In an email to LebTown this morning, Michael L. Anderson, Director of the Lebanon County Bureau of Elections, announced that a special election to fill the 48th district state senate seat, vacated by the recent resignation of Mike Folmer, will be held on Tuesday, January 14, 2020.
The winner of the special election will complete what would have been Folmer’s term, through 2022.
The date has been set by Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman in his capacity as the presiding officer of the state senate.
Folmer resigned his post on September 18 in the wake of child pornography charges filed against him a day earlier.
As of publication time, Folmer’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for Thursday, October 26 at 8:30am before Magisterial District Judge Thomas Capello.
As reported by the Allentown Morning Call, Lebanon County state representative Russ Diamond and Dauphin County state representative Thomas Mehaffie have expressed interest in running for the vacated seat.
Candidates in the January 14, 2020 special election will be chosen by the Republican and Democratic parties in the three counties comprising the 48th district, Lebanon, Dauphin, and York.