Matchup set for 16th District race between Kelly and Wagner
Justin Wagner will be the next Democratic opponent to try to unseat U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly.
Wagner will run as the Democratic candidate in the race for Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District against Republican Kelly, who has held the seat since 2011. Both candidates were unopposed in their respective party in the primary election Tuesday, May 19. The general election is Nov. 3.
In Butler County, on the Republican ballot, Kelly picked up 15,868 votes, against 485 write-in votes. On the Democratic ballot, Wagner received 11,614 votes, against 59 write-in votes.
Statewide, according to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Elections, Kelly received 44,083 votes, while Wagner picked up 49,096.
Kelly, a Butler resident and prominent Butler County businessman, has historically been a close ally and friend of President Donald Trump. In a March interview with the Butler Eagle, Kelly expressed support for U.S. military activity in Iran, which had started less than a month previously.
Wagner, a resident of Greenville in Mercer County and an Iraq War veteran, has campaigned on staunch opposition to the policies of the second Trump term, including military activities in the Middle East and anti-immigration operations.
The 16th Congressional district includes Butler County, Erie County, Crawford County, Mercer County, Lawrence County, and the western part of Venango County.
In Kelly’s previous election in 2024, he easily defeated Democratic challenger Preston Nouri by a 64-36 margin. Aside from a four-point loss to Ronald DiNicola in 2018, all of Kelly’s election wins have come by double digits, including his first win in 2010 over Kathleen Dahlkemper, as well as an unopposed run in 2016.
