Robinson springmaker Jesse James Vodvarka held a narrow lead in Tuesday’s Republican primary race against Beaver County Sheriff Tony Guy in the 17th Congressional District.
The Republican winner will face U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio in the November election. Deluzio, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, is seeking a third term in Washington.
As of 10 p.m., with 83% of the district’s precincts reporting unofficial results and about 9,600 mail-in ballots counted, Vodvarka had collected 50.6% of the votes tallied compared to 47% for Guy.
The 17th District includes all of Beaver County and part of Allegheny County, including portions of the North, West and South Hills and the Alle-Kiski Valley.
Vodvarka, 43, manages a family-owned manufacturing firm that makes springs and wire forms.
During the campaign, Vodvarka said he wanted to go to Washington to support the Trump administration’s trade policies.
He said he also wanted to limit members of Congress to serving three terms in office; end no-excuse, mail-in voting; require schools to teach students about the U.S. Constitution and American history starting in first grade; and ease the tax burden for certain groups, from eliminating property taxes for those 65 and older and waiving income taxes on those making under $40,000 a year.
Vodvarka had attempted to run for Congress in the past, but this was the first time he has made it onto the ballot.
Guy, a former state trooper, has been sheriff of Beaver County for the past decade.
During the campaign, Guy, 65, said his top priorities if elected would be working to bring more jobs to Southwestern Pennsylvania, enhance public safety, eliminate what he called unnecessary spending and “unleashing energy dominance.”
On the latter front, Guy pointed to a project in Beaver County’s Shippingport where developers are converting a former coal-fired power plant to a natural gas-powered plant and plan to build up to three data centers on the site in a multibillion-dollar project.