Rossi holds big lead in 59th Legislative District special election – TribDem.com

Leslie Baum Rossi, a Republican, appeared headed toward a victory in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 59th Legislative District special election as of midnight on Wednesday.

But complete unofficial results were not released.

In Somerset County, where all election day votes but none of the mail-in were announced, Rossi had 2,320 votes, compared to 812 for Democrat Mariah Fisher and 58 for Libertarian Robb Luther. Meanwhile, in Westmoreland County, with 38 of 41 precincts reporting, Rossi had 7,624 votes, compared to 4,074 for Fisher and 325 for Luther.

They were running in a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Mike Reese, a Republican, earlier this year.

In a previous interview with The Tribune-Democrat, Rossi described her political views by saying, My values are very far right. Im pro-Second Amendment. Im pro-life. I really have no liberal anything. Im far right. Im a far-right conservative for the working class.

Rossi is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Luther, a marketing professional with a Pittsburgh firm, left the Republican Party, becoming a Libertarian, because he did not support the claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, which turned into a central belief for the GOP over the past six months.

As a Libertarian, we run of principle, Luther said during an interview around 11 p.m. We know were a third party, so we know its a stretch. But we go out there and give it everything we have.

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Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at814-532-5056. Follow him on Twitter@Dave_Sutor.

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Rossi holds big lead in 59th Legislative District special election - TribDem.com