ Sallie Mundy (R) (Incumbent)
■ Dwayne D. Woodruff
Superior Court
- The Pennsylvania Superior Court is one of the state's two intermediate appellate courts.
Judges facing retention
A retention vote is not competitive; the judge does not face any challengers. The only choice for voters is whether to retain the judge on the court.
Partisan election, four seats
Two of the three incumbents, Lillian Harris Ransom and Carl Solano, did not file to run in the election.[1]
Voters could vote for no more than four candidates in the November 7 general election.
■ H. Geoffrey Moulton Jr. (Incumbent)
■ Carolyn H. Nichols
■ Maria McLaughlin
■ Deborah A. Kunselman
■ Craig Stedman
■ Wade Kagarise
■ Emil A. Giordano
■ Mary P. Murray
■ Jules Mermelstein[2]
Defeated in primary
■ William Caye II
■ Paula A. Patrick
Commonwealth Court
- The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court is one of the state's two intermediate appellate courts.
Partisan election, two seats
One of the two incumbents, Julia Hearthway, did not file to run in the election.[1]
■ Ellen H. Ceisler
■ Irene McLaughlin Clark
■ Christine Fizzano Cannon
■ Paul Lalley
Defeated in primary
■ Joseph M. Cosgrove (Incumbent)
■ Todd Eagen
■ Bryan Barbin
■ W. Timothy Barry
Election results
Supreme Court
Partisan election, Mundy's seat
Incumbent Sallie Mundy (R) defeated Dwayne D. Woodruff (D) in the general election for Mundy's seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.[1]
| General Election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Mundy Seat), 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Sallie Mundy Incumbent |
52.28% | 1,090,485 | |
| Democratic | Dwayne D. Woodruff | 47.72% | 995,540 | |
| Total Votes | 2,086,025 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election Unofficial Returns," accessed December 21, 2017 | ||||
Superior Court
Partisan election, four seats
Elections were held for four seats on the Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 7, 2017. The following candidates ran in the general election for Pennsylvania Superior Court.
| General Election for Pennsylvania Superior Court, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Maria McLaughlin |
14.09% | 1,078,522 | |
| Democratic | Deborah A. Kunselman |
13.61% | 1,041,965 | |
| Democratic | Carolyn H. Nichols |
12.79% | 978,842 | |
| Republican | Mary P. Murray |
12.00% | 918,705 | |
| Republican | Craig Stedman | 11.95% | 914,284 | |
| Democratic | H. Geoffrey Moulton Jr. Incumbent | 11.66% | 892,646 | |
| Republican | Emil A. Giordano | 11.58% | 885,996 | |
| Republican | Wade Kagarise | 10.92% | 835,647 | |
| Green | Jules Mermelstein | 1.40% | 106,969 | |
| Total Votes | 7,653,576 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election Unofficial Returns," accessed December 21, 2017 | ||||
Commonwealth Court
Partisan election, two seats
Elections were held for two seats on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 7, 2017. Christine Fizzano Cannon (R) and Ellen H. Ceisler (D) defeated Irene McLaughlin Clark (D) and Paul Lalley (R) in the general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.
| General Election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Christine Fizzano Cannon |
25.81% | 994,163 | |
| Democratic | Ellen H. Ceisler |
25.65% | 988,295 | |
| Democratic | Irene McLaughlin Clark | 24.88% | 958,384 | |
| Republican | Paul Lalley | 23.66% | 911,418 | |
| Total Votes | 3,852,260 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election Unofficial Returns," accessed December 21, 2017 | ||||
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
The seven justices of the supreme court, 15 judges of the superior court, and nine judges of the commonwealth court are all selected in the same way. They run in partisan primaries, followed by general elections in which the primary winners from each party compete.[3][4]
Elected judges serve 10-year terms, after which they must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to continue serving. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation.[3][5]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor who must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim judges stand for election at the next municipal election occurring 10 or more months after the vacancy occurred.[3]
By tradition, appointed interim judges of the supreme court, superior court or court of appeals do not go on to run for permanent seats. In other words, the governor appoints these judges with the expectation that the judge will only fill the interim vacancy.[3] However, when Gov. Wolf appointed Justice Mundy, he stated that he did not expect her to follow that tradition and instead expected that she would run for election to her seat.
Local trial court elections
Pennsylvania held local judicial elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on May 16, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2017.[6]
State profile
| Demographic data for Pennsylvania | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 12,791,904 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 44,743 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 81.6% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 11% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3.1% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 6.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 89.2% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.6% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,599 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 15.9% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Pennsylvania. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
Pennsylvania voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Pennsylvania, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.[7]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Pennsylvania had one Retained Pivot County and two Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 0.55 and 8.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Pennsylvania coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Pennsylvania
- United States congressional delegations from Pennsylvania
- Public policy in Pennsylvania
- Endorsers in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Pennsylvania Court Election 2017. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election Information," accessed March 9, 2017 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Filing" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedGreen - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection:Pennsylvania," accessed September 2, 2016
- ↑ The Morning Call, "Ban Cross-filing As One Step," January 24, 1985
- ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "In Re: Nomination Papers of Marakay Rogers, Christina Valente and Carl J. Romanelli," November 7, 2006
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 23, 2017
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
