Incumbent state Sen. Joe Pittman overwhelms Democratic challenger Tony DeLoreto

State Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, collected three times as many votes as his Democratic challenger in his bid for reelection, according to unofficial returns Wednesday.

To make matters worse for challenger Tony DeLoreto, the Indiana restaurateur was recently diagnosed with covid-19 and could not go to the polls or conduct normal campaign activities.

The campaign against the incumbent Pittman was “an uphill battle,” said DeLoreto, a Navy veteran who owns and operates Spaghetti Benders in Indiana.

As of 4:30 p.m., Pittman had collected 76.2% of votes counted compared to DeLoreto’s 23.8%, for a lead of 58,700 votes, the state’s unofficial results showed.

Pittman has represented the 41st Senate District — which includes Indiana and Armstrong counties and parts of Butler and Westmoreland counties — since winning a special election less than two years ago. He was a longtime aide to his predecessor, former state Sen. Don White.

Although all the election results weren’t in, Pittman said the vote tally was overwhelming and DeLoreto called him Tuesday to concede the race.

“We had a nice conversation and I appreciated the grace in which he ran and put his ideas forward,” Pittman said.

DeLoreto said he has had mild symptoms from covid-19, but said the “virus is real.” He said his youngest stepdaughter had the virus for two months and still doesn’t have a sense of taste.

Even before he contracted the virus, he said pandemic restrictions prevented him from campaigning as he normally would, as he did when he ran and lost against White four years ago.

“I couldn’t go door-to-door or to fund-raisers this time,” he said.

During his campaign, DeLoreto emphasized he was not a career politician but a business man. He advocated for campaign finance reform, term limits and policies to end gerrymandering. He was interested in the issues of education, legalizing marijuana and raising the sales tax.

Pittman said he plans to focus on economic development in his district.

“The region has been going up against a lot and I want to keep and create more opportunities for residents to stay and raise their families here,” he said.