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HOWARD -- Glenn "GT" Thompson looks to be going back to Washington. The powerful congressman, who currently serves as the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee -- the first Pennsylvanian to do so since the 1860s -- maintained his seat in PA-15 by bringing home 170,977 votes to challenger Ray Bilger's 96,481.
These votes are preliminary until the vote is certified in a few weeks.
In Clinton County, Thompson defeated his challenger with 8,139 votes to Bilger's 4,475. Bilger carried Centre County 32,234 votes to Thompson's 24,503, however, that was the lone piece of good news for Bilger. Thompson carried every other county across his sprawling district, which contains all or parts of 18 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
"From Centre to McKean, Tioga to Jefferson, I've been fortunate to feel at home throughout the district," said Thompson. "I am honored to have earned the trust of the hard-working people I represent. Tonight's victory is a reminder of that trust, and I look forward to continuing to deliver results for Pennsylvania.
Thompson is a perennial figure in Pennsylvania politics. First winning his seat in 2012, Thompson won that race with 177,740 votes compared to his challenger, Charles Dumas, who received 104,725. While the exact shape and texture of PA-15 has changed throughout the years, Thompson's vote percentage has never fallen below the 62.9% victory he began with in 2012 -- a trend which continued this year, where he carried 63.5% of the vote.