Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Scott captures Democratic nomination for Congress, will face Perry in November.

Candidate signs adorn the State Street median in Harrisburg.

It was a tight race, but a Lutheran pastor narrowly bested a four-person field of political newcomers to capture the Democratic nomination in the Harrisburg area’s new congressional district.

With almost all precincts reported, George Scott tallied 13,924 votes compared to 13,376 for Savonnia Corbin-Johnson, 6,912 for Eric Ding and 4,157 for Alan Howe.

“I want to thank Eric, Shavonnia, and Alan for running a positive race focused on the issues and the people of this district,” Scott said in a statement. “I am honored by this victory tonight thanks in large part to the incredible volunteers this campaign has assembled.”

Corbin-Johnson led the field for much of the night, with Scott closing a sizeable early gap to eventually pull ahead. Corbin-Johnson performed especially well in Harrisburg and in Dauphin County, where she beat Scott by 1,540 votes. Scott, however, performed considerably better in Cumberland and York counties.

In the November general election, Scott will face off against incumbent Republican Scott Perry for the 10th -district congressional seat. Perry was unopposed in his race.

“Our Congress is broken,” Scott said after declaring victory. “It has stopped working for working people. We have the most expensive health care in the world, but far from the best outcomes. We are paying more for prescription drugs than any of our allies. The talking heads blame unions and workers for our challenges, but the blame falls squarely on Congress for doing nothing at all to help families during this wageless recovery.”

Scott, 56, was raised on a cattle farm southwest of Harrisburg and served for 20 years in the U.S. Army before becoming an ordained Lutheran minister. He is on leave from Trinity Lutheran Church in East Berlin.

In the Harrisburg-area race for General Assembly, incumbent Democrat Patty Kim will face Republican challenger Anthony Harrell in the general election for the 103rd legislative district. Both ran unopposed in the primary.

In the 104th district, both Democrat Patricia Ann Smith and Republican incumbent Sue Helm ran unopposed in their primaries and will face off against one another in November.

In the 105th district, Democrat Eric Epstein will run against Republican Andrew Lewis for an open seat. Epstein was unopposed, while Lewis beat challenger Adam Klein.

Continue Reading