AP declares Josh Shapiro winner in reelection bid for Pa. attorney general - TribLIVE

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The Associated Press on Friday declared Attorney General Josh Shapiro the winner in his bid for reelection over Allegheny County Republican Heather Heidelbaugh.

Shapiro, 47, a Democrat from Montgomery County, took the lead in the race Thursday morning. At the time the race was called, Shapiro had won 50.5% of the vote with 3,321,455 votes to Heidelbaugh’s 3,078,668, according to unofficial tallies.

“Pennsylvania, it is the honor of my life to serve as your Attorney General,” Shapiro wrote on Twitter. “I’m grateful and ready to keep taking on the big fights as the people’s AG.”

Pennsylvania, it is the honor of my life to serve as your Attorney General. I'm grateful and ready to keep taking on the big fights as the people’s AG.

Thank you. pic.twitter.com/lU5EEq1QJk

— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) November 6, 2020

In a phone interview with the Tribune-Review, Heidelbaugh said her campaign will issue a statement once every legal vote is counted.

By 1:30 p.m. Friday, there were still 112,796 mail ballots to be counted. About 65% of mail ballots were cast by Democratic voters.

“‘The will of the voters must be heard and the only way to know their will is to count every legal vote.’ These are the words of Attorney General Josh Shapiro in an interview with CNN yesterday,” said Heidelbaugh, 62, of Mt. Lebanon. “Today my opponent has declared victory in the race for Pennsylvania Attorney General despite the fact that every legal vote in Pennsylvania has yet to be counted.”

She added, “Once every legal vote has been counted, our campaign will issue a statement accordingly whether or not the final results are in our favor. I urge Mr. Shapiro to count every legal vote.”

Heidelbaugh, who announced her candidacy last November, has often criticized Shapiro, saying he acts like a politician rather than defending and litigating.

During his first term in office, Shapiro has clashed with the Trump administration, including a lawsuit against the administration for eliminating guaranteed contraceptive care and a lawsuit challenging the family separation policy at the border.

He also inherited the statewide grand jury report that detailed decades of alleged abuse within the Catholic dioceses in the state.

Counting, which is now in it fourth day, will continue into next week as several counties wait to begin going through provisional ballots.

Still, several other races were also determined by Pennsylvania voters Friday, who returned at least 17 incumbent members to Congress — with one race undecided — and have elected the first Republican auditor general in more than two decades.

Two more incumbent Democrats sealed victories, U.S. Reps. Susan Wild in the Allentown area and Matt Cartwright in Scranton. The only uncalled congressional race remaining in the state is in the 17th Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb faces Republican Sean Parnell.

Lamb declared victory late Wednesday, but Parnell said Thursday that he would not concede. Lamb led 208,373 votes to 204,086. It was unclear how many votes had not yet been counted.

Republican Timothy DeFoor will be the state’s next auditor general after outpacing Democrat Nina Ahmad, while vote counting continues to determine results for state treasurer. Republicans will keep majority control of both chambers of the General Assembly.

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