A hotly contested election for state representative in the 122nd district saw incumbent Doyle Heffley, a Republican, retain his seat over Neil Makhija, Democrat, and Matt Schutter, Libertarian.

Heffley tallied 59 percent of the vote in 2016, winning by a closer margin then two years prior when his only opponent was Democrat Patti Borger, who he defeated with 64 percent of the vote.A fourth-term representative, Heffley admitted the 2016 campaign was noticeably different from previous challenges."My opponent chose to run a negative campaign and I think the voters saw through that, and we'll reward them by continuing to work as hard as we can for the residents in this area," Heffley said about his victory. "My hope is that all the negativity, not just locally but across the nation on social media, can stop."Makhija, meanwhile, dubbed his own campaign 'outstanding," noting that he and his supporters "outperformed the national ticket by 10 percent.""There is no such thing as a loss, I'm 30 and the people of Carbon County have made this the best year of my life," he added. "I made amazing friendships and I'm so proud of my supporters and the 10,000-plus votes we received."The trio of candidates gathered twice during the campaign, a drug forum at Panther Valley High School and a televised debate at Penn's Peak, to discuss their stances on various topics.Heffley and Makhija had spirited conversation during the campaign over a bill Heffley introduced that would require health insurance plans to cover at least three abuse-deterrent opioids if they provide coverage for an opioid painkiller."These pills are three to five times more expensive and The Associated Press has reported that this bill is designed for pharmaceutical companies to profit from this crisis," Makhija said during a forum at Panther Valley High School. "People have said this is an example of how successful the lobbying of the pharmaceutical industry is in Pennsylvania."The pills are not any more expensive than other options, Heffley said."It would only be a $6 difference per prescription," Heffley said. "For anyone to suggest we are doing something that would pad the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies is ridiculous."When you change how we treat pain in this country, you're going to rock a lot of boats."The bill did not pass last session, but Heffley said he and the legislature will continue to work on it.