PA State Senate, 19th District Live Election Results: Carolyn Comitta Vs. Duane Milne

WEST CHESTER, PA — Democrat Carolyn Comitta is projected to hold her seat in the Pennsylvania state senate, winning a clear victory in Chester County over challenging Republican Duane Milne.

With 112 of 113 precincts in the district reporting early Wednesday morning, Comitta held a 68,322 to 57,409 vote lead.

Earlier updates:

11:06 p.m.

Comitta holds a big early lead, though only 65 of 113 precincts have reported in the 19th senatorial district.

• Comitta: 46,069
• Milne: 33,394
• Write-in: 104

9:02 p.m.

Polls will be open until 10 p.m. at two locations in Chester County after a bomb threat at the Government Services building Tuesday night. That building houses polling locations, and is also where the county tabulates in-person ballots.

"Chester County election officials are redirecting voters who vote at the two polling places located at the Government Services Center to neighboring polling places where they will be able to cast their votes provisionally," Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell said in a statement.

No election results are yet available in any part of Chester County, and they could be delayed entirely until after the 10 p.m. closure.

8:25 p.m.

The Government Services building was being swept by dogs just before 8:30 p.m., Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell said. If it is clear, vote tabulation will continue at that location. Either way, no results in Chester County races should be expected for some time.

WEST CHESTER, PA — Polls are closed across Chester County, and votes are beginning to be tallied in the 19th senatorial district race between incumbent Democrat Carolyn Comitta and challenging Republican Duane Milne.

Check back with Patch throughout the evening for live results as they become available.

The unique race features two respected political veterans in Chester County. Comitta has won several consecutive elections for various offices, and Milne is a former state representative looking to make a return to Harrisburg as a state senator.

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

The district

The 19th district covers parts of some of Chester County's most significant communities, including West Chester, Downingtown, Malvern, Willistown, Coatesville, and Parkesburg. While representing the county seat and these municipalities, it also covers huge swaths of farmland and rural countryside.

The district is shaped in a sort of long "r" that runs from a long stretch of the Delaware-Pennsylvania border, and curving to the east and northeast up to border of Route 422 and the edge of Montgomery and Delaware counties.

It has 260,237 residents, according to Ballotpedia.

Past results

The 19th district was run by longtime State Sen. Andy Dinniman for years before his retirement in 2020.

Dinniman kept the seat blue from the time of his election in 2006 until his retirement.

Comitta won her first election for the seat handily, beating Kevin Runey 88,996 to 65,836, or about 57 percent to 43 percent of the vote. This was almost identical to Dinniman's margin over Republicans in 2016 and 2012, so the seat remains widely considered "solidly blue."

The incumbent

Comitta, 72, was the first woman to ever serve as mayor of West Chester. She served in that post after a career as a borough councilwoman from 2010 to 2017.

She was then elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature in the 156th district, where she served from 2017 to 2020 before moving to the senate. She is a former high school teacher.

Her challenger

Milne, 57, was a longtime Pennsylvania state legislator, representing the 167th district from 2007 to 2018. He is a professor of political science at West Chester University.

2024 Candidate Profile: Duane Milne For State Senator, 19th District