DV Journal

Delaware County Republicans and members of the Philadelphia Log Cabin Republicans warmly welcomed Senate candidate Dave McCormick at a reception in Swarthmore on Wednesday.

McCormick, 58, touted his early support for gay marriage. In 2013, McCormick signed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court backed by Ric Grennell. Grenell, who is gay, served as ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence under former President Donald Trump. He was the first openly gay cabinet member in U.S. history.

“People told me if you want to have a future in the Republican Party, you won’t sign that,” McCormick recalled. “And the reason I signed it is because I had served in the military with a number of great patriots who were gay and closeted. I had a family member. And I’m a libertarian in many ways. I want people to have the freedom to live the life they want and equality of opportunity.”

Afterward, Alex Jablokov, a Swarthmore GOP committeeman, said, “I like Dave. He’s moderate socially. I think that will help him in Pennsylvania.”

Val Biancaniello, a Republican state committeewoman from Marple, agreed.

(From left) Delaware County GOP Chair Frank Agovino, Justin Zebley, president of the Philadelphia Log Cabin Republicans, Dave McCormick, and Swarthmore GOP Chair Rob Jordan.

“I like that Dave is working hard. He has great messaging. He’s not a career politician. He has business experience. He’s someone who has business savvy and can bring manufacturing back to the state.  He supports LGBTQ Republicans. We have a big tent and a place for everyone in Pennsylvania,” she said. The Log Cabin Republicans is an LGBT conservative group.

A new Emerson poll shows McCormick is closing the gap with Casey. It found 45 percent of voters support Casey, and 41 percent support McCormick. However, 14 percent remain undecided.

“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I was going to win but also had a pathway to win,” said McCormick. “This is a change election. A change election is when guys like me, who aren’t part of the system, who aren’t part of public life, beat guys like Bob Casey, who’s been there for 30 years, in a Senate race.”

McCormick and his wife, Dina Powell, have six daughters.

“I’m going to be all right. The question is, are they going to be OK? We’re on a path where they won’t be OK. Our kids won’t be OK unless we change the direction of the country.”

“This is a moment (where) we’re at a crossroads. We’re either going to do what’s necessary to get things back on track, or we’re going to say, ‘Oh my God, how did that happen?’”

“We want to make sure America remains the America we love, the America we all benefited from,” said McCormick. “We got to do something about it. And that’s why I’m running.”

He lost the last campaign against Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022 by 900 votes out of 1.5 million cast. Oz then lost to now Sen. John Fetterman.

“The decline is evident around us,” McCormick said. “Economically, $34 trillion of debt, a $1 trillion interest payments. The interest payment on our debt is bigger than our defense budget. You see it with Bidenomics…60 percent of Pennsylvanians are living paycheck to paycheck. Prices have gone up by 17 percent. Real wages have gone up by 14 percent. So if you’re buying food or fuel or rent it got more expensive. If you’re making a payment on a pickup truck, it’s 50 percent more expensive. If you’re trying to buy a house, it’s twice as much. New home sales have gone down.”

He mentioned the open border, fentanyl pouring into the country and causing 5,000 deaths last year in Pennsylvania.

“Ten million illegal immigrants have come over the border under Biden, a huge national security threat,” McCormick said. And “160 of those—these are the ones who are apprehended—are on the terrorist watch list. It took 13 people to take down the (Twin) Towers.”

He said, “Bob Casey and Joe Biden are having an election-year epiphany that the border is now a problem.”

McCormick also discussed rising crime, increasing antisemitism, the Middle East, policies he holds his Democratic opponent responsible for.

“You see it in the war on energy,” he said. Pennsylvania has “the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world. If we could unlock that energy supply, it would be an economic boom, not just for Pennsylvania but the entire economy.”

“But the overarching goal of the Biden administration, with Bob Casey supporting it every step of the way, is to stop using fossil fuels, drive up the prices so people buy less, and switch to alternative energy sources, which come from China.

