U.S. Congressional primaries that affect Butler County were all slots on the ballot in which Republican and Democratic candidates were unopposed.

The 16th District primary featured incumbent Republican Mike Kelly and Democrat Kristy Gnibus from Erie County.

In the 15th District primary, incumbent Republican Glenn “GT” Thompson and Democrat Robert Williams of Clearfield County were the candidates.

The 17th District primary had incumbent Democrat Conor Lamb of Allegheny County and Republican candidate Sean Parnell of Allegheny County.

The candidates will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.

Kelly said he hoped the warm weather Tuesday would have led to a good voter turnout.

“It's a perfect day for people to go out and vote. I'm hoping there's a big turnout,” he said.

He said voting is an essential part of democracy and more than 1 million people in uniform died to preserve the right to vote.

“I've always thought elections are a phenomenal indication of who we are as Americans,” Kelly said.

A large turnout for the general election for the presidency is expected, he said.

With 60.4 percent of votes in Pennsylvania counted Tuesday night, Kelly received 19,931 votes and Gnibus received 13,814 votes, according to unofficial results from the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Thompson received 58,083 and Williams received 25,745 votes, according to unofficial results.

Lamb received 59,520 votes and Parnell received 21,432, according to unofficial results.

President Donald Trump is doing well in polls in the district and Kelly said his contacts at the White House were critical in initiating a federal probe into electrical steel imports that harmed AK Steel.

For the third consecutive Congressional session, Kelly's staff was among the finalists for the Democracy Award for Constituent Services, he said.

Gnibus said voters were energized at the polling places she visited Tuesday, but turnout seemed low due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The polls I visited were pretty active,” she said.

Gnibus said some voters told her they requested main-in ballots, but didn't receive them. Some told her they submitted their mail-in ballots, but were not able to track them on a ballot tracking system. Those voters were instructed to fill out provisional ballots at the polls, she said.

She is looking forward to the general election.

“The outlook is good. I plan on winning,” Gnibus said.

Being a first-time candidate is challenging, but the pandemic made it difficult to run a campaign, she said.

“It definitely made us be more creative and find ways to reach out to voters,” Gnibus said.