Hopper shows 'write' stuff in 162nd

One of the most interesting Primary Day battles was tucked deep inside the Delco ballot.

That would be in the 162nd state House legislative district in Ridley Park and Ridley Township.

It's been in the news recently, but not for the reasons residents probably would like.

That's the home of state Rep. Nick Miccarelli. He became embroiled in a sex harassment case, accused by two women, including a woman state rep, of threatening behavior or assault. After vehemently denying the charges, Miccarelli vowed to seek re-election.

That didn't hold up. Eventually the Republican incumbent announced he would not seek re-election, but would serve out the remainder of his term.

The timing was not great for county Republicans. Miccarelli waited too long to make his announcement, leaving Republicans in a lurch - and without a candidate, at least one who could appear on the ballot.

Since Republicans could not get a new name on the Primary ballot, they were forced to run a write-in campaign.

Into the fray stepped Mary Hopper, who was county sheriff until Democrats made their sweep of the county elections in November. Hopper, a former council member in Ridley Park, got the job done.

Here's what we know: The Republican write-in candidate pulled 3,248 write-in votes. That's actually more than the number of votes cast for Democrat Dave Delloso, who pulled in 2,765, according to unofficial results.

What we don't know? How many of those write-in votes were actually cast for Hopper or for someone else. I think we can safely say the bulk of those were cast for Hopper.

That sets up what should be one of the hottest battles in the fall.

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