Dean Projected Winner In PA 4th Congressional District

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Madeleine appeared to be on her way to victory, likely defeating Republican challenger Christian Nascimento, a Montgomery County businessman, as of the time vote counting stopped early Wednesday morning.

The Associated Press officially called the race for Dean, with 95 percent of precincts reporting.

At last check, Dean was ahead of Nascimento by 87,218 votes, according to unofficial election returns from the Pennsylvania Department of State website.

Dean had 196,474 votes and Nascimento had 109,256 at the time vote counting stopped at 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The count technically continues, and all results thus far are unofficial, as elections workers must sift through and count many outstanding mail-in and provisional ballots.

But it does appear, at this point, that Dean is likely the projected winner given her strong lead.

Pennsylvania recently greatly expanded mail-in voting, so official results could take days to come in for this and other races.

Dean is a Montgomery County native who rose from Abington Township commissioner to congresswoman.

She also previously spent time in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The 4th Congressional District covers most of Montgomery County, a once solidly red collar county outside of Philadelphia that has since experienced a Democratic voter registration advantage.

Democrats now outnumber Republicans in Montgomery County — the third most populous county in the state — partly due to the migration of folks coming from the neighboring City of Philadelphia.

Dean is a strong proponent of a woman's right to choose, and many election watchers believe this and other races on the ballot during this year's general election would be greatly influenced by the abortion issue.

After the U.S. Supreme Court this year overturned Roe v. Wade, many states have been moving to restrict, or outright ban abortion.

Earlier this year, Dean attended a pro-choice rally at the Abington Township Municipal Complex to decry the court's decision and voice her strong support for a woman's right over bodily autonomy.

Nascimento is a businessman from Montgomery County who voiced support for issues like stronger school choice for parents and greater safety for communities within the district.