Incumbents swept to victory in two contested state Senate nominating races in Northeast Pennsylvania, according to unofficial results from Tuesday's primary election.
In a hotly contested race that attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending by outside groups, state Sen. Lisa Baker defeated behavioral specialist Tyler Meyers for the Republican nomination for the 20th Senate District.
In the 22nd Senate District, state Sen. Marty Flynn easily turned back a challenge from public school special education aide Jeffrey Lake to earn the Democratic nomination.
In the 40th Senate District, state Sen. Rosemary Brown, Middle Smithfield Twp., Monroe County, earned the Republican nomination and Brian Wrightston, of Archbald, Lackawanna County, won the Democratic. Both were unopposed.
20th Senate District
Baker addressed supporters at The Greens at Irem Clubhouse in Dallas just after 10 p.m.
Baker 54.54% (Votes: 15,060)
Meyers 45.46% (Votes: 12,553)
“This is about service. I have built my life with my husband, Gary. We have served this region in our community, and we've done it because it matters. This is our home. This is where we are. Thank you to all of you for who worked the polls, who donated, who called your friends, who called your neighbors. This has been one of the most difficult elections of my lifetime, but I want to say how rewarding it is to know that people were not fooled by the dark money out of Georgia,” Baker said, referring to massive contributions from a skill games manufacturer that benefitted Meyers.
Voters cheered and chanted Baker's name as she greeted them and hugged family and friends shortly after she learned she won.
“I want to thank the voters of Northeastern Pennsylvania for recognizing we are not for sale, we cannot be bought,” Baker said. “That dark money has no place here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, or anywhere in Pennsylvania.”
Baker said she wants to focus on campaign finance after her experience this election.
“Northeastern Pennsylvania cannot be bought from out-of-state interests who were bankrolling my opponent, but it also speaks to the bigger question of what can we do to reform and to make more transparent who's trying to influence our elections, and that will be a priority for me moving forward.”
Baker also had a message for voters as the general election gets underway.
“I will continue to work every day to earn your vote and your trust in November,” Baker said.
At Morgan Hills Golf Course in Hunlock Creek, Meyers said he is proud of his campaign despite his loss.
“This was a good way to get my name out there, and to let people know my values, to let them know I'm serious,” he said. “People said that I was poking the bear. I don't think I poked the bear. I think I smacked the bear in the face with a baseball bat, and I don't regret that at all.”
Meyers said he dealt with a “lot of shady stuff” during the election, but didn’t rule out another run for office.
“I did learn with lies and money you can do anything, but I'll tell you what, I got to find where I could be more useful,” he said. “I have name recognition now. I'm going to be a thorn in the side of the Republican establishment, and I'm going to force them, just like I forced Baker, to go further to the right and stand on the values that they proclaim, but don't actually act out.”
22nd Senate District
In a race dominated by data center development concerns, Flynn walloped Lake for the Democratic nomination by a more than 2 to 1 margin.
Flynn 68.86% (Votes: 17,871)
Lake 31.14% (Votes: 8,083)
In November, Flynn will face Sharon Soltis Sparano, a resident of LaPlume Twp., Lackawanna County, and a former Throop council president. She ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Flynn supporters filled Benny’s of Downtown in Scranton, dining on pizza and wing bites and cheering as the Dunmore resident entered. His daughter, Aria, ran into his arms.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Thom Welby spoke to the crowd, praising Flynn for his work as a senator, including helping secure additional funding for schools and pushing for the Interstate 81 expansion. Flynn donated $100,000 last year to Welby’s campaign for commissioner.
Flynn said that while Lake “went negative,” he stayed positive and ran on his record.
“The people still have faith in me. They think I'm doing a good job,” said Flynn, who spent more than eight years in the state House before moving to the Senate in 2021.
WIth more than two dozen data centers proposed between Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, including many in the 22nd district, much of Lake’s campaign focused on keeping them out of people’s backyards.
Flynn said the discussion about data centers includes “misinformation and misnomers” that communities must get past. Consumers must be protected, and people have to be ensured that their water and electricity rates don’t skyrocket, he said.
“Nobody wants a data center in their backyard, nobody. But at some point, we have to come up with a plan,” Flynn said. “Everybody has to realize that they're going to be somewhere. We just have to make sure that they're in the responsible, right place.”
At Colarusso's Cafe in Clarks Summit, a small group of Lake supporters waited with the candidate for results after 8 p.m. As the result became clear, Lake continued to focus on data centers.
“The main message was about data centers, right? It's the hottest issue right now, and he has failed the community on that topic,” the Clarks Summit resident said.
But, Lake said, someone had to step up to Flynn, who he called the “bully on the block.”
“Regardless of the outcome of this election, he's been put on notice that people aren't afraid to come at him,” he said.
Lake said he may not have won the Democratic nomination but his campaign forced Flynn to backtrack his stance on data centers. During a debate, Flynn said he would be willing to support a moratorium on data center development for “180 days or a year.”
“We have moved the narrative significantly and that in and of itself is a win,” he said.
Local residents who live where data center campuses are proposed are asking the state for a three-year moratorium on data center developments.
The district covers 21 municipalities in Lackawanna County, including Scranton; and 15 municipalities in Luzerne County, including Wilkes-Barre.
40th Senate District
State Sen. Rosemary Brown, Middle Smithfield Twp., Monroe County, earned the Republican nomination with 18,089 votes and Brian Wrightston, of Archbald, Lackawanna County, won the Democratic with 12,250. Both were unopposed. They will face each other in November.
None of the Senate seats in Northcentral Pennsylvania are on the ballot this year.
