Credit: Dwight Burdette
Bucks County Democrats had a good Election Day and won the majority of open row office seats.
Democrat Judi Reiss won the Prothonotary seat against Republican Colleen Strunk, Democrat Robin Robinson bested incumbent Republican Recorder of Deeds Joseph Szafran, Democrat Neale Dougherty ended up beating Republican Mike Gallagher for the County Controller position and Democratic lawman Milt Warrell beat 14-year Republican Sheriff Edward “Duke” Donnelly. Gallagher was appointed to last year to serve as County Controller and was running for his first full term.
The only row office race Democrats lost Tuesday was the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, which was won by popular Republican Matt Weintraub.
The local wins by Democrats came as peers from their party won seats across the nation in the face of an unpopular Republican president and growing political divide.
At polling places throughout the Levittown area, Republicans and Democrats talked Tuesday about whether the party of the Clinton and John F. Kennedy would see big wins locally and across the country.
Many Republican party insiders, candidates and officials mentioned over the past few weeks that the sheriff’s seat could easily go to the Democrats along with one or two other row offices, but a near sweep was not mentioned.
Republicans have held county-level control for decades locally and that will now change come the new year.
