Stephens Leads Kassa, But 151 Election Results Too Close To Call

Update, Thursday, 11 a.m.

Stephens has won re-election. Full story and updates here: Montco's Closest Race: Republican Todd Stephens Wins Re-Election

Thursday, 10:50 a.m.

• Stephens: 20,772
• Kassa: 18,286

11:26 p.m.

With just 23,000 ballots left to be counted across Montgomery County, Stephens' 3,000-vote lead appears secure. Final updates will be available at 1 a.m. Thursday morning, and county elections officials will resume updating numbers at 6 a.m.

10:05 p.m.

The latest:

• Stephens: 20,485
• Kassa: 17,691

5:44 p.m.

Kassa's campaign has issued a statement as results continue to be counted.

"The Montgomery County Board of Elections is still counting thousands of ballots in this race. We do not know when the final votes will be counted, but we are hoping to have them soon. This race is currently too close to call, and we will share the results as soon as they’re available."

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2:34 p.m.

Though Montgomery County has counted thousands more mail-in ballots in the past two hours, none of them have impacted the count in the 151st District, where Stephens still holds a solid lead.

12:42 p.m.

Stephens has expanded his lead over Kassa. There are some 44,000 mail-in ballots to be counted across Montgomery County, and some of those may certainly help Kassa narrow the margin, but Stephens looks to be in control heading into the final stretch.

• Stephens: 19,415
• Kassa: 16,724

1:45 a.m.

Kassa issued a statement late Tuesday urging patience.

"Thank you to everyone who turned out and voted today. There was truly incredible turnout throughout the district for both mail-in and in-person voting. As expected, the votes for my race are still being tallied. We will be sure to send an update when we have an accurate, total, and final number.

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, PA — The battle for the 151st legislative district is coming down to the wire between Republican incumbent Todd Stephens and Jonathan Kassa. The race was still far too close to call heading into the overnight hours early Wednesday.

Update, 12:48 a.m.

With most but not all precincts reporting, Stephens has taken the lead from Kassa in his bid to hold onto his seat in the 151st. The Republican leads 15,476 to 13,624 in what has proven to be one of the tightest state legislature races in Montgomery County.

With thousands of mail-in ballots still to be counted, this race remains too close to call.

Montgomery County said they will have a final tally of mail-ins by 2 p.m. Thursday. If this race continues to remain close as the final in-person precincts report, the outcome might not be known until then.

11:02 p.m.

Kassa's lead remains steady as the latest wave of votes are counted in Montgomery County. The updated totals reflect in-person votes, as well:

• Kassa: 7,411
• Stephens: 4,741

There are now 80 precincts reporting in Montgomery County, with 431 still not reporting. On the mail-in side, 103,118 of 239,336 ballots have been counted.

10:05 p.m.

Counting the rest of the vote in Montgomery County could take "40 more hours," Commissioner Ken Lawrence said Tuesday night.

9:03 p.m.

Kassa has taken an early lead on Stephens as the first mail-ins are counted. As the vast majority of mail-in voters are Democratic, this is not surprising, though Stephens has a far narrower defecit than other Republican candidates do in the county at this (admittedly very) early juncture.

• Kassa: 5,750
• Stephens: 2,421

8:17 p.m.

Jonathan Kassa released a statement after polls closed.

"I’m immensely proud of the campaign we have run. We put together a grassroots coalition of small donors and volunteers who have powered this race from the bottom up. I am grateful to have had so many meaningful connections with voters and to have met so many amazing people on this journey. I’m proud to have earned the trust and support of so many phenomenal leaders, from our local representatives to our nominee for President."

Montgomery County announced that they plan to release preliminary election results at 8:30 p.m. Mail-in ballots were legally allowed to be counted starting at 8 p.m., when polls closed.

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, PA — Polls are now closed in Pennsylvania, and results will soon be in for one of the most intriguing state legislative races in southeastern Pennsylvania between incumbent Republican Todd Stephens and challenging Democrat Jonathan Kassa. The pair are battling to represent the 153rd district, covering Montgomery and Horsham townships and other parts of the nearby area.

Stephens, a moderate Republican, was one among a small group of GOP state legislators to hold his seat amid the "blue wave" during the 2018 midterms, which saw Democrats win historic victories in seats that had been red for decades. He's held the office since 2012.

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Stephens touts his bipartisan efforts during his eight years in office, running a campaign based on his "independent leadership" mantra. He's proposed gun reform legislation, and hasn't shied away from stranding up to Republican consensus, such as when he stood against the controversial "election commission" pushed earlier in October.

"For 10 years, I’ve been our community’s independent voice, putting aside partisan politics to deliver real results," Stephens said in October. "Special interest groups from DC and beyond are trying to buy this election. I’m honored to serve as the State Representative for the community where I was raised, and where I’m raising my own family."

Stephens highlights gun reform as one of his most important issues, noting that he's worked alongside every major gun control operation in the state to help write legislation, and that "no elected official has done more" in Pennsylvania. He also helped Montgomery County land their contract with Mako Medical in North Carolina, which has allowed the county to vastly expand their testing capabilities.

Kassa, currently on the school board at North Penn School District, comes from a background of working in social services and juvenile justice. He has a Masters of Public Administration from Villanova, and points to climate change, social justice, gun safety, education funding, healthcare reform, and the right to choose as his key issues.

"The status quo is unacceptable, that is why I run," Kassa said. He's repeatedly focused on police reform as a crucial aspect of his platform. "I have spent my career working with public safety experts on deescalation training and evidenced-based practices that significantly reduce police violence while promoting the positive work of community oriented policing."

Fundraising in this district is far more competitive than it is elsewhere in Montgomery County, where Democrats often have a lopsided advantage. Stephens has raised $114,800 and spent $60,134.12, while Kassa has raised $93,795 and spent $11,396, according to public records published by Transparency USA.

The campaign was not without its controversy. Kassa and a PAC called the PA Fund for Change ran an ad in September which Stephens said misrepresented legislation he supported. The ad was eventually pulled by the Kassa campaign after Stephens' campaign asked Comcast to review the ad and stop airing it.

"Voters deserve better than a smear campaign riddled with false statements by Jonathan Kassa and dark money groups like the PA Fund For Change who refuse to disclose their donors," Stephens said at the time.

Though Stephens won in 2018, the district suddenly became much more competitive: he defeated challenging Democrat Sara Johnson Rothman by a margin of less than thousand votes, after winning by around 7,000 votes in both 2016 and 2014.

Kassa won the Democratic primary unopposed back in June.

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.

The municipalities in the 151st include Montgomery and Horsham townships, as well as part of Lower Gwynedd's second district, and parts of Upper Dublin's first, second, and fourth districts.

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 is one of many "swing" districts which will determine the balance of power in the state for the next two years.

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