Less than three months after a special election between them was decided by fewer than 100 votes, Democratic Rep. Brandon Dukes and Republican challenger Scott Timko face off again in the Nov. 3 general election for the 12th state House District.

The Aug. 18 special election was scheduled to fill the remainder of former Rep. Stephenie Scialabba’s term, which concludes at the end of 2026. Scialabba had resigned in late March.

Dukes won by 98 votes. Voter turnout was only around 32%.

Related Article: Dukes, Timko debate set for Thursday at BC3

Dukes has campaigned on increasing funding for infrastructure projects, such as Route 228, addressing affordability and investing in public schools.

“Butler County residents are fed up with getting stuck in traffic on Route 228, worrying about the hospitals we depend on closing without notice and being taken advantage of by greedy corporations. We need someone who will listen to voters’ concerns and have their backs in Harrisburg, whether they vote Democrat or Republican,” Dukes said by email.

Dukes will once again face Timko. Timko’s campaign has focused on cutting taxes, tackling inflation and being tough on crime and illegal immigration.

“He is a true Constitutional conservative and dedicated to keeping this seat representing Butler County instead of Allegheny County and Harrisburg special interests,” Timko’s campaign website reads.

The district is based in southwestern Butler County. It includes Adams, Cranberry and Jackson townships; and the boroughs of Callery, Evans City, Harmony, Mars, Valencia and Zelienople.

Just a month into his tenure as a state representative, Dukes has helped introduce multiple pieces of legislation. One would establish “responsible artificial intelligence policies for schools.” He also has planned a bill that would ban Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers in Pennsylvania.

Dukes has spent much of his professional career working for TD Bank in the mortgage and commercial lending sector. Now running for a full two-year term, Dukes told the Eagle he decided to run for the 12th House District because he “was tired of our representatives not fighting for us the way we deserve.”

“If reelected in November, I would prioritize getting Route 228 the state funding it needs so that construction can be completed and we can be relieved of the persistent traffic we’ve seen in our district. I would also continue to reduce the out-of-control cost of living, take on price-gouging corporations, hold the developers profiting off of our district’s growth accountable and protect our public education,” Dukes said by email.

Dukes said he would support efforts to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage. He would also support legislation that would make housing more accessible to families and first-time homebuyers. He cited these stances when addressing affordability.

“I share my neighbors’ concerns about the sky-high cost of living. My wife and I are raising our own young family and we know that the costs families in Butler are facing are astronomical,” Dukes said. “I’m committed to holding the corporations responsible for the cost-of-living crisis accountable for price-gouging, especially the pharmaceutical companies exploiting our most vulnerable neighbors and the utility companies raising our electricity bills.”

While he didn’t often address data centers before his special election, Dukes said he strongly supports regulations for data centers. He believes state government should “set guardrails that protect our energy bills and our environment.”

“I support Gov. Shapiro’s recent executive order that prevents data center construction from being fast-tracked and requires data center developers to pay the full cost of new electricity generation,” he said. “At the same time, the state legislature must also do its part in enacting long-term protections to ensure massive corporate developers cannot exploit residents by raising their utility bills and diminishing their quality of life.”

On tax policy, Dukes touts legislation he helped introduce that would reduce the amount of time a family business must have been in the same family to qualify for an inheritance tax exemption, as well as increase the maximum amount of assets a qualified family-owned business may have to qualify for an inheritance tax exemption.

He suggested finding other avenues to create state revenue such as “taxing skill games and digital advertisements.”

On state spending, Dukes said he wants to avoid taking more money from the state’s rainy day fund.

“I will work hard to avoid touching the commonwealth’s rainy day fund, which will force legislators on both sides of the aisle to think critically about where to direct state resources and protect taxpayer dollars as a result,” Dukes said.

Timko is a longtime Cranberry Township resident; a retired, decorated Air Force captain; a commercial pilot and former owner of a Vocelli’s Pizza and J. Gumbo’s Cajun restaurant.

“I’ve had a career of service. Its time to give back to the community that gave so much to me,” Timko said in a Feb. 18 article in the Butler Eagle, while running in the Republican primary.

A key pillar of Timko’s campaign has been fiscal responsibility, advocating against wasteful government spending and high taxes. He has pointed to areas including increasing tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and gas taxes as examples of taxation that hurts families.

“Cpt. Scott Timko knows that high taxes and wasteful government spending hurt families and kill jobs. High state gas taxes and school property taxes must be cut and reformed,” his campaign website says.

He also wants to cut red tape and restrictive regulations that impact businesses. He’s called certain red tape “mind numbing,” arguing business owners spend a large portion of time navigating rules, filing reports and having inspections.

Timko emphasizes keeping taxpayer dollars local, saying he will fight to “keep our school and other taxes from being seized by big cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to bail out their corrupt and failed liberal governments.”

Timko has said he wants to make sure funding is available so local infrastructure is repaired and can support the local populations of towns like Cranberry Township, Mars and Zelienople.

“Most candidates want to talk about big issues that you see on the national news. The simple truth is, this got me a lot of signatures. I would go up to voters and say, ‘my name is Scott Timko, and Franklin Road sucks,’” Timko said at an April candidate forum.

Timko wants stronger restrictions on immigrants that commit crimes.

“Scott Timko won't back down to criminals like the radical democrats and corporate Republicans do. He will fully support reversing the Biden criminal alien invasion while fighting to protect our 2nd Amendment so we can protect our families,” his website says.

On data centers, Timko’s website says he will “stand up for local municipalities to make certain that residents have the final say on data center developments, not Big Tech.”

“He will back legislation that bans secretive agreements and require developments to bring their own power and water and pay for all infrastructure needs to protect taxpayers and ratepayers,” the website says.

Timko’s campaign did not respond to additional questions sent by the Eagle this month.