Porter won't be on ballot

[Freddie Stubbs]

Judge rules 1,500 3rd District nominating signatures void

BY KEVIN FLOWERS
[e-mail]

A judge's decision has knocked Steven Porter out of the 3rd District congressional race -- which could be a benefit to Democratic challenger Kathy Dahlkemper.

Porter, an Independent candidate from Wattsburg, learned Tuesday morning that Senior Commonwealth Court Judge James R. Kelley upheld a challenge to Porter's nominating petitions, ruling about 1,500 of them invalid.

That means Porter -- who admitted that he helped some registered voters fill out information included in the petitions -- falls short of the 2,171 valid signatures he needed to remain on the ballot for the Nov. 4 general election.

The challenge was filed by three Mercer County residents with ties to Dahlkemper's run for Congress. Michael Federici, a political science professor at Mercyhurst College, and Dahlkemper's campaign manager, Tina Mengine, said Porter's absence benefits Dahlkemper.

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