Tomlinson Poised For Re-Election To Bensalem House Seat

BENSALEM, PA — Mail-in votes were still being counted in Bucks County on Thursday, but it appeared Republican state Rep. Kathleen "K.C." Tomlinson had built up an insurmountable lead by the afternoon.

Shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday, and with all 27 of the Bensalem-based district's precincts reporting, Tomlinson led Democratic challenger Harold Hayes by a vote of 15,856 to 13,950.

Mail-in votes have skewed heavily Democratic, both in Bucks County and across the nation, and could bolster Hayes in the late going. But it was unclear whether enough were left to be counted Thursday evening to change the outcome.

The race was a rematch between candidates who faced off in a March special election marred by worries about the then-emerging coronavirus epidemic.

Tomlinson, 32, has worked at her family's funeral home business for years and been a licensed funeral director since 2016. Her father, Tommy Tomlinson, has been the area's state senator since 2005.

She campaigned on fighting the opioid epidemic and supported Pennsylvania's lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies, saying that money should be used for treatment. She pushed typically Republican issues like charter-school reform, fighting drug injection sites and funding the police, but also championed affordable healthcare, paid family leave and increasing funding for education and human services.

"I was raised in the public eye, but I was raised to have a passion to serve my community," Tomlinson said in a Patch profile. "I have spent the past 10 years as a small businesswoman, but I have always looked for ways to serve the public in a new role."

The special election between the two in March went on despite coronavirus concerns and a last-minute attempt by Bucks County to postpone the race. The county, joined by a Bensalem poll worker with health issues, had asked to put off the election until at least the April 28 presidential primary over concerns about the new coronavirus.

Tomlinson won that election, 4,516 to 3,661.

The special election for the District 18 seat was called after former state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo was elected to the Bucks County Board of Commissioners.

RELATED: Biden Moves Ahead Of Trump In Bucks Co. With 28K Votes To Go

For full coverage of the election in Pennsylvania, go here.