Politics & Government

PA 5th Congressional District Election Results

Democrat incumbent Mary Gay Scanlon is looking to keep her seat in Washington as Republican Dasha Pruett challenges her for the 5th District

This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday


DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Pennsylvania's 5th District did not waver in its support for Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon in the general election.

Republican Dasha Y. Pruett was gunning for a spot in Washington as she looked to represent the region by taking Scanlon's seat.

Find out what's happening in Haverford-Havertownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

But the Associated Press called the race for Scanlon at about 12:15 a.m. Wednesday.

As of 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, Scanlon has secured 178,183 votes and Pruett 117,178, according to the state. However, Delaware County reports Scanlon has 147,236 votes by mail and in person. Pruett has 103,344, according to the county.

Find out what's happening in Haverford-Havertownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

In Philadelphia, officials report Scanlon has earned 21,776 votes to Pruett's 10,316. And in Montgomery County, election officials are reporting 13,431 votes for Scanlon and 3,837 for Pruett.

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Scanlon won the seat when it was the 7th district in 2018 and when Pat Meehan resigned amid a sexual harassment case in 2018.

Scanlon was one of four Democratic women elected to Congress from Pennsylvania in that year.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court redrew the district map after ruling the previous map unconstitutional due to partisan gerrymandering, making the 7th district the 5th district, covering all of Delaware County, some of lower Montgomery County, and South Philadelphia. But now she is facing a Republican challenger for the district.

The district has largely been under Republican control int he past, and Pruett represents a return to GOP control. Scanlon ran unopposed in the June Primary.

Pruett ran against Robert Jordan and handily defeated him, earning 61.5 percent of the vote to Jordan's 38.5 percent.

Scanlon, 61, is a Syracuse, New York native who graduated from Colgate University then earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She went on to serve as a judicial clerk in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Later in her career she was awarded the Fidelity Award, the highest award for public service from the Philadelphia Bar Association.

While in office, Scanlon worked to preserve about 4,000 jobs at the Boeing Plant in Ridley by restoring funding for a program in the National Defense Authorization Act. She also helped secure a $650 million contract to produce new ships at the Philadelphia Shipyard, according to her website.

Other problems she has taken on include easing student loan debt, preventing violence against women, gun violence prevention, and lowering prescription drug costs.

She also backed the impeachment of President Donald Trump and opposed Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court.

"I take seriously the obligation we have as public servants to fight for the resources my constituents need and to protect the programs they depend on to grow and thrive," Scanlon said in September. "It is the privilege of a lifetime to represent our community in Congress — I’ll never stop fighting for families and children."

Pruett has accused Scanlon of being a leftist and says her time living in Moscow in the 1970s has made her vehemently opposed to leftist ideologies.

Pruett says she will "bring our American values and our community concerns back to this office."

"These concerns have been neglected since our current congresswoman took office and will remain so until she is voted out," she said.

Pruett is against the "defund the police" movement and is a strong supported of police in the region. She is pro school choice, against abortion, supports term limits, and seeks to combat the opioid epidemic by offering treatment and tracing the roots of addition, among other policies.

In the House of Representatives, Pennsylvania is represented by nine Republicans and nine Democrats.

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

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