Special election to replace Senate Republican scheduled for Jan. 31

A special election to replace a Pennsylvania Senate Republican who turned in his resignation on Wednesday will take place on Jan. 31.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen.-elect John Fetterman, the current lieutenant governor, signed a writ declaring a special election to replace Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia, who will become counsel to interim Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland. The winner will serve for the remainder of Gordner’s term, which ends in 2024.

“The new position will allow me to take full advantage of my 30-year legislative experience in the House and Senate, as well as my 35 years of being an attorney,” Gordner said in a statement on Monday.

First elected during a special election in 2003, Gordner served the 27th Senatorial District, representing all of Columbia, Northumberland, Montour, and Snyder counties and parts of Luzerne County.

The lieutenant governor’s office said Fetterman selected the date “to restore representation to constituents as soon as possible.” Pennsylvania law requires that special elections be held at least 60 days from the issuance of the writ.

Republican Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, who has served in the state House of Representatives since 2011, announced her intent to run for the vacant seat on Wednesday.

“I have dedicated my life to the service of others, and I would like to put my experience to work by serving the greater Susquehanna Valley in the Pennsylvania state Senate,” she said in a statement.