Bensalem Picks the Winners

It’s doubtful that Bensalem will get much national attention for picking winners in elections, but we’re good at it.

Bensalem voters picked the winners in every race this election: Obama, Casey, Kane, DePasquale, McCord, Fitzpatrick and DiGirolamo, who ran unopposed. In a township that leans heavy to the Democrats, Mike Fitzpatrick was the sole Republican winner in a competitive race.

It seems Bensalem voters have a thing for incumbents. The majority of votes went to the incumbents in every race that had one, including Fitzpatrick’s 8th Congressional seat.

In 2008, Bensalem picked President Barack Obama with 15,887 votes to Sen. John McCain’s 10,902. In that election, Bensalem also picked Robert McCord for State Treasurer and Gene DiGirolamo for the 18th State Assembly seat. DiGirolamo ran against Martin Harris and won by a landslide.

On Nov. 6, Bensalem voters picked Obama, 14,842, to Mitt Romney’s 10,511. Locals also re-elected U.S. Senator Bob Casey over Republican challenger Tom Smith by a wide margin, 14,721 to 9,824. Bensalem also chose McCord, again, over Republican challenger Diana Vaughan: 13,554 to 10,115.

Bensalem also took part in a historic victory, helping to elect Kathleen Kane, the first woman, Democrat to be elected Pennsylvania’s Attorney General. She beat Republican David Freed in Bensalem 14,579 to 9,737.

In 2010, DiGirolamo won again, and also ran unopposed. That year, Bensalem chose incumbent Patrick Murphy with 8,655 votes over challenger Michael Fitzpatrick with 8,220. Fitzpatrick won that election with the rest of the county weighing in, which goes to show not even Bensalem voters can pick every winner, every time.