GOP Maintains Control Of Western Montco PA House District

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — While talk following this year's general election has centered on the fact that the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania may take over majority of the state House of Representatives, one legislative district in Montgomery County has managed to remain in the hands of the GOP.

The 147th House District, which encompasses communities in the western part of the county, was won this election cycle by a Republican candidate, Donna Scheuren.

Election returns from the county, which were last updated just after 1:30 Wednesday afternoon, showed Scheuren with 17,655 votes and Democrat Alexandra Wisser with 14,603 votes.

The 147th is currently represented by State Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, a Republican who vacated the seat after announcing she would be running for the 24th Senatorial District seat currently held by retiring State Sen. Bob Mensch, also a member of the GOP.

Pennycuick ended up winning the 24th, and the race to replace her in the other chamber was seen as crucial for Republicans, as the GOP has lost many seats in both chambers in Montgomery County throughout the years.

Montgomery County was once much 'redder' that it is today but shifting demographics over time — many registered voters from Democrat-heavy Philadelphia have since relocated out to the suburbs, bringing their voting trends with them — have meant a 'bluer' landscape in the third most populous county in Pennsylvania.

The 147th Legislative District looks slightly different than it did before a recent legislative redistricting, but it also includes many of the same communities that comprised it before the change.

Under new legislative maps, the 147th House District includes the townships of Douglass, Upper Pottsgrove, New Hanover, Upper Frederick, Lower Frederick, Upper Salford, Lower Salford and Franconia.

It previously included Marlborough Township and West Pottsgrove Township, as well as Green Lane Borough, but those municipalities were removed from the district under the new maps.

Added this time around was Franconia Township, which was not previously part of the district.

According to her campaign website, Scheuren, who won the seat, already has experience with elective office, as she is in the midst of her third term serving as a school director on the Souderton Area School Board.

Her bio says she currently works as vice president of a global industrial sales agency, and that she has experience as a small business owner in the restaurant industry and also oversees the health insurance and benefits for her family-owned construction company.

Scheuren also previously served as a board director for the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and continues to serve on the IU's legislative committee.

Her husband, Dave Scheuren, currently serves as an elected supervisor in Lower Salford Township.

Her Democratic opponent, Wisser, said on her campaign site that she decided to run because Scheuren almost ran unopposed, "and I could not let that happen."

"I entered this race to give voters a choice," she had written on her campaign site.

Wisser had stated that she was focused on uniting communities and was dedicating her campaign to ensuring that all members of the 147th "deserve equal levels of respect, dignity, and attention."