Farry outruns Mitchell, Bentrim in race for 6th Senatorial seat in Pa. Legislature

Longtime state Rep. Frank Farry thwarted a challenge by attorney Ann Marie Mitchell in his run for the newly redistricted 6th Senate seat in the Pennsylvania Legislature.

Both Farry and Mitchell are graduates of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in economics, and are vying for the redistricted seat.

As of Wednesday morning, Farry led with 65,465 votes or 54% to Mitchell's 39,901 and said he thought the race was going well from the results of the in-person voting. Bentrim was a distant third with 1,869 votes.

MItchell issued a concession statement Thursday, thanking her supporters. "Over the past 10 or so months, my team and I have worked to flip SD 6. While we did not succeed this time around, I am immensely proud of the work we have done here, the relationships built across communities, and the values we fought to protect," she said.

Farry, R-142, of Langhorne, who is also an attorney, has served in the state House since 2008, but this is his first bid for Senate.

Mitchell and Farry have been vying for the seat held by longtime state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, of Bensalem, who is not seeking re-election to represent the district which now includes many municipalities in Bucks County, including Warminster and Warrington along the Montgomery County border.

Farry said his priority is helping families reduce the effects of inflation by keeping taxes low, improving education funding, supporting increased prescription drug coverage for seniors and a commonsense energy policy.

Mitchell, who is married with two children in college, said she wanted to bring more bipartisanship to the legislature, make sure that large corporations pay their fair share of taxes by closing loopholes and notes that this year, where a woman's right to abortion is an issue after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling, she is the candidate endorsed by Planned Parenthood. "As senator, I will stand against any effort to strip away the right to an abortion, specifically in the cases of rape, incest, or in situations where the life of the mother is at risk," she said before the election.

Farry, a married father of two young children and a longtime firefighter and chief of the Langhorne-Middletown Fire Co., said he supports the current Pennsylvania law on abortion where a women can choose up to viability when the fetus can survive outside the womb. "At viability I think there are protections that make sense. If we focus where we agree we can protect choice and life," he stated.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Farry defeats Mitchell, Bentrim in run for 6th state Senate seat