Montco's Closest Race: Republican Todd Stephens Wins Re-Election

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, PA — After a nail biter election with results too close to call for days after the polls closed on Tuesday night, Republican State Rep. Todd Stephens has held on to his seat in the 151st District, defeating challenging Democrat Jonathan Kassa, based on current numbers released by the county.

In one of the few Republican victories in Montgomery County amid a sea of blue wins, the moderate Stephens, touting his bipartisanship and cooperation across party lines on a number of issues, leads the tally 20,772 to 18,286 late Thursday morning.

“In the face of an unprecedentedly negative campaign funded by out of state special
interests, I am thankful the voters recognized my record of achieving real results for our
families,” Stephens said in a statement Thursday. "I’d like to thank my wife, Nicole, my sons, Will and Ben, and the countless grassroots volunteers, who’ve supported me during this grueling campaign. I look forward to returning to Harrisburg and serving the community I love."

The battle for the 151st, which includes Montgomery and Horsham townships and other parts of the nearby area, was one of the final races whose outcome was still in doubt Thursday, as Montgomery County completed the tally of all mail-in votes received by 8 p.m. Tuesday. All votes cast at in-person precincts have also been reported, leaving only a small number of ballots mailed in after the 8 p.m. deadline Tuesday still to be counted.

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Stephens' margin of victory of 2,486 was the tightest of all state legislature races in the county. However, it's an improvement over the 2018 election, when he defeated Sara Johnson Rothman by less than a thousand votes.

Kassa has not yet issued a statement Thursday. On Wednesday evening, he said the race was too close to call.

The seat has been red since it first came into existence in 1969, save for a short three-year period of Democratic control under Rep. Rick Taylor from 2007 to 2010.

Stephens is one of the only Republicans to resist a series of historic flips for Democrats in Montgomery County in the last two elections. Several seats that had been held by Republicans for decades were won by Democrats, including Nancy Guenst in the neighboring 152nd district this year, following Rep. Tom Murt's retirement.

Republicans control both branches of the legislature in Pennsylvania, with a 109-93 majority in the state house heading into the general election. The 151st was one of many "swing" districts which will determine the balance of power in the state for the next two years.