ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk claimed victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary as he seeks a second term.
Unofficial results showed the incumbent handily leading Councilman Ed Zucal. The mayor had earned just over 80% of the 6,100-plus votes counted by 11:35 p.m.
That margin shows there's “not a lot of Democratic appetite for [Zucal's] brand of politics,” Tuerk told LehighValleyNews.com while watching election results pour in with supporters at Union and Finch.
The mayor was drinking a club soda but said he'd have another martini if he still had 70% of the vote by the end of Tuesday night.
Rematch on the horizon?
It was too early to know Tuesday night if Tuerk will face Zucal again in November.
Zucal sought write-in votes from Republicans in the final weeks of the race. He needs at least 100 write-ins — and more than Tuerk — to claim victory in the GOP primary.
It will likely take several days for Lehigh County election officials to verify write-in votes from the race.
The mayor said he is “super excited” by the potential extension of his re-election campaign, saying it would give him “an opportunity to speak directly to Republicans.”
He said Tuesday's election results send "a very clear message"
Speaking to LehighValleyNews.com about 45 minutes after polls closed, Zucal said he was “feeling really good” about his electoral chances.
He said his campaign’s poll workers “got great responses” from many voters before they entered the booth — both Democrats and Republicans.
A retired city police officer, Zucal is confident his campaign to unseat Tuerk will continue until November “one way or the other” after asking Republicans to write in his name for mayor.
The two-term councilman has said he would not be bothered running as a Republican in November.
Councilman trails in re-election bid
Two incumbents were on course to win re-election, according to unofficial results Tuesday.
Council Vice President Cynthia Mota and member Natalie Santos had two of the top four vote totals among the seven candidates.
Political newcomers Jeremy Binder and Crisitan Pungo sat in second and fourth, respectively.
Pungo trailed three-term Councilman Daryl Hendricks in fourth place for much of the night before taking a 25-vote lead when more results were posted at 11:35 p.m.
Election officials said 160 of 161 precincts in Lehigh County had reported partial results by then. It’s unclear how many votes from Allentown were still uncounted.
Patrick Palmer and Ben Stemrich sat in sixth and seventh, respectively.
No Republicans ran for their party's nomination for Allentown City Council.
