Democrat Joe Ciresi Defeats Tom Quigley In 146th Rematch

Two years after defeat, Democrat Joe Ciresi has beat incumbent Tom Quigley to take the 146th seat in the state House.

With 20 of 21 precincts reporting, Ciresi has 13,145 votes to Quigley's 10,479, a stark turnaround from 2016's election which Quigley won by a narrow 700 votes.

In a rematch of 2016, Democrat Joe Ciresi will again try to dethrone incumbent Republican State Rep. Tom Quigley as state representative in Pennsylvania's 146th District.

>>Click here to follow along with Election Day developments, including voter turnout, polling place issues, and other news as it comes in.

8 p.m.

Polls have closed and we are awaiting results. Check back for updates.

12:54 p.m.

Voter turnout has been "great" in Royersford, municipal officials said. Voters turned out in high numbers in many local precincts early Tuesday despite the rainy conditions.

No major issues have been reported at local polling places, despite some concerns regarding incorrect ballots over in Phoenixville.

Follow along here as we bring you live results once the polls close.

The battle last time came down to a mere 700 votes, with Ciresi, the former president of the Spring-Ford Area School Board, defeated by Quigley, the former Royersford Mayor and state representative for 11 of the last 13 years.

The 146th includes Limerick, Royersford, Trappe, Perkiomen, Lower Pottsgrove and several districts in Pottstown (3, 4, 5, 6, and Division 2 of the 7th district). Unlike many state legislature races in the area which take place is decidedly Democratic or decidedly Republican districts, the 146th lies right along a dividing line of red and blue from the 2016 election.

With a few small exceptions like Pottstown, western Montgomery County voted for Donald Trump and Pat Toomey (for U.S. Senator) , while eastern Montgomery County voted for Hillary Clinton and Katie McGinty. Limerick went for Trump, while Royersford went for Clinton. The race for state representative reflected that split, with Quigley earning 14,868 votes and Ciresi earnign 14,198 votes.

Ciresi, 48, a Limerick native, is the Director of Sales and Promotions at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. He's been vocal about fighting to bring passenger rail service back to the region, and is also a major propenent fair education funding.

Quigley, 57, of Royersford, has focused on school property tax elimination, job creation, and pension reform as a legislator.

The pair agree on fundamental issues — both think the property tax is onerous, both want school budgets to funded in other ways, both support passenger rail — but there are differences in their plans to achieve those ends. Ciresi advocates for smarter school spending, and for schools to get their funding from the state, instead of local taxes. Quigley has also co-sponsored legislation to shift school funding away from property taxes to a system based on the sales and personal income taxes. .

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Image via Ciresi and Quigley campaigns