Three-term incumbent Ryan Warner holds a strong lead in the race for the 52nd District in the state House, holding off a challenge from Harry Young Cochran, according to unofficial voting results Thursday morning.
Warner, a three-term incumbent, captured nearly 71% of the vote, leading by more than 12,000 votes.. Cochran received just over 29% of the vote.
Warner, a Republican from Perryopolis, is a former project controller for Siemens Industry. Cochran, a Democrat, formerly served two terms as the 52nd District legislator, beginning in 1979, and was a Connellsville councilman.
While in Harrisburg, Warner has supported legislation authorizing tax credits for firefighters and allowing entities that are open to the public to obtain epinephrine injection pens to help patrons with serious allergies.
Cochran’s legislative record includes championing regulation of personal care homes, local transportation funding and extension of the Mon Valley Expressway into Fayette County.
The Westmoreland County portion of the district includes Scottdale and the Bessemer No. 2 and Whites precincts in East Huntingdon Township. The larger Fayette County portion includes Connellsville; Dawson, Dunbar, Everson, Perryopolis, Seven Springs, South Connellsville and Vanderbilt boroughs; and Bullskin, Connellsville, Dunbar, Lower Tyrone, Menallen, North Union, Perry, Saltlick and Upper Tyrone townships.