“You can’t believe the barbarism that took place (when Hamas attacked Israel),” he said. “This is evil against Israel and the West. It’s underwritten by Iran. And the original sin was the deal Iran did with Obama. And Bob Casey was the deciding vote.”

Delaware County GOP Chairman Frank Agovino asked about abortion, noting Democrats are using it as an issue.

“We have Republicans and Democrats that supported our current legislation (allowing abortion up to 23 weeks),” McCormick said. “The governor who signed it was Gov. Casey. I’m in line with Casey’s dad, not Casey the son. (Sen. Casey) was a pro-life Democrat (but) he completely went to the other side. And he’s got the position now there should be abortions up until the day of birth.”

“I don’t support abortion bans. I do support the three exceptions. And there’s lots of common ground, like on contraception, adoption support, and restrictions on late-term abortions.”

People want leadership, McCormick said, calling Case “absolutely anything but a leader.”

“I’ll be an independent voice who will fight for what’s best in Pennsylvania,” McCormick promised.

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State Sen. Doug Mastriano announced on Facebook Thursday evening that he will not run for the U.S. Senate next year.

His announcement opens the door for Dave McCormick, who said he is seriously considering running for the Senate again. Although he has not yet announced a bid against incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D), many in the Republican Party are urging him to do so. Casey is seeking a fourth term.

McCormick narrowly lost the GOP U.S. Senate primary last year to Dr. Mehmet Oz, who former President Donald Trump endorsed. Oz went on to lose to Democrat John Fetterman.

“Wow,” said GOP strategist and former candidates Charlie Gerow to the news Mastriano’s out. “I’m sure many are breathing a sigh of relief that the road is now cleared for a challenger who can beat Bob Casey. Winning the Senate seat is a top priority for 2024.”

Mastriano said he prayed before making the decision. And he told supporters watching him on Facebook that their Walk as Free People movement is not over. Mastriano and his wife Rebbie promised to hold a conference in the fall to help train future leaders.

And what may be more important, they promised to support the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat.

“We want to be sure we’re supporting that 80 percent person,” said Rebbie Mastriano, echoing remarks by former President Ronald Reagan regarding supporting fellow Republicans. “Somebody does not have to be perfect to have our support,” she said.

“Like Ronald Reagan, we believe our best days are still ahead,” Doug Mastriano said.

Many in the party had asked Mastriano not to run for the U.S., while many of his supporters asked him to.

Mastriano was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022. He lost by 15 percent to now-Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose campaign funding dwarfed Mastriano’s. Shapiro could afford to run relentless advertising dwelling on Mastriano’s strong pro-life views, painting him as a danger to Pennsylvania women.

State Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) tweeted: “Today I’m calling on all level-headed P.A. Republicans to join me in requesting that Doug Mastriano abandon any plans he may have to run for U.S. Senate in 2024. 1/14.”

Many others active in the GOP feared that while Mastriano might once again win a primary, he would hand the Democrats an easy victory in 2024 since he is perceived as out of step with the mainstream, especially on abortion. And with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Democrats have used abortion to beat Republicans, even in races like the recent 163rd state representative seat in Delaware County, where the GOP candidate was pro-choice.

Guy Ciarrocchi, who ran for Congress last year and is now a writer and political strategist, was optimistic.

“Now is the time for Republicans to unite,” said Ciarrocchi. “To find a candidate who will defeat Sen. Casey and be a voice for common sense and focus on the actual problems that affect us every day, that we talk about at the kitchen table. Unify and invite independents and Democrats to join with us for a better future.”

Many believe that candidate is McCormick.

“I thank Doug for his years of military and public service and his dedication to Pennsylvania,” McCormick said when asked to comment Thursday evening. Mastriano spent 30 years in the military, retiring as a colonel.

Dave McCormick

“I am seriously considering a run for the U.S. Senate because (Sen.) Bob Casey has consistently made life worse for Pennsylvania families over the past 18 years, and our state deserves better. Casey votes for Biden’s liberal agenda 98 percent of the time; he is openly hostile to our state’s energy industry, endorses dangerous criminals walking freely on our streets, and is enabling open borders, leading to a terrifying rise in fentanyl deaths in Pennsylvania,” McCormick said.

