Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey conceded to Republican challenger David McCormick on Thursday night. The Pennsylvania Department of State ended the automatic recount in the unusually close race since the result was no longer contested.

Join Megan Frank every Friday at 9:30am and 6:30pm for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week, Brittany Sweeney takes her place, joined by politics reporter Tom Shortell and Easton reporter Brian Myszkowski.

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is conceding his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick. The concession came Thursday, more than two weeks after Election Day. A statewide recount is showing no signs of closing the gap and Casey's campaign has suffered repeated blows in court.

Northampton County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Dally heard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging the validity of about 200 provisional ballots. Similar cases are playing out across the state.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said the House Ethics Committee is split in deliberations over how to handle an investigations into former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz on allegations of sexual misconduct. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Gaetz to lead the Justice Department.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify 191,158 ballots Wednesday afternoon. Fights over how to count contested provisional ballots are already popping up in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick.

Northampton County's elections commission voted in a multi-day hearing to count provisional ballots missing certain signatures. Their decision has been challenged in county court.

Allentown City Councilman Ed Zucal officially kicked off his campaign for mayor Tuesday at Fairgrounds Hotel.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick talk about political campaign budgets and funding, comparing this year's election cycle to those past.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court order Monday is a win for David McCormick and a loss for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions.

Leigh Chapman will be the Department of State's fifth leader in seven years.

Commonwealth Court is expected to rule soon on a case that could lead to an election probe.

Council will decide on the process for filling the council vacancy after the inauguration.

Rep. Scott Perry called the House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol 'illegitimate.'

Splitting a major city into two districts could affect its school funding, she says.

Both Allentown and Bethlehem would be split into different Senate districts under the plan.

Advocacy groups and Democrats want the state to block the request for voters' partial social security numbers and other sensitive information.

Democrats say the new draft has little chance of passing because it wasn't negotiated with the governor's office.

The ACLU is concerned that voter information can be kept safe.

Both the Pa. Senate and House say they intend to hold public hearings on the redistricting proposals.

An extreme-right TV commentator has thrown the political world in France into turmoil by launching a presidential campaign ahead of next April's election.

The White House wants to boost global commitments to human rights and fighting corruption. But as the summit convenes, American democracy itself is under pressure.