Smucker wins third term, Perry vs. DePasquale too close to call

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Lancaster, has won a third term in Congress as other congressional and state-level candidates awaited election results Wednesday.

With 85% of votes counted as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Smucker had garnered 67% of the vote in the race for the 11th Congressional District. His Democratic challenger, Sarah Hammond, had received 33% of the vote. 

Smucker had received the support of 221,147 voters in the heavily Republican district, while Hammond received 109,043, according to the Associated Press.

Smucker's campaign did not respond to numerous calls for comment.

The 11th District includes the southern portion of York County and all of Lancaster County.

Meanwhile, the race for the state's 10th District, between U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Carroll Township, and state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, remained too close to call as of Wednesday afternoon.

State officials urged voters to have patience as York and other counties were buried under thousands of mail-in ballots.

More than 75,000 mail-in ballots were returned in York County alone, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State, and more than 1.4 million had yet to be counted statewide as of Wednesday morning. 

As of 3 p.m., Perry led with 56.4% of the vote with 85% of votes counted, but that lead could change, as the majority of mail-in ballots, which can be counted through Friday, came from registered Democrats.

Perry had received 190,048 votes, while 146,927 voters had supported DePasquale.

The 10th District, said to be one of the most competitive in the country, includes the northern part of York County, a portion of Cumberland County and all of Dauphin County.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday night in York City, DePasquale said he was proud of his "hard-fought campaign" and that he believes he will flip the seat that Perry has held for four terms. 

"Of all the problems in the world, if we have to wait until Thursday or Friday to know the winner of our race, considering the other problems of the world, I can live with that," DePasquale said.

Perry also urged voters to be patient as ballots are being counted.

"Yesterday we saw our American republic at work," Perry said. "Over a hundred million Americans exercised their constitutional right to have their voices heard. Now we wait, but as we do, I offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone across south central Pennsylvania who cast their ballots today."

— Logan Hullinger can be reached at lhullinger@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @LoganHullYD.