“Throughout my life, I have had the honor to serve and lead, including as a paratrooper in the first Gulf War and later while creating hundreds of jobs in Western Pennsylvania. We need a Republican nominee who can build a broad coalition of Pennsylvanians to defeat Bob Casey and improve the lives of Pennsylvania families,” McCormick added.

McCormick recently published a book, “Superpower in Peril,” and has been traveling the state discussing it.

Looking back at 2022, the most significant stories the Delaware Valley Journal covered involved the midterm election.

The primary campaign for governor and lieutenant governor on the Republican side brought out many candidates. In contrast, on the Democratic side, only Josh Shapiro ran for governor while a few Democrats contested for the lieutenant governor’s nomination. Many Republicans supported Shapiro, who ran as a moderate.

The race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R) drew several candidates in both parties. Democrats fielded Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during the campaign, Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh, Philadelphia state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Philadelphia physician Kevin Baumlin, and western Pennsylvania Congressman Conor Lamb.

Among area Senate candidates, conservative author and commentator Kathy Barnette, Montgomery County businessman Jeff Bartos, Philadelphia lawyer George Bochetto, and Montgomery County lawyer Sean Gale all took part in a debate sponsored by the DVJournal that was broadcast on Pennsylvania Cable Network.

Celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz and hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick duked it out, spending massive amounts on television ads. With former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Oz prevailed by a slim margin, only to lose in the general election to Fetterman. Fetterman’s poor showing in a late October debate failed to move the needle since many voters had already cast their ballots via mail-in voting before seeing it.

The DVJournal also sponsored an online debate for Republican lieutenant governor candidates.

The wide field of men and one woman running for the Republican nomination for governor also debated several times. State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) came out on top in the primary despite a last-minute play by party leaders to back former Congressman Lou Barletta. Locally, Delaware County businessman Dave White made a strong showing and Chester County attorney Bill McSwain enjoyed the deep-pocket financial support of Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs.

Shapiro, who spent millions on television commercials to paint Mastriano as an extremist, went on to handily win the governor’s race. Many believe redistricting in the Delaware Valley collar counties gave the Democrats a new advantage. Democrats defeated several incumbent Republicans, notably Todd Stephens in Montgomery County, Chris Quinn in Delaware County, and Todd Polinchock in Bucks County.

Other 2022 stories in the region included the saga of private utility companies buying up municipal sewer and water authorities. The DVJ has highlighted Pennsylvanians’ likely higher energy bills with Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), despite opposition from the state legislature.  And the state’s crucial Marcellus Shale natural gas industry remains under assault from the Biden administration’s embrace of the Green New Deal.

This year, many other DVJournal articles focused on parents who are at war with “woke” school boards and school administrators who impose critical race theory (CRT) and gender-fluid ideology on their students and critical race theory (CRT) and gender-fluid ideology on their students as well as stocking school libraries with obscene books.

The Delaware Valley Journal also brought readers the saga of the state House versus progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner that culminated in the House voting to impeach Krasner for mishandling of his official duties, which they allege is a significant factor in the skyrocketing crime rate in the city. An impeachment trial for Krasner is set in the Senate for Jan. 18.

While crime has been a big issue for DVJournal’s 2022 reporting, inflation was also a hot topic with skyrocketing prices for gas, food, and other goods biting into Delaware Valley residents’ budgets.

Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision weighed on the election, causing a rise in Democratic voter registration and driving some women, particularly women in the Delaware Valley suburbs, to the polls. Conversely, the increase in arrests of pro-life activists by the Biden Department of Justice has stirred up passion on the other side of the abortion issue.

And the local reaction to the war in Ukraine is also a concern, with many Ukrainian immigrants living in the area. DVJournal also brought our readers letters from a Ukrainian mother about what it was like to live in that war-torn country.

Amid all the other news vying for attention, the DVJournal has kept its eye on the sad case of the death of Fanta Bility, the 8-year-old girl hit by a bullet fired by police officers. Three Sharon Hill officers pleaded guilty in that case, and a federal lawsuit brought by Bility’s family is pending.

