The candidate elected will serve out the remainder of Republican Stephenie Scialabba’s term in Harrisburg.
Next Tuesday, a special election in Butler County will determine who will serve out the rest of Republican Representative Stephenie Scialabba’s term in Harrisburg. The election takes place on August 18.
Either Democrat Brandon Dukes or Republican Scott Timko will be finishing the term.
Just a few months later in November’s general election, the two candidates will compete again to win the next full term. For more than three decades, Republicans have held the seat. Scialabba’s departure temporarily increased Democrats’ thin House majority from just one seat to two.
Stacey Palmer, Republican Party Chair in Butler County, expressed that she is seeing enthusiasm from voters over the special election. “I’m seeing Republicans are fairly motivated that they’re very, very concerned about the direction of the Democratic Party and they’re very motivated to vote,” said Palmer.
“The hardest thing is to make sure people are aware of the special election. That is what we have been focused on.”
“Once we educate them about it, I’m finding… people understand the importance of it,” she continued.
Timko, a Republican, is a retired Air Force captain who currently works as a pilot. He won a contested primary against businessman Ethan Nicholas to run in Tuesday’s special election. “I’m not interested in compromising our values… as we shift towards the murky middle. I want to make sure that we don’t turn Butler County into Allegheny County,” Timko said in a recent interview.
Timko focused on improving infrastructure and supporting private school vouchers during his campaign. “No parent knows better than themselves what their child needs. Competition with school choice will produce a better product,” he said in a statement.
He has expressed his reservations towards data centers, an issue voters care about deeply during this election cycle from the local level to the federal level. Timko is a “self-funded candidate” who answers “only to the voters.”
Democratic candidate Brandon Dukes remains optimistic that his party can flip the seat. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the 12th District by a nearly two-to-one margin. “We can definitely flip it if we play our cards right and we focus on the issues that are affecting a lot of the residents here today,” he recently said.
Last year, Dukes ran for Cranberry Township Supervisor and lost by just 119 votes out of over 10,000 ballots cast. “I came within earshot of taking out an incumbent. I proved that this area is competitive,” Dukes said.
Dukes’ campaign has been largely focused on raising the minimum wage and increasing funding for public schools in Butler County. He supports election reforms such as same-day voter registration and open primaries. “This is all to bring Pennsylvania into the 21st century on election reform,” he said.
The special election will take place on Tuesday, August 18.
