Lopsided North Penn School Board Race: Voters Make Statement

LANSDALE, PA — Democrats dominated the North Penn School Board race on Tuesday night, according to unofficial results, winning all four seats up for grabs by enormous margins.

All four Democrats earned between 21,000 and 23,000 votes, while the four Republicans sat between 11,000 and 13,000.

It's a statement victory for Democrats with North Penn Neighbors for Progress, who currently run the school board and who have weathered a series of scandals over the past few years. That includes a few highly publicized incidents of violence which the Republican-aligned North Penn United had sought to tie to issues with Democratic governance.

But as they did in all of Montgomery County Tuesday night, voters listed strongly to the left, rebuffing Republican attempts to make gains in the Philadelphia suburbs a year after President Trump's own dominant victory in Pennsylvania.

Here are the latest results, with all 47 of the district's precincts reporting:

• Coyne (D): 23,318
• Keiser (D): 22,009
• Chiba (D): 21,369
• Roesch (D): 21,054
• Moyer (R): 13,124
• Minnick (R): 12,570
• Eshelman (R): 12,552
• Lambros (R): 11,844

Updates, 11:16 p.m.

A total of 13 out of 47 precincts in the school board race are reporting, and Democrats continue to hold a dominant lead. Their lead has grown slightly with the latest batch of results:

• Coyne (D): 12,487
• Keiser (D): 11,896
• Chiba (D): 11,561
• Roesch (D): 11,471
• Moyer (R): 5,262
• Minnick (R): 5,018
• Eshelman (R): 5,029
• Lambros (R): 4,716

10:23 p.m.

Additional in-person precincts have reported, with a slew of updates for the North Penn race. Democrats maintain a very strong lead:

• Coyne (D): 9,520
• Keiser (D): 9,138
• Chiba (D): 8,886
• Roesch (D): 8,843
• Moyer (R): 3,348
• Minnick (R): 3,192
• Eshelman (R): 3,220
• Lambros (R): 2,996

9:46 p.m.

Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija said the county has received the highest number of mail-in ballots in an odd-year election in history.

The exact number is not yet known, but Makhija said it was more than 88,000. That's significantly more than the 76,000 and 72,000 that voted in 2023 and 2021, respectively.

9:30 p.m.

We've reached the ninety minute mark after polls closed in Montgomery County, but no new results in the North Penn School Board race have been tabulated. The only available results are the mail-in results released at about 8:30 p.m.

8:37 p.m.

The first mail-in ballots have been counted and early results are in for the contentious North Penn School Board race. As expected Democrats hold a large early lead, as a larger proportion of mail-in voters are Democrat.

• Coyne (D): 8,320
• Keiser (D): 8,018
• Chiba (D): 7,793
• Roesch (D): 7,768
• Moyer (R): 2,270
• Minnick (R): 2,150
• Eshelman (R): 2,166
• Lambros (R): 2,007

Original story:

Polls have closed Tuesday night and results for the North Penn school board race are beginning to trickle in from around the area.

Check back to this page for live results throughout the night as they become available.

Eight candidates are running for four open spots on the nine-person board. Only one of those four candidates is an incumbent, meaning that no matter the results, the board will see significant turnover heading into 2026.

Democratic candidates aligned with the North Penn Neighbors for Progress group include Christine Coyne, Ken Keiser, Koh Chiba, and the lone incumbent, Al Roesch

Republicans, part of the North Penn United group, include Thomas Moyer, Victor Minnick, Jeff Eshleman, and Yanni Lambros.

Related: 2025 PA Election Guide

Numerous issues have risen to the forefront, ranging from the fiscal responsibility, school security, and transparency of the current Democratic regime, to lingering ideological disputes over the control of curriculum and the role of parents in the classroom.

North Penn United has centered much of their campaign on lowering taxes, pointing to what they call wasteful spending on unnecessary projects by the current board.

"North Penn can’t afford more of the same," the organization said in a recent statement. "Our opponents want to follow a board that overspends and maxes out taxes year after year. It’s time to put students, taxpayers, and academics first."

Specifically, North Penn United has pointed to schools falling behind on basic maintenance needs, including a school without air conditioning.

The recent incident involving a student who brought a loaded gun into the high school has raised further questions over both the execution of the school's security policies and the poor communication efforts by leadership.

"Everybody has the right to transparent board members," Minnick said recently. "I feel like we should be holding more Q and A sessions, to get the community involved more on these bigger projects. When it comes to your tax money, transparency is everything."

The board, meanwhile, has championed new projects like the rebuild of Crawford Stadium and widespread renovations to the high school. They've defended their vision for years.

North Penn Neighbors for Progress has also defended investments into a variety of non-academic programs, like mental health support, as being part of the ongoing success of the district. It's a response to the "common sense" slogan often employed by Republican candidates looking to criticize spending.

Related coverage

• Community Cites 'Epic Failure' After North Penn HS Student Found With Gun