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There was no need to ask, “Is there a doctor in the house?” during a campaign event for Dr. Mehmet Oz in Bucks County Saturday night. The GOP U.S. Senate candidate revived a woman who fainted in the crowd, an unplanned-but-timely reminder of his medical bona fides and the health issues that dog Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

Local radio host Dom Giordano was speaking to some 1,500 people at the Newtown Athletic Center when a woman in the audience passed out. Oz leaped over a railing to administer first aid. He was joined by state Rep. Frank Farry, a state Senate candidate, who also serves as chief of the Langhorne-Middletown Volunteer Fire Company, and GOP state Senate candidate Matt McCollough, who is a nurse.

Later, Oz reported “Rita, God bless her, is doing well.” An Oz campaign staff member said it was at least the third time he had helped someone who had a medical problem on the campaign trail, including once on an airplane.

The rally was a metaphor of sorts for the Oz campaign, given up as dead by some pundits after a series of polls showed him trailing Democrat John Fetterman by double digits, in addition to making some high-profile missteps, like Oz’s Wegman’s visit to talk about the price of “crudites.”

But the latest polls now show Oz in a single-digit race with Fetterman, and the first-time candidate was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. He hit the Biden administration and its ally Fetterman on everything from inflation to education to the Green New Deal.

Oz said his father grew up in Turkey in a home with a dirt floor and “yet he was very proud.” He came to America legally and “passionately believed in the American Dream,” a passion he passed on to his son. Oz talked about attending medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and the lessons he learned there.

“Doctors fix things. That’s what we do,” said Oz. He said he talks to his patients and gets them involved in their health. He started a TV show to share his experiences so “all of America would get better.”

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“For doctors, COVID was a catastrophe,” Oz said. “Not just because of the horrible loss of life and illness, but we weren’t allowed to play the role we could play in treating it.”

“I learned when you mix politics and medicine, you know what you get? Politics,” he said.

In other parts of the world, children remained in school. Although some research backed up that approach, “you couldn’t say it. If you did, you got crushed,” Oz said.

“In this commonwealth, we had the worst of the worst. We had the biggest restrictions, shutdowns, the biggest mandates and we didn’t get any better for it,” Oz added. “There were three states that did worse than anybody else, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. And those were the states with the toughest restrictions. States that didn’t do that, like Florida, didn’t have the same problem.”

“My opponent in this race, John Fetterman, was lieutenant governor throughout that,” he noted. “There was a 60 percent increase in crime here in Philadelphia.”

Before Oz spoke, several Republicans took to the stage to talk up his candidacy. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) used humor and his southern drawl to wholeheartedly endorse Oz, while also taking jabs at his opponent.

“Dr. Oz is not a trust fund baby. Dr. Oz did not have his mommy and daddy support him until he was 50 years old,” said Kennedy, referring to Fetterman. “Dr. Oz is not hiding here in his basement.

“And,” Kennedy noted to howls of laughter, “Dr. Oz wears pants!”

(Fetterman is notorious for wearing a hoodie and shorts, sometimes at official gatherings.)

“If Mr. Fetterman wins this race, Pennsylvanians will have nothing to worry about unless you are a taxpayer, a parent, a business person, or a cop, or you believe in the American Dream. Because he will fit right in, I can tell you, with the woke, neo-socialist, left of Lenin, wack-jobs running this country,” Kennedy said.

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity also mocked Fetterman’s lifetime of family financial dependence.

Many people in government “don’t understand the value of a dollar and the meaning of hard work,” Garrity said. “And we know the Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate, John Fetterman, is anything but a hard worker, right? The hardest John Fetterman ever worked as a lieutenant governor was when he walked outside his office and flew the marijuana flag outside the capitol,” she said.

“Dr. Oz loves our country with a fervor that only a son of immigrants has,” Garrity added.

Oz said the Biden administration and Democrat-controlled Congress are wrecking the U.S. economy with high inflation, crippling the energy industry, and allowing rampant crime, among other things.

