Election Results: Steve Malagari Defeats Cheryl Bonativa In 53rd District

LANSDALE, PA — Democrat Steve Malagari has defended his seat in the state legislature, defeating Cheryl Bonavita in the 2024 election.

He has 20,666 votes to Cheryl Bonavita's 13,625, with a smattering of mail-in ballots still to be counted.

Earlier updates:

11:31 p.m.

Malagari's lead has significantly grown with a slew of new votes tabulated, and his lead looks to be insurmountable.

• Malagari: 12,232
• Bonavita: 6,018

11:04 p.m.

Minimal new ballots have been counted in the 53rd, where Malagari's lead remains identical to about an hour ago.

• Malagari: 6,751
• Bonavita: 2,330

10:01 p.m.

Across Montgomery County, 23 precincts have reported in, and 16,166 total in person votes have been tallied. Meanwhile, 99,527 mail-in ballots have been tallied, out of 171,347 received.

Malagari: 6,454

Bonavita: 2,206

8:49 p.m.

A total of 171,347 mail-in ballots were received in Montgomery County in the 2024 election, the county said. About 94,577 have been counted. No in-person tallies are yet available in the county.

Early tallies in the 53rd:

Malagari: 6,049
Bonavita: 2,009

8:40 p.m.

As the Democratic lead grows as expected in Pennsylvania with the early mail-in vote tabulation, it's important to note that this will dwindle significantly in the coming hours. Montgomery County elections chief Neil Makhija said Tuesday that Republican candidates would likely steadily make up ground up until midnight, when in-person balloting is likely to be complete.

Mail-in balloting will be about two thirds finished in most of the state by midnight, officials estimate.

LANSDALE, PA — Polls are closed across Montgomery County, and votes are beginning to be tallied in the 53rd legislative district race between incumbent Democrat Steve Malagari and challenging Republican Cheryl Bonavita.

Check back with Patch here throughout the evening for live results in this race as they become available.

The race is among a few dozen around the state in districts that are close enough in their partisan makeup that they could swing the balance of the Pennsylvania state legislature.

The district

Lansdale, Souderton, Hatfield Township, Hatfield borough, Telford, and big chunks (but not all) of Montgomery Township and Franconia comprise the 53rd.

It has 62,734 residents, according to Ballotpedia.

Past results

Malagari has been in office since he first ran in 2019.

While Malagari has won cleanly in recent years, this is hardly a solidly blue district. The famous Republican State Rep. Robert Godshall held the office from 1983 until 2019. And the GOP also held it for 10 years before Godshall entered office.

In 2019, Malagari became the first Democrat to represent the 53rd since 1972.

However, results in the past three elections have perhaps indicated a changing of the guard. In 2018, Malagari won by about a thousand votes; in 2020 his margin of victory was 3,000 votes, and in 2022, it was a lopsided 16,578 to 10,560 margin.

The candidates

Malagari, 41, is a former Lansdale borough councilman.

Bonavita, 46, is a Souderton resident. She's an assistant controller who formerly ran for the Montgomery County Register of Wills Office.

Among the key issues separating the two: Malagari's support for public education, and Bonavita's support for family school choice.

On what she would do if elected and her policy stances, Bonavita offered this response:

"With a Democrat Governor and Republican Senate, PA's abortion law is not going to change. No matter what is considered, I will always support exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. My focus will be on the issues residents have told me are most important: education, controlling government spending, helping job creators grow our economy, and addressing important local issues."