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Battle lines established for 8 state reps

The final vote totals for candidates seeking offices in the Pennsylvania General Assembly are not yet determined because of tens of thousands of absentee and/or mail ballots yet to be counted.

But the battle lines for six other districts were apparently established in Tuesday’s primary election.

Two nominations were determined in contested races - the 123rd and 125th districts, both in Schuylkill County - while uncontested races existed in five other districts that encompass portions of Carbon, Schuylkill, Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties.

Here is a look at the unofficial results in the respective districts:

• 123rd District (includes parts of Schuylkill County where Rep. Neal Goodman, a Democrat, did not seek re-election): Republican Timothy F. Twardzik is the apparent nominee, having a lead of 1,864 to1,065 over John T. Leshko. Twardzik will face Democrat Peter J. Symons in November. Symons was unopposed and tallied 1,681 votes.

• 125th District (includes parts of Schuylkill County where Rep. Michael Tobash, a Republican, did not seek re-election): Joseph R. Kerwin is the apparent winner in a four-person race, having 3,093 votes to date. Two county officeholders, Register of Wills Theresa Gaffney and Controller Christy Joy finished second and third, respectively, with 1,463 and 1,244 votes, while Hervey C. Breault II netted 254 votes. There was no Democratic candidate.

• 124th District (includes parts of Schuylkill and Berks counties and Summit Hill Borough in Carbon County): Republican Jerome P. Knowles will face Democrat Tyler E. Picone in the general election. Knowles received 3,782 complimentary votes Tuesday, while Picone was also unopposed and netted 1,153 votes.

• 122nd District (includes all of Carbon County, except Summit Hill Borough): Republican Doyle Heffley was unopposed and received 4,390 token votes from his party members. Both he and Democrat Kara Scott attempted write-in votes on the Democratic side. There were 322 write-in votes that will have to be decided to determine if Heffley will appear on both ballots in November, or if Scott will be his opponent.

• 189th District (includes parts of Pike and Monroe counties, including Ross, Hamilton, Middle Smithfield and Smithfield townships): Republican Rosemary Brown was unopposed, as was her November opponent, Democrat Adam A. Rodrigues. Brown collected 3,133 complimentary votes while Rodriguez tallied 2,434 token votes.

• 183rd District (includes parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties, including Slatington, Lehigh Township, Walnutport and Moore Township: Republican Zachary A. Mako was unopposed and tallied 5,690 complimentary votes. Democrat Jason Ruff was also unchallenged and he netted 5,082 token votes. The two will meet in November.

• 176th District (includes parts of Monroe County, including Polk, Chestnuthill, Jackson, Tunkhannock, Tobyhanna and Pocono townships and Mount Pocono borough): Republican Jack Rader was unopposed and tallied 3,266 complimentary votes. He will meet Democrat Claudette Williams in the general election. She was unopposed Tuesday and received 1,603 token votes.