Oz also raised concerns about Fetterman’s energy policy, an important issue in fossil-fuel-rich Pennsylvania.

“There is this thing called the Green New Deal. You all heard of it?” Oz asked. “Well, the Green New Deal isn’t legitimate science. It cannot work. In order for us to have this, you actually have to sell us to China. Everything we need, all the batteries, all the solar panels, they’re coming from China,” Oz said.

The Republican also tapped into the education issue, which helped energize Glenn Youngkin’s successful bid for Virginia governor among suburban voters, like those in the Delaware Valley.

“You can’t claim that science says it’s correct to teach a 5-year-old about gender issues. It is complicated stuff…They’re not basing that in science. They make that up,” Oz said. “When the Department of Education says they’re going to teach our kids from age 3 to 12th grade about gender fluidity, I say, let the parents get involved.”

The Bucks County rally was Oz’s third event in five days in the state’s southeast region, and some political observers have raised questions about his focus on such a blue corner of the state. But GOP strategists say Oz’s weakness in the GOP primary — he is a TV doctor who appeals to moderates, not a conservative politician — could be a strength in the Philly suburbs in November. If Fetterman’s far-left politics are viewed as too extreme by suburban women, Oz could be a more acceptable alternative than a conservative activist.

Meanwhile, Oz said the focus should be on the Democrats’ performance, not political rhetoric.

“We have to hold people accountable for what they’ve done,” said Oz. “That’s what our job is…You have an obligation, in the vanguard, tip of the spear. You must call people and share what you’ve heard tonight. Be optimistic because I am optimistic.”

All these problems “we can address if we have strong leadership,” he said.

He played football in college and heard the last words of the National Anthem while running out to the field: “Home of the brave.”

“You can’t be free if you’re not brave. This time in our history calls for more bravery than most of us have had to muster in our lifetimes. Because the most important thing we need to do is say what we see.”

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A week before Pennsylvania Republicans pick their U.S. Senate nominee, a new poll shows Kathy Barnette surging into second place and in a virtual three-way tie for the lead.

The poll, conducted by GOP polling firm Trafalgar Group, gives Dr. Mehmet Oz a narrow lead at 24.5 percent, Barnett just behind at 23.2 percent, and hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick at 21.6 percent — all within the poll’s margin of error.

The rest of the field — Delaware Valley businessman Jeff Bartos, former Ambassador Carla Sands, Montgomery County attorney Joe Gale, and Philadelphia attorney George Bochetto — is well behind in single digits.

The Trafalgar Group is rated by the data analysts at FiveThirtyEight.com as one of the most accurate polling firms in the country.

For weeks, Oz and McCormick have kept up a barrage of negative ads targeting each other, largely ignoring the rest of the field. Strategists say that has opened a path for a third candidate like Barnette, who has been unscathed by the attacks, to emerge as an alternative.

“The poll certainly shows building momentum for Barnette, which is important going into Election Day,” said GOP political pundit Charlie O’Neill. “However, it’s hard to get a full picture of what this means with just topline totals. Is Barnette taking votes away from Oz or McCormick? Is she converting previously undecided voters? With three candidates all within the margin of error, it appears we’ve moved from a two-way to a three-way race. It’s anyone’s game, but hard to predict the electorate or understand what is surging Barnette with just topline numbers.”

The poll also found 15 percent of GOP primary voters remain undecided.

In an email to supporters Monday morning, Barnette noted this poll has her within the margin of error for first place.

“Every bit of our hard work is paying off. Now it is time to hammer this message home and move on to defeating John Fetterman in the fall,” she said. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is leading the other Democratic candidates by a wide margin.

“Mehmet and Dave have spent $60 million attacking each other and promoting themselves,” Barnette tweeted Friday. “I’ve spent less than $2 million and am within 1.7 percent of first place, a statistical tie. Wait until you see what I’ll do to Fetterman.”

Oz still has the advantage of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, who held a rally Friday evening near Pittsburgh for Oz.

