Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being pumped into the highly contentious judicial race for two seats on the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas.

Republicans Fran Chardo and James Zugay want to continue their public service careers as elected judges, while private attorneys Katy Kennedy-McShane and La Tasha Williams, both Democrats, are seeking a place on the bench.

To run for judge, candidates must live in their judicial district for a year, be a member of the state bar and be younger than 75, the mandatory retirement age for state judges.

In a county where 52.32% of its 160,476 voters are registered Democrats, Dauphin County’s nine common pleas judges are all Republicans. The county hasn’t elected a Democrat judge since Jeannine Turgeon in 1991.

Pennsylvania has a closed primary

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