By a big margin, Banta wins 4th Dist. seat in state House: Unofficial election results

Republican Jake Banta will be the new 4th District state representative.

Banta defeated Democrat Chelsea Oliver, according to unofficial election results reported by the Erie County elections office Tuesday night. With all 35 precincts in the 4th District reporting, Banta had 16,304 votes to Oliver's 10,172 votes.

Of the 26,476 votes cast in the race, 21,575 were tallied from Election Day voting and 4,901 were mail-in ballots. There were 36 unresolved Election Day votes and four contested mail-in ballots.

Banta, 57, of LeBoeuf Township, awaited election results, relaxed with friends, and — by popular demand — sang with the band at the Wagon Wheel restaurant in Waterford Tuesday night.

"These are my friends and the people I grew up with," Banta said. "I feel at home here."

Banta, 57, of LeBoeuf Township, is a musician, Navy veteran and former government contractor.

Live results:Get current vote updates on Erie County state House races, and the US 16th House race

"I've had a few careers in my life and worked hard, and did that all on my own," Banta said. "This isn't the same. It's been a group effort by a great team, and I'm grateful for all the help and support I've had."

Voters on Tuesday were gracious in their support, Banta said.

"What they said was, 'We've got your back.' That was such an incredible feeling, to hear that."

Unsubstantiated social media claims, pledges to agree to disagree

Banta has been a strong presence on social media, where he has posted claims that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election, that COVID-19 was created by "globalists" to depopulate the planet, that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was planned by Democrats and carried out by Capital police officers and others, and other unsubstantiated claims.

But Banta pledged to work for cooperation and compromise in government.

"My mission more than anything else as state representative will be to bring this country back together again, bring people back together again," Banta said. "It used to be that we could agree to disagree, but that's not happening now. We need to get back to that and work together."

Banta labeled himself as the "common sense" candidate in the campaign, also pledging to protect constitutional rights, restore confidence in elections, address record inflation and create jobs.

He will succeed Curt Sonney of Harborcreek Township, who will retire after 18 years as 4th District state representative at the end of this legislative term.

Oliver thanks supporters

Oliver, 33, of Corry, is a freelance marketing and public relations consultant and served on Corry City Council through 2021 after she was appointed to fill an unexpired term in August 2020.

Oliver focused her campaign on jobs, strengthening Erie County's voice in state government, and rural issues, including broadband access.

"We knew this was going to be an uphill battle getting into the race, but the people of Erie County deserve to see someone really show up and put in the work for them, especially in rural areas where folks are notoriously left behind," Oliver said in a statement Wednesday.

"I am so grateful for everyone who worked tirelessly alongside me in this campaign. We have a lot to be proud of even though the outcome wasn't what we'd like."

Contact Valerie Myers at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PA 4th District: Jake Banta is 2-1 winner over Chelsea Oliver