State Sen. Camera Bartolotta led challenger Al Buchtan by nearly 7 percentage points Tuesday night in a contentious primary race for the Republican nomination in Pennsylvania’s 46th Senatorial District.

As of 10:10 p.m., with 96% of precincts reporting unofficial results, Bartolotta had collected 53.1% of the votes tallied compared to 46.3% for Buchtan, a Greene County businessman.

Evan Snyder of Washington County’s Nottingham Township was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The 46th District includes all of Washington and Greene counties and a small portion of Beaver County.

The GOP primary race revealed divisions among local Republicans while attracting intense interest, and millions of dollars, from outside groups looking to influence the outcome of the primary.

Several Republican voters in the district unsuccessfully challenged Buchtan’s residency in an attempt to get him removed from the ballot, while the Washington County Republican Party’s executive committee questioned Bartolotta’s conservative bona fides and passed a vote of no confidence in her. The Pennsylvania GOP later declared that vote “null and void,” saying it violated county and state party bylaws. The campaign featured a slew of negative ads and mailers.

Bartolotta, 62, of Washington County’s Carroll Township, was first elected to the Senate in 2014, defeating incumbent state Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, by 6 percentage points. Voters reelected her by 17 points in 2018. She was unopposed in her bid for a third term in 2022.

This is the first time she has faced a primary challenge from a fellow Republican.

Bartolotta formerly owned and operated a quick-lube business in Washington County for about three decades and also previously worked as a TV and film actress and producer.

In Harrisburg, Bartolotta serves in GOP leadership as the majority caucus secretary and sits on six committees, including serving as vice chair of the Labor & Industry Committee. During the campaign, Bartolotta touted her ability to get legislation passed, including laws to help first responders dealing with post-traumatic stress, victims of domestic violence and farmers.

Buchtan graduated from Carmichaels High School in Greene County. In 2011, he founded Advanced Masonry, which is based in Carmichaels and does work across the region. He touted his experience serving on Carmichaels Area School Board from 2023 to 2025, when he stepped down to run for the state Senate. He said he worked to reduce unnecessary spending.

During the campaign, Buchtan said he wanted to work to reduce wasteful government spending, burdensome taxes and regulations that hinder businesses from thriving.

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