Senator announces resignation; kicks off yet another special election

 

(Harrisburg) — A Republican state senator is stepping down at the end of February–just two months into a new legislative session.

Senator Richard Alloway’s announcement came unexpectedly, and with few additional details.

He first joined the Senate a decade ago, and now serves as the chair of the chamber’s Game and Fisheries Committee. His southcentral Pennsylvania district covers Adams County and parts of Franklin, Cumberland, and York.

In his retirement announcement, he said only that “the time has come” for him to “move on to other endeavors and pursue new opportunities.”

A spokesman for Alloway didn’t return a request for comment.

Alloway would have been up for reelection in 2020. The seat will now be added to a growing list of Pennsylvania special elections, and a new senator will be voted to serve out the rest of the term. 

The special election list includes two each in the state House and Senate, and one in Congress.

Alloway’s district isn’t considered particularly competitive for Democrats. He ran unopposed in 2016, and Hillary Clinton netted just 29 percent of the presidential election vote there that year.