Romney wins Pennsylvania GOP primary

Yesterday’s Pennsylvania primary results brought no surprises.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the presidential primary and is well on his way to securing the Republican nomination to face President Barack Obama in November.

Romney gained 58 percent of the vote and Pennsylvania’s two superdelegates, according to The New York Times when 99 percent of the vote was counted. Superdelegates are party leaders free to vote for whomever they choose.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, despite dropping out of the race on April 10, came in second with 18.3 percent of the vote.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich won 10.5 percent of the vote and Texas Rep. Ron Paul won 13.2 percent of the vote.

Romney also won the Delaware, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island primaries yesterday, raising his delegate total to 844 as of 2 a.m. Gingrich collected remained at 137 total delegates and Paul ended at 79 total delegates.

“Thank you, America,” Romney said in Manchester, New Hampshire after his victories. “I can say with confidence ­­— and gratitude — that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. And, together, we will win on November 6.”

On Monday, Gingrich said he would “reassess” his campaign pending the results in Delaware, according to the Times. Gingrich came in second in Delaware with 27.1 percent of the vote but did not receive any delegates, as Delaware is a winner-take-all primary.

The primary highlighted several differences between results in the state as a whole and results in Ward 27, which includes Penn’s campus.

The Times reported that Romney won approximately 58 percent of the vote in Pennsylvania. As of 2 a.m. he won 55.88 percent in Ward 27, according to PhillyElectionResults.com.

Santorum’s second-place finish in Pennsylvania was not mirrored in Ward 27, where he only collected 7.35 percent of the vote and finished last. Santorum’s constituents consisted more of evangelical Christians who don’t have as much money and aren’t as educated, said political science professor and Undergraduate Chair John Lapinski in a previous interview. Santorum’s constituents are not usually found at Penn or in Philadelphia, which is a primarily Democratic area, Lapinski added.

Paul finished second in Ward 27 with 24.26 percent of the vote, while in Pennsylvania he finished third with 13.2 percent of the vote. Gingrich, while last in the statewide election, finished third in Ward 27 with 11.03 percent of the vote, similar to his overall percentage in Pennsylvania.

In the local races, Democratic incumbent Jim Roebuck won against 2006 College graduate Fatimah Muhammad, who was running for the first time. Roebuck has been the state representative for the 188th district, which includes Penn’s campus, since 1985. Republican Ernest Adkins, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, will challenge Roebuck in November.

Despite her loss, Muhammad had supporters at Penn. Both Roebuck and Muhammad had supporters stationed outside polling locations on campus distributing fliers and suggested ballots.

College and Wharton senior Jeremy Gurewitz said he voted for Muhammad because she supports school vouchers.

“She’s been advertising a lot and I looked up her position,” he said. “I figured that the guy in charge right now didn’t seem to be doing a lot.”

Philadelphia resident Jared Kubanoff said he voted for Muhammad because she was a “fresh face.”

“It’s good to have a change,” he said.

Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey easily won his primary against small-business owner Joseph Vodvarka. Republican Tom Smith won the opportunity to challenge Casey in the general election. He beat four other Republican candidates, including Steve Welch, who was endorsed by Gov. Tom Corbett.

Former U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy lost the Democratic primary race for Attorney General to Lackawanna District Attorney Kathleen Kane. David Freed, who was running in the primary unopposed, will face Kane in the November election.

The two candidates for U.S. representative ran unopposed in the primary. Incumbent Democrat Chaka Fattah will run against Republican challenger Robert Mansfield in November.

John Maher beat Frank Pinto in the Republican primary for Auditor General. Democrat Eugene DePasquale ran unopposed in the primary and will run against Maher in November.

Both candidates for state Treasurer, Democratic incumbent Robert McCord and Republican Diana Irey Vaughn, ran in the primaries unopposed.

Staff writer Huizhong Wu contributed reporting.

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