HARRISBURG— Voters in a central Pennsylvania state Senate district will get a chance in January to pick a replacement for a four-term senator who resigned last week after being arrested on child pornography possession charges.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said in a Wednesday statement that Jan. 14 is the earliest possible date to restore representation to residents of the heavily Republican district, which is based in Lebanon County.

A preliminary hearing on the charges against Mike Folmer was postponed to Oct. 31. Folmer hasn’t commented.

Folmer, 63, was charged Sept. 17 by the state attorney general’s office after agents confronted him, saying they acted on a tip from an online social media provider that a user had uploaded an image of suspected child pornography on its service.

Investigators allegedly found two images of child pornography on Folmer’s cell phone after they executed a search warrant at his house in Lebanon County and asked him to turn it over.

He was charged with possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility, both felonies. Folmer was arraigned Sept. 17 and posted bail of $25,000.

Folmer, a Republican, was elected to a fourth four-year term in November. Long considered one of the chamber’s most conservative members, Folmer was crucial to helping swing Republican votes behind a bill to legalize medical marijuana in 2016.

Folmer’s resignation left the 50-seat Senate with a 27-22 Republican majority.