ELECTION RESULTS- UNOFFICIAL

UPDATED: Midnight

167 PRECINCTS REPORTING IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY

President

Obama/Biden 28187
McCain/Palin 33682

Congress 17th District

Tim Holden 47876
Toni Gilhooley 15049

Senate 29th District

Jim Rhoades (posthumously) 41100
PJ Symons 20572
Dennis Baylor 1241

123rd District

Neal Goodman 19419

124 District

Dave Argall 12337

Bill Mackey 4927

125th District

Tim Seip 12834

Gary Hornberger 10153

Obama wins state, nation, but Schuylkill voters choose McCain/Palin

While Barack Obama is President-elect as the day begins, Schuylkill County voters gave the presidential nod to John McCain. Over 33 thousand votes were cast for the Arizona senator and his running mate Sarah Palin, compared to just over 28-thousand votes for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Many of the major networks put Pennsylvania’s 21 electoral votes to Obama just after 8pm, on the heels of heavy turnout in Philadelphia and its suburbs. About 70 percent of the county’s 94 thousand registered voters came to the polls, but that is less than the nearly 72 percent who voted in the 2004 presidential election.

CONGRESS, HOUSE, SENATE TWO WITH RESULTS

St. Clair Democrat Tim Holden returns to Washington with a resounding win over challenger, Republican Toni Gilhooley. The unofficial results in the county pegged Holden with nearly 48-thousand-votes, compared to 15 thousand for the political newcomer. Holden thanked his followers at the St. Clair Fish and Game:

HOLDEN

In the state Senate, countians cast over 41 thousand votes to the late Senator Jim Rhoades, prompting a special election in the new year. WPPA Reporter Kerry Dowd has the story:

DOWD

State legislators won easy re-election. Democrat Neal Goodman of the 123rd, Dave Argall of the 124th and Tim Seip of the 125th return to Harrisburg, easily defeating their challengers.

The son of Boscov’s founder and his brother in law are buying the assets of the distressed Berks-county based retailer. Albert Boscov and Edward Lakin will buy the company, rather than have it acquired by Versa Capital Management, a private Philadelphia equity firm. A Delaware bankruptcy court, who is overseeing the company’s Chapter 11 filing, has to okay the deal. Industry analysts say its very important to have the deal close before the height of the Christmas shopping season. The 39-store chain, with a location here in Pottsville, was founded by Solomon Boscov in 1911.

Schuylkill Haven police and fire investigators have charged a borough man with starting a fire at his mother’s house last week. 28-year-old Franklin Moyer Jr. is charged with arson and related counts for igniting a fire Friday morning by spreading gas in the house. Reports indicate that Moyer started the fire while his mother was out of the house after midnight. Evidently, this wasn’t the first time that Moyer attempted to burn his mother’s house down. He is jailed in the county prison, awaiting a preliminary hearing.

UNDATED (AP) - Honking horns. Hugs. High-fives. Jubilant supporters of Barack Obama danced in the streets after he was elected president and they brought traffic to a standstill in many cities. For the second time in a week, Philadelphia had an impromptu celebration. Six days after crowding streets to celebrate the Phillies' World Series victory, thousands of Philadelphians marched downtown in celebrattion.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Barack Obama built his victory in Pennsylvania along the state's populous eastern corridor. He carried not only Philadelphia, but also the city's once solidly Republican suburbs, the Lehigh Valley and key counties in the northeastern Pennsylvania swing region. Like any strong Democratic candidate, he also won Pittsburgh.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An Associated Press exit poll shows many Pennsylvania Democrats who wanted Hillary Clinton to be their party's nominee were won over by Barack Obama. Obama lost to Clinton in the state's April primary. The poll found that 1 in 5 Democrats who wanted her to win the nomination said they voted for Republican candidate John McCain.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An estimated 6 million Pennsylvanians voted
Tuesday. That's 65 percent of residents old enough to vote. Even before the last votes were counted, the turnout appeared to be more than 61 percent, the largest since 1968. Democrats now outnumber Republicans by more than 1 million in a state that last chose a Republican for president when it supported George H. Bush in 1988.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - All Pennsylvania members of Congress seeking
re-election have won except for Republican Rep. Phil English. The
seven-term incumbent from northwestern Pennsylvania narrowly lost
to Democratic challenger Kathy Dahlkemper. Pennsylvania's only open
House seat remains in Republican hands. It's in the 5th District, a
mostly rural district in central and northern Pennsylvania. Centre
County Republican Party chairman Glenn Thompson beat Democrat Mark McCracken, a Clearfield County commissioner.

CHICAGO (AP) - For President-elect Barack Obama, the campaign is
over and the transition to the White House is beginning. Last night
he said the U.S. is facing its greatest challenges of a lifetime. And he says solutions to problems like a floundering economy and two ongoing wars, among other issues, won't be quick or easy.

KOGELO, Kenya (AP) - They've been celebrating Barack Obama's win
all across Africa. In Kenya, where Obama's father is from, tomorrow
is a public holiday. Many Africans hope Obama's win will help their
continent, the poorest in the world.

WASHINGTON (AP) - With the White House won, more Democrats are
also headed to Congress. Five retiring Senate Republicans saw their
seats won by Democrats, with a few incumbents still sweating out
races. Democrats also hope a final count will bring them as many as
20 new House seats.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy was the dominant issue in the
election, according to about 60 percent of voters surveyed in exit
polls. The next closest issue was Iraq -- named by just one in 10.
Four in 10 voters said their family's financial status is worse now
than in 2004. Most of them voted for Barack Obama.

WECH BAGHTU, Afghanistan (AP) - Villagers in southern
Afghanistan say an air raid aimed at Taliban militants has left 37
civilians dead. Most of them were women and children celebrating a
wedding. Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants President-elect Barack
Obama put an end to civilian casualties.