Unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s office determined that Ginny Kerslake lost to incumbent Democrat Rep. Kristine Howard by 19 points. This is the second time in as many years she was soundly defeated by a fellow Democrat.
Kerslake was among the Democrats that complained that Rep. Howard was not active enough against Mariner East construction. Kerslake noted that Rep. Howard’s lack of action is why she decided to challenge an incumbent from her own party. She said, “…with concerns as critical as the construction of volatile pipelines running through our community, a plan to turn Pennsylvania into the next petrochemical plastics hub, sinkholes driving our neighbors from their homes, drinking wells being destroyed, and criminal investigations and charges mounting by the day, we need a fighter and champion, someone unafraid to speak truth to power.”
In other words, she was a single-issue candidate outside the mainstream of Pennsylvania and Chester County.
Upon receiving the results from the election, Kerslake and her campaign staffer criticized the election process as unfair but members from her own party disagree. Chester County Democratic Chairman Dick Bingham said the county did its best under the difficult circumstances and believes there to be “no uncertainty about the results.” Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-Montgomery) also noted that while the new voting process has room for improvement, he doesn’t believe the system in place “is in any way not legitimate.”
She is calling into question the validity of vote by mail, despite considerations many Pennsylvanians are being asked to take in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Such an argument aligns her more with President Trump than Democrats.
Nobody enjoys losing an election, but many accept the reality and move forward. It does not appear that Kerslake is not accepting the fact that Democrats didn’t choose her again.