Last Updated on November 9, 2022
A Pennsylvania state representative who died last month was reelected during Tuesday’s midterm elections, projections show. Democrat Anthony “Tony” DeLuca, died on October 9 “after a brief battle with lymphoma, a disease he twice previously beat. He was 85,” the Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus wrote. DeLuca was Pennsylvania’s longest-serving state representative.
“While we’re incredibly saddened by the loss of Representative Tony DeLuca, we are proud to see the voters to continue to show their confidence in him and his commitment to Democratic values by re-electing him posthumously. A special election will follow soon,” Pennsylvania House Democrats wrote in a tweet.
DeLuca represented Pennsylvania’s 32nd District, which encompasses a sizable chunk of the Pittsburgh area. DeLuca’s opponent, Green Party challenger Queonia “Zarah” Livingston, reportedly ran to the left of DeLuca. She listed her three main priorities as “environmental justice,” “ending the war on drugs,” and “reducing gun violence.”
According to state tallies, the late state representative crushed his green party opponent by a margin of about 86% to 14%. In Pennsylvania, early voting is allowed up to 50 days before Election Day, well before DeLuca’s passing on October 9.
DeLuca ultimately received nearly 14,000 Election Day votes and more than 7,000 mail-in votes, according to a report from WTAJ Altoona. With the landslide result in the books, Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) will now be tasked with scheduling a special election to fill DeLuca’s vacancy in the 32nd District.
