Tay Waltenbaugh concedes state Senate race to incumbent Kim Ward

First-time candidate Tay Waltenbaugh on Wednesday night conceded the race for the 39th District State Senate seat to incumbent Kim Ward, who had built a sizable lead as vote counting neared an end.

“For nearly a year and a half, we have worked diligently to achieve victory on Nov. 3,” said Waltenbaugh, a 66-year-old Hempfield Democrat. “That didn’t happen. However, as a campaign (we) developed a grassroots effort of which I am truly proud. We ran a very positive campaign that focused on people over party.”

By Wednesday evening, Ward, a 64-year-old Hempfield Republican, had about 70% of the votes compared to Waltenbaugh’s 29%. At the time, more than half the precincts in the district had fully reported while about 60 had partially reported votes. About 21,000 mail-in ballots were left to be counted.

“I’m honored to have so many people put their confidence in me,” Ward said of her more-than-50,000 vote lead over Waltenbaugh. “It’s an honor to have the confidence of the constituents of the 39th District.”

During her 12 years in office, Ward has passed laws regarding child abuse laws, the Real ID program and a grant program for middle-income college students. She has recently focused on bills related to covid-19 that impact small businesses, first responders and those in nursing homes.

Waltenbaugh recently retired from Westmoreland Community Action where he served as executive director for 29 years. He spent an additional 10 years doing human services work across the county, work he hoped to continue through the legislative process that impacts funding and laws related to his past initiatives.

Waltenbaugh, an avid outdoorsman, now plans on spending time with family while enjoying favorite pastimes like hunting and fishing.

“What I witnessed was thousands participating in our election process, of which I was proud to have a small part,” Waltenbaugh said. “Thank you to all that pushed the button supporting me. I want to congratulate our current state senator and hope she will help those in need, reach across the aisle while assisting small and struggling communities.”