Republican state Rep. Justin Simmons beat back a feisty challenge from Easton Area High School teacher Kevin Deely to capture a second term in the state House.
With all precincts in Lehigh and Northampton counties reporting, complete but unofficial returns showed Simmons with 14,226 votes to Deely’s 13,664.
The race was too close to call all night Tuesday, with the race hanging in the balance as one Lehigh County precinct delayed reporting results until just after 1:30 this morning.
Deely, 36, of Upper Saucon Township, held a slight lead in the race until that precinct, at Calvary Bible Fellowship Church on North Main Street in Upper Saucon Township, reported its tally.
Simmons gained 1,552 votes to Deely’s 823 there to seal the victory, according to the unofficial returns.
Simmons, a 26-year-old freshman Republican lawmaker, grew up in the precinct that delivered the victory.
He said watching and waiting as the returns came in was a roller-coaster ride.
State Rep.Justin Simmons
“We worked really hard to spread our message and talk about what we’ve done,” said Simmons, a 26-year-old Republican from Upper Saucon who’s wrapping up his first term in the Pennsylvania House. “It’s a tough district and a lot of money was put against me. In the end we did prevail.”
Deely, 36, also of Upper Saucon, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Simmons said it was a hard-fought campaign and he was looking forward to continuing to represent the 131st District in Harrisburg.
“We’re very excited to move forward,” he said.
Until the final precinct reported its results, just 167 votes separated the candidates of more than 25,500 cast.
Tim Benyo, Lehigh County’s chief clerk of the election board, said poll workers had yet to deliver results at 1:20 in the morning.
“I assume it’s the counting of the absentee ballots” that’s to blame for the delay, Benyo said.
Deely asked voters to send him to Harrisburg to fight for education, the middle class and Pennsylvania’s children. Simmons told voters in the 131st Legislative District that he listens to all taxpayers and protects their hard-earned money.
Deely decided to jump into politics after watching cuts to education and teachers struggle to meet restrictive mandates. He blames the $1 billion cut to state education funding for the rise in property taxes over the past two years.
Throughout the campaign Simmons was critical of Deely, the former president of the Easton Area Education Association, who brokered a pricey teachers’ contract in Easton. The union later reopened the contract and agreed to a pay freeze.
Deely fought back, saying he’s fighting for the middle class and wants the state to invest in education, which guarantees an educated work force in the future.
Simmons touted his support for education, saying that this year’s budget invested more state money into basic education than any other time in state history. Simmons touted that the final state budget rejected Gov. Tom Corbett’s $100 million cut to a state grant program used for full-day kindergarten and tutoring, and gave financially distressed schools another $50 million in basic education funding.
But Deely argues districts are still reeling from Corbett’s 2011-12 budget cuts that resulted in massive teacher layoffs.
Deely thinks the state needs to stop spending so much money in corrections and funnel it into an investment with a much better return, he said.
Simmons doesn’t collect a taxpayer-funded pension or cash in on other perks, like a state car or per diem reimbursements. He also supports shrinking the state’s General Assembly by 25 percent.
Staff writer Sara K. Satullo contributed to this report.