Teplitz refusing to concede loss in Pa.’s 15th District

(Harrisburg) — State Sen. Rob Teplitz says he wants election officials to investigate the outcome of his failed bid for a second term representing the midstate.

Teplitz finished with 49 percent of votes to Republican John DiSanto’s 51 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s unofficial count.

DiSanto’s campaign staffers say they started asking for a concession around midnight.

Nearly an hour later, Teplitz took the stage at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center and told the thinned-out crowd he has no such intention, at least not yet.

“The last thing that I want to do is be viewed as a sore loser,” he told reporters. “If I lost I am more than willing to concede and allow this process to move forward without me. But I have to say, I have a tremendous lack of confidence based on what happened today. And I want to make sure that we know what actually happened before I am bullied or pushed into a concession.”

Teplitz says elections officials didn’t respond promptly when he raised questions about long lines at his own polling place and throughout the 15th district.

Then there were the voting machine malfunctions in Perry and Juniata counties and the several hours it took to tally votes.

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t want to prolong this any longer than is necessary,” says Teplitz, formerly an attorney for the state Auditor General’s office. “But I want to know what happened and why, and I think that’s a fair question to ask.”

Teplitz’s district has been redrawn since his last run. The reconfiguration added Perry County to the existing area of Harrisburg and surrounding Dauphin County.