Incumbent Todd Stephens (R) has conceded in the race for the 151st Legislative District, which includes portions of Lower Gwynedd and Upper Dublin townships (along with other nearby communities). His opponent, Melissa Cerrato (D) will now represent the district in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives. Stephens represented the district for 12 years.
Since election day, Stephens’ lead over Cerrato slowly dwindled down and she eventually overtook him as outstanding mail-in and absentee ballots were counted. Cerrato’s win guarantees the Democrat Party will have a one-seat majority in the state house (there is still a seat in Bucks County that hasn’t been finalized).
In a statement on Facebook, Stephens wrote the following:
It has been the honor of a lifetime representing the people of the 151st District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the last 12 years. While in years past I have been able to overcome the odds despite tremendously unpopular Republicans at the top of the ticket, the new 36% Republican district into which I was drawn, and a Gubernatorial candidate who received just 29% of the vote, proved to be too much to overcome this year. After all the votes have been counted, it appears as though I will come up 57 votes short out of over 33,500 votes cast. I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Melissa Cerrato on being elected State Representative for 151st District. I look forward to working with her in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition.
Though I am disappointed that I won’t be returning to Harrisburg to serve the community where I was born, raised and am raising my family, I am proud of my accomplishments including creating a program to ensure we have safe, clean drinking water, improving our child protection laws, vaccinating thousands of our most vulnerable neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing record-setting education funding for our schools without raising taxes and writing the most comprehensive animal protection law in the country. I’ll certainly look back at my time as your State Representative with pride.
Of course, these last 12 years wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support of my wife, Nicole, my sons, Will and Ben, my parents, sister and our entire family. My family has had to make a lot of sacrifices over the years in order for me to serve our community, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with them at home. Additionally, I’d like to thank my staff, both current and former. These men and women worked tirelessly over the years to serve the constituents of the 151st District, and I am immensely grateful for their dedication and efforts. I also want to extend my thanks and appreciation to all of my supporters, campaign staff, donors and volunteers. I’m indebted to each of you for your support and generosity. And of course, to the people of the 151st Legislative District, thank for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to serve. I have had the good fortunate to meet so many wonderful people along this journey and I will forever cherish the memories and relationships.
In closing, I am incredibly grateful for having had the opportunity to serve in the State House. They say when one door closes, another opens. I am not sure what the future holds for me but I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to writing the next chapter of my professional life while focusing on the most important jobs I have – being a husband and a father.
I wish you all the best.
Cerrato tweeted the following:
I just received a gracious congratulatory call from my opponent. I am grateful to @RepToddStephens for his past service to our community and his prompt concession, ensuring the balance of power in the #PAHouse is not hung up in court. Now, let’s get to work.
Photo: Candidates