PHOTOS: METRO IMAGES AND WIKIMEDIA
Voters across the country next Tuesday will be electing a new president, and there are five choices in Pennsylvania.
The candidates are Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Donald Trump, the Constitution Party’s Darrell Castle, the Green Party’s Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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Pennsylvania also has a hotly contested U.S. Senate race.
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is seeking a second six-year term.
Polls show him in a tight race with Democrat Katie McGinty, former chief of staff for Gov. Tom Wolf. She is a Rhawnhurst native who graduated from Resurrection of Our Lord Grammar School and St. Hubert High School.
Also in the race is Libertarian Edward T. Clifford III.
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Pennsylvanians will choose candidates for four-year terms as attorney general, auditor general and state treasurer.
The candidates for attorney general are Democrat Josh Shapiro, a Montgomery County commissioner, and Republican state Sen. John Rafferty.
Democrat Kathleen Kane, elected attorney general in 2012, was sentenced to jail after being convicted of leaking secret grand jury information to the Philadelphia Daily News to discredit former state prosecutor Frank Fina, her archrival.
The candidates for auditor general are incumbent Democrat Eugene DePasquale; Republican John Brown, the Northampton County executive; the Green Party’s John J. Sweeney; and Libertarian Roy Minet.
The candidates for state treasurer are Democrat Joe Torsella, former president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and an unsuccessful candidate in the 2004 primary in the 13th Congressional District; Republican Otto Voit, a Berks County businessman and former U.S. Army officer; the Green Party’s Kristin Combs; and Libertarian James Babb.
Democrat Rob McCord resigned as treasurer and pleaded guilty to charges he attempted to shake down state contractors for campaign donations in the 2014 primary for governor. He awaits sentencing.
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In races for the U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle is unopposed in the 13th Congressional District.
In the 1st Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Bob Brady faces Republican Debbie Williams.
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In the 5th Senatorial District, Democratic Sen. John Sabatina Jr. faces Republican Ross Feinberg.
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There are nine districts in the state House of Representatives that include parts of the Northeast.
Reps. Mike Driscoll (D-173rd dist.), Ed Neilson (D-174th dist.) and Jason Dawkins (D-179th dist.) are unopposed.
Also unopposed are Democrats Jared Solomon in the 202nd Legislative District and Isabella Fitzgerald in the 203rd Legislative District. Solomon defeated 42-year incumbent Mark Cohen in the primary. Fitzgerald will replace fellow Democrat Dwight Evans, who is running for Congress.
Rep. Tom Murt (R-152nd dist.) faces Democrat Al DerMovsesian.
Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) is being challenged by Democrat Matt Darragh.
Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-172nd dist.) squares off with Republican Jim Pio.
Rep. John Taylor (R-177th dist.) takes on Democrat Joe Hohenstein.
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Voters will decide on a city ballot question and a proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution.
The city question reads, “Should the City of Philadelphia borrow One Hundred Eighty-Four Million Three Hundred Three Thousand Dollars ($184,303,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?”
The proposed constitutional amendment reads, “Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to require that justices of the Supreme Court, judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years?”
That’s a complicated way of asking if the retirement age for judges should be raised from 70 to 75. ••
