Marci Mustello

State Sen. Marci Mustello, R-11th, defeated Ryan Covert in a race to the wire in last week's primary election, but she said the two have similar ideals.

“We all have to work together,” Mustello said. “We need to keep this seat in Republican hands.”

Mustello said she and Covert both believe in supporting Second Amendment rights and an anti-abortion platform.

“I think he ran a good race and (it was) a hard-fought primary,” Mustello said.

The preliminary vote counts up to about midnight on election night showed Covert as the victor, with a disclaimer stating the write-in votes had not yet been added to the unofficial totals.

“I saw the numbers come in, and I knew they seemed very low,” Mustello said of the initial results.

Then she noticed the disclaimer and hoped the write-in ballots would lift her to victory.

“I knew I possibly hadn't won,” Mustello said. “You've got to wait until the end of it all.”

When the write-in votes were added around 12:15 a.m., Mustello pulled ahead by more than 700 votes for a tally of 5,003 votes to Covert's 4,271.

“It's an honor to have been chosen as the Republican nominee by the voters of the 11th District,” Mustello said. “I look forward to continuing the work I started a year ago and being a strong voice for Pennsylvania.”

She said voicing concerns of business owners, nonprofit organizations, the agricultural sector and everyone in the 11th District will continue to be her top priorities moving forward.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appeared in Wednesday's Butler Eagle.