State Sen. Elder Vogel, middle, watches television as state vote totals favoring Republican candidate former President Donald Trump are counted during a watch party at Domenico's Ristorante in Cranberry Township on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Rob McGraw
Republican state Sen. Elder Vogel won an overwhelming victory for his fifth term over Democratic challenger Kate Lennen to represent the 47th District.
Vogel’s 96,263 votes nearly doubled the 54,398 votes that Lennen received, according to unofficial results in Butler, Beaver and Lawrence counties early Wednesday morning, Nov. 6.
Vogel attributed the win to working hard on the campaign trail. He said he spent a lot of time attending community events and meeting people.
“People having faith and trust in me to be a good rep for them,” he cited as the reason for victory.
Vogel received 32,848 votes in Butler County compared to Lennen’s 19,081 votes in the county, according to unofficial results.
In Beaver County, he received 57,196 votes, while Lennen received 32,788 votes, and in Lawrence County, he received 6,219 votes compared to Lennen’s 2,529, according to unofficial results.
He said he will continue to represent all district residents regardless of who they voted for.
“I’m going to represent them the same regardless. I represent everyone, Republican and Democrat alike,” Vogel said.
Lennen, an attorney, said she called Vogel and congratulated him on the victory.
“That’s what the voters wanted. I appreciate the campaign was civil. It’s hard to beat an incumbent,” Lennen said. “From our perspective, we gave Democrats someone to vote for and that’s important in Butler County.”
She said she was happy with the huge voter turnout.
The district lies mostly in Beaver County, where Vogel and Lennen live, and includes parts of Butler and Lawrence counties. In Butler County, the district includes Adams, Cranberry, Forward, Jackson, Lancaster and Middlesex townships, and Callery, Evans City, Harmony, Mars, Seven Fields, Valencia and Zelienople.
State senators are elected to four-year terms. Republicans had a 28-22 majority in the Senate.
Vogel, chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee, is a fourth-generation farmer who grows hay, corn and soybeans with his wife on their farm in Beaver County. He has served in the state Senate for 16 years after serving as a supervisor is New Sewickley Township in Beaver County for 11 years.
His other committee assignments include service as vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee and a member of the Banking and Insurance, Environmental Resources and Energy, and Transportation committees.
Vogel and his wife, Sue, continue to operate the family farm that was established in 1873.
A telemedicine bill he worked on for 10 years was signed into law in July. The bill outlines who can provide telemedicine services and requires insurance companies to cover the costs.
Vogel said he wants to return to Harrisburg to complete work on pending legislation, including a bill that would extend the state’s standards for horse racing while proposed federal legislation is adopted.
He said he also hopes a milk pricing over-order bill he introduced comes to the floor for a vote. Senate Bill 1297, which he introduced in July, is aimed at reforming the milk over-order premium system. The bill would benefit dairy farmers by allowing the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board to collect the over-order premium on Class 1 fluid milk in the state — currently set at $1 per hundred pounds of milk — and distribute it to farmers.
Lennen is a widowed mother of four adult children. She practiced family law for many years before changing to general practice. She said she went on leave before the primary to focus on her campaign.
She said she believes education funding, railroad safety and reproductive freedom were the top issues in the election.
