Flannery, Horst best of four in GOP race for Franklin County commissioner

Incumbent John Flannery and newcomer Dean Horst won the two Republican nominations for Franklin County commissioner in Tuesday's primary election, according to the unofficial results.

Horst won the most votes with 10,569, ending the night with 35.15% of the vote. Flannery received 29.65% of the vote.

Incumbent David Keller came up short on the path to a fourth term, coming in third with 18.36% of the vote. Just over 16.5% of votes went to Lori Rice.

Horst and Flannery will face Democrats Bob Ziobrowski and Cameron Schroy in the general election in November. Three will be elected to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, which is the chief governing body of the county.

Horst and Flannery are businessmen and share conservative views. They both often say they are not politicians.

Horst, 51, of Greene Township, touted his conservative principles and business acumen during the campaign. The owner of Interstate Garage Doors, the former Marine said the impact of COVID-19 regulations on personal freedoms was one of the things that drove him to run for office.

In a Q&A with the Public Opinion before the election, he said he would fight for volunteer fire and EMS companies that have long been struggling to find enough personnel and funding and work to prevent overdevelopment through farmland preservation.

In an email to supporters, Horst said he looks forward to traveling around the county and meeting more residents as he campaigns for the general election.

"I am truly humbled by the support of voters from across Franklin County during yesterday's election," he wrote. "To receive the largest amount of votes in a crowded primary field is an honor and a testament to the hard work our team has put in for the past 5 months.

"I want to congratulate Commissioner John Flannery, who will also be advancing to the General Election. Over the next six months, I look forward to campaigning with John and ultimately serving with him to form a Conservative Republican majority on the Board of Commissioners. I also want to recognize Commissioner Dave Keller and Lori Rice for both running hard fought and spirited campaigns." 

Flannery, 53, of Guilford Township, reaffirmed the commitment he made ahead of his first term to only serve two terms as commissioner.

"Although voter turnout was disappointing yesterday, I was very pleased with the results," he said in a statement. "When I ran 3 and a half years ago, I committed to term limit myself to two terms. I’m humbled the voters have confidence in me to re-elect me to my last term, so that I can finish out some things that I started, and then return to my life’s work."

He also congratulated Horst on his victory and said looked forward to making a "great team." He also thanked Keller.

"I wish Dave the best, and we will continue to work together for the benefit of Franklin Countians during this transitional year," he said in the statement. "Although we may have our differences, Dave is a good guy.

"I appreciate the support and encouragement during this campaign, especially from Senator Doug Mastriano and many state and local officials. I sincerely look forward to serving the residents of Franklin County again, and if I can be of assistance, I’m happy to make myself available."

In an email Wednesday, Keller congratulated Horst and Flannery as they waited for the last few precincts to report results and pledged his support to them. He congratulated Rice for a "strong showing."

"I extend my sincere and deep appreciation to the residents of Franklin County for having elected me four times to serve as county commissioner," he wrote. "I consider it a great honor to have served and will always be grateful for the opportunity the voters have given me to help people, help solve problems, and help make good things happen across our county. The county's many accomplishments during my tenure as commissioner can largely be attributed to the folks who have worked for the county these past 15 years. I am indebted to them for their hard work, loyalty, intelligence, caring attitude, friendship and support, and their dedication to the residents of Franklin County.

"I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family, my friends, and my supporters, for their support during this campaign, as well as past campaigns," he wrote. "And thank you to everyone who cast a vote for me yesterday.  I look forward to continuing to work hard for the residents of the county during my remaining months in office, and my door remains open to anyone to whom I can be of service." 

Reached Wednesday, Rice said she thanked her supporters.

Other races on the ballot in Franklin County

Voter turnout was 26.4%. There are 83,928 registered voters in the county.

In the Republican primary for register and recorder, Joy Heinbaugh won about 76.4% of votes, compared to Clayton Bendell's 23.45%, according to the unofficial results.

An employee in the register and recorder's office for more than 18 years and the deputy register and recorder since 2016, Heinbaugh was appointed interim register and recorder last October after Linda Miller retired after 35 years in the position.

Heinbaugh will face Democrat John Patterson in November.

Annie Gomez-Shockey appears set to hold the position of magisterial district judge for Waynesboro and Washington Township. She won 315 more votes than her Republican challenger, Bryan Chappell Jr. on Tuesday, and was the only Democratic candidate. Mail-in and absentee ballots were not yet counted as of Wednesday morning.

In Chambersburg Area School District, there were school board races in regions 2, 5 and 7. Unless mail-in ballots change anything, the candidates in each of these races will compete again in November.

In Region 2 (first and fourth districts in Greene Township, third district in Guilford Township), Carl McKee beat Nicole Buhrman by 309 votes to win the Republican primary. Buhrman cross-filed and will run as a Democrat in November.

In Region 5 (Chambersburg 1-1 and the second and fifth voting districts in Greene Township), Stephanie Harbaugh beat Mike Boryan by 417 votes in the Republican primary. Because he cross-filed, Boryan will run as a Democrat in the general election.

Both Region 7 candidates cross-filed, and each won a primary. Mike Hayduk will run in November as a Democrat, having won 60.5% of the vote. Lorile Greenblatt will run as a Republican after winning 56.36% of the vote. The Republican race was separated by 68 votes and the Democratic race by 57.

Candidates ran unopposed for the Region 8 and Region 9 seat.

Tuscarora school board had a nine-way race for five Republican nominations. Donnie Piper (1,349 votes), Matthew Gordon (1,332), Jim Taylor (1,124), Brandy Linn (1,074) and Clifford Smith Jr. (1,005) were the winners. There were no Democratic candidates.

In Shippensburg Area School District, Kirk Naugle and Mike Carey beat Becky Wolfinger and Roxy Lehman for the Republican nominations for school board, but Wolfinger and Lehman cross-filed and will move on to the general election as Democrats,

In Waynesboro, there was one school board race. Clint Pentz and Linda Zimmerman won the two Republican nominations. Zimmerman and Karen Fitzgerald also cross-filed as Democrats.

There was one race for Waynesboro Borough Council. Mike Cermak won over 60% of the vote to beat Ascohi Helman for the Republica nomination for a First Ward seat.

In Quincy Township, Nelson Egolf beat Lee Eric Daywalt for the Republican nomination for township supervisor.

In Montgomery Township, Michael Rife beat Chris Duffield for the Republican nomination for township supervisor.

In Guilford Township, Michael Ferguson beat Patrick Holden for the Republican nomination for township supervisor.