Former district judge gets GOP nod for special state Senate election, Arnet seeks Democratic nomination UPDATED

Former district judge gets GOP nod for special state Senate election

Former District Judge Guy Reschenthaler won the Republican nomination for a special election in the 37th state Senate district Saturday.

Mr. Reschenthaler resigned his Jefferson Hills judicial position immediately before accepting the nomination that he captured on the fifth round of balloting among Republican officials from the district. The seat includes communities in Allegheny County's southern and western suburbs as well as Peters Township in Washington County.

The special election, which will coincide with the Nov. 3 general election, was prompted by the resignation of former state Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, who left the seat to head the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Reschenthaler, a U.S. Navy veteran who was elected to his judicial seat in 2013, will have a head start on campaigning as the Democratic Party has yet to schedule its nominating session. Nancy Patton Mill, the Allegheny County Democratic chair, said she expects their nomination process will take place later this summer.

Six candidates filed for the GOP nomination. On the final ballot, Mr. Reschenthaler tallied 48 votes to capture the nomination over Bethel Park Councilman Paul Dixon, who had 31. There was one abstention.

They were the survivors of a field that included D. Raja, who was the GOP nominee against Mr. Smith when the Democrat won the seat; Natalie Mihalek, a Mt. Lebanon attorney; Tim Young, a former high school principal; and John Schnatterly, a member of the Bethel Park Republican committee.

Word on the street is that Mt. Lebanon's Heather Arnet will probably be chosen as Reschenthaler's opponent.

It will be weeks before Mr. Reschenthaler knows the identity of his November opponent, time that he said he would spend on fundraising and organizing. No Democrat has officially launched a candidacy although Michelle Zmijanac, the head of the Mt. Lebanon Democratic Committee, has expressed an interest in the seat. Another Mt. Lebanon resident, Heather Arnet, the CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation, has also been mentioned as a potential candidate.

Update July 15, 2015 2:20 AM Arnet seeks Democratic nomination for former Sen. Matt Smith's seat