John Baer: In court races, it looks like the GOP cashed in on the low turnout

0 Comments | Philadelphia Daily News, November, 2009

PENNSYLVANIA voters yesterday gamely reasserted their right to elect statewide judges, an act akin to playing a political lottery.

Fifteen candidates for seven spots on three state courts were on the ballot in a municipal election year with no marquee races to generate voter turnout anywhere in the state.

The low-profile court contests appeared to draw lower than normal court-race turnout; some experts projected a statewide figure below 20 percent.

It looks like the Republicans cashed in.

Pittsburgh Republican Joan Orie Melvin won the bitter if barely visible battle for state Supreme Court against Easton Democrat Jack Panella. With 93 percent of the state vote counted late last night, Orie Melvin held an insurmountable 53-47 lead.

It was a contest...