Barnette is an author and Fox News commentator who ran for Congress against U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) in 2020.

“I believe that the American family is the main focus of our campaign,” Barnette said during a debate hosted by the Delaware Valley Journal in March.  “If it’s good for the American family, I want to work on legislation that benefits them.”

Barnette’s personal story resonates with many voters. She grew up in extreme poverty in Alabama. Her mother was raped at the age of 11, resulting in her birth. Barnette’s grandparents raised her. She joined the Army Reserve, obtained a college degree, and eventually worked in corporate finance. Barnette, 50, also homeschooled her two children for six years.

“It’s clear Pennsylvanians want a battle-tested, true Pennsylvania conservative in the Senate. Dave McCormick is that candidate and will be the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania,” said Jess Szymanski, McCormick campaign spokesperson, when asked to comment on Barnette’s surge.

“The grassroots support and momentum is on Dr. Oz’s side with new endorsements rolling in and we are working hard to get his America First message out to Pennsylvania voters,” said Brittany Yanick, a spokeswoman for Oz. “Anyone who supports President Trump and his America First agenda knows that Dr. Oz will champion this. Dr. Oz is the best candidate to beat the Democrats in November, unlike liberal McCormick. As President Trump stated on Friday night, Dave McCormick is a 100 percent certified RINO, China-First candidate who will represent special interest groups, not Pennsylvanians.”

Meanwhile, Barnette believes she is the best one to reach voters in November.

“This campaign isn’t about me. It’s about us taking back our nation,” Barnette told the Delaware Valley Journal in a previous interview.  She contends her focus is on the American people and the “freedom to live our lives the way we want.” And she claims she isn’t just speaking for the Republican Party but for all Americans.

“It’s not a campaign. It’s a movement,” Barnette said.

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With the May 17 primary about six weeks off, many Pennsylvania voters are still undecided, according to a recent WHTM/Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll.

In the Republican Senate race, 51 percent of voters are undecided.

“It is not at all unusual for voters to be undecided six weeks before a primary,” said Robin Kolodny, chair of the political science department at Temple University. “My guess is that all the candidates who plan to advertise on television will do so by the end of April. Then, if you poll around May 10 or so, you should see people leaning toward one candidate or another and many fewer undecideds.

“Primaries are generally low-voter turnout events, so all the candidates will have to work very hard on voter mobilization,” Kolodny said. “This is tougher for Republicans because they have several candidates in both primaries. Still, engaged Republicans will have no problem figuring out who they like for which office.”

Hedge fund CEO David McCormick and celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz each stand at 14 percent. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is ahead with 33 percent and Congressman Conor Lamb landed at 10 percent. However. 37 percent of Democratic voters remained undecided.

The Emerson poll also found state Sen. Doug Mastriano leads at 16 percent for governor among Republican primary voters and former Congressman Lou Barletta is second with just over 12 percent.

“Former President Donald Trump’s potential endorsement holds significant weight in the Republican primary: 61 percent of Republican primary voters say they are more likely to vote for a candidate if he endorses them, while 13 percent say it makes them less likely to vote for that candidate, and 26 percent report that it makes no difference,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling said.

Last weekend, former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain tied with Mastriano for first place for governor in the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference straw poll, both with 88 votes. They were followed by Delaware County businessman Dave White, 56 votes;  GOP consultant  Charlie Gerow, 41; Barletta, 36; surgeon Nche Zama, 26; Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, 20; former Congresswoman Melissa Hart,5; and state Senate Pro Tempore Jake Corman, 4.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Josh Shapiro is the only mainstream Democrat running for governor.

As for the Senate candidates, the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference straw poll had Fox News commentator Kathy Barnette as the winner with 127 votes. Montgomery County developer Jeff Bartos, was second at 64; followed by former ambassador Carla Sands, 52; McCormick, 50; and Oz, 43.

For lieutenant governor, the PLC chose Clarice Schillinger 61, with Teddy Daniels second at 60 votes, followed by Jeff Coleman with 55 votes.

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