In a very tight race, a Penn State professor has won the Democratic primary for the 12th Congressional district.
Democrat Marc Friedenberg beat Judy Herschel by 223 votes, according to unofficial results Wednesday afternoon.
He said his win in the primary came from work by volunteers — getting results in places they put the effort.
Now, he has his eye on the general election where he will face Republican incumbent Tom Marino.
Marino beat challenger Doug McLinko, winning 67 percent of the vote.
Friedenberg said the opioid crisis and broadband internet access are key issues.
“The issues that voters in Centre County and Perry County and Bradford and Susquehanna counties care about are largely the same,” he said.
The 12th district runs from Perry County to the New York border. It is rated solidly Republican by the Cook Report.
Friedenberg said he’ll look to students who weren’t around for the primary, independents and Republican voters who supported McLinko.
“This has been the thrill of a lifetime, I am so excited, and we are going to give Tom Marino the run for his life in November,” Friedenberg said.
Another competitive Democratic primary for a U.S. House seat was not close. In the 15th Congressional district, Susan Boser beat Wade Jodun handily. She got about 75 percent of the vote.
