Republican Eric Davanzo poised to claim House 58th District special election

A Republican will continue to represent the state House 58th District.

Eric Davanzo, 43, of South Huntingdon won a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the January resignation of Republican Justin Walsh.

With all 66 precincts reporting, Davanzo received 52% of the vote. Democrat Robert Prah Jr. received 41%, and Libertarian Ken Bach claimed 7%. All results are unofficial until certified by the Westmoreland County Board of Elections.

With a victory of more than 970 votes, Davanzo will serve the nine months remaining in Walsh’s term. He gathered Tuesday night with a small group of friends and family members at the Greenhouse Winery in Rillton to celebrate.

“I attribute this win to all the negative trash they threw against me. The voters did not like that,” Davanzo said, referring to a flurry of attack ads on television and mailers over the past several weeks. “I’m looking forward to working with everyone in Harrisburg, but we’ll enjoy tonight first.”

Prah could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Davanzo’s win came in his first run for public office.

The union carpenter described himself as a pro-life, pro-gun candidate who wants to focus on those issues as well as improving education and luring jobs to the district. He also said he wants to find alternatives to property taxes as the primary funding source for local and school taxes.

The 58th District covers Adamsburg, Arona, East Huntingdon, parts of Hempfield, Jeannette, Madison, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, North Belle Vernon, Penn Borough, Rostraver, Sewickley Township, Smithton, South Huntingdon, Sutersville and West Newton.

Democrats hold a nearly 4,500 edge in voter registration in the district, according to the county Elections Bureau. Democrats account for 19,656 of the district’s 39,172 registered voters. There are 15,190 registered Republicans in the district.

The state Democratic committee funneled more than $280,000 to help Prah. State Republican campaign committees sent nearly $60,000 to help Davanzo’s bid.

Both campaigns featured a slew of negative advertisements targeting their opponents, including claims that focused on a summary citation issued against Davanzo following a bar altercation in 2010.

Democrats characterized the three special elections conducted Tuesday in Pennsylvania, including the Westmoreland County race, as a case of voter suppression amid the decision by state House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-McCandless, to proceed with the election amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post said: “Republicans should be ashamed of putting politics before the health of Pennsylvania families. The GOP knew the only way they could win was by holding an election in the middle of a national state of emergency. We’re looking forward to holding Republicans accountable for this in November.”

Both Prah and Davanzo are unopposed in their party’s primary that, for now, is scheduled for April 28, meaning they will face off again in November’s general election.

Turnout topped 20% in the Westmoreland special election. A 2016 special election to fill a state House vacancy that includes Greensburg and Hempfield saw 16% voter turnout, according to the elections bureau.

Prah is the director of Military and Veterans Affairs at California University of Pennsylvania and a former Army infantryman and current officer in the Army Reserve. He served as mayor of Smithton from 2006-09 and served on borough council before moving to Rostraver in 2017.

During the campaign, Prah said he supported a state government push to continue to focus on plans to ease the opioid and suicide epidemics that have plagued the region for the better part of the last decade. He also said he favors laws that protect unions, opposes right-to-work and payroll support legislation and would back an increase in the minimum wage.

Bach, 52, of South Huntingdon is a member of the Yough School Board. The former Democrat switched his party to Libertarian after losing the Democratic nomination to run for the 58th District seat. He has said he also plans to run, again as a Libertarian, for a full two-year term in November.