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This is the 1970 race. The latest: 2026 →

1970Final resultsIncumbent defeated

1970 election for Pennsylvania Senate District 16

Pennsylvania State Senate · Pennsylvania

Henry C. Messinger (D) won with 50.1% of the vote, defeating John T. Vansant (R) by 1.8 points.

Henry C. MessingerDemocrat · winner
50.1%35,836
John T. VansantRepublican · incumbent
48.3%34,537
Woodrow R. StilesConstitution
1.7%1,187
71,560 votes

Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET

The seat over time

D − R margin in this seat's races around 1970

Races before and after

EvenD+2.11978R+0.31982D+6.61986D+40.41990D+3.71994R+18.91998

Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET

The candidates

Henry C. Messinger (D)John T. Vansant (R)

Also on the ballot: Woodrow R. Stiles (Constitution), 1.7%