The voters have spoken and Aaron McIntyre won the Republican Party nomination for supervisor in Pennsbury Township. He defeated Steve Eichinger 302-124, but he may still face Eichinger again in November.

Five days before the Tuesday primary election, Eichinger challenged McIntyre’s education claims and said even if he lost the primary he would run as an independent against McIntyre in the general election.

Eichinger is not dismayed over Tuesday’s results.

“We got 29 percent of the vote, but I was an underdog to begin with and we expected a lot less,” Eichinger said. “We were up against a tough machine.”

When asked if he was still going to run in November, he responded with one word: “Absolutely.”

However, state law prevents that from happening. A check with Chester County Voters Services revealed a state law – referred to as a sore-loser law – prevents the loser of a party primary from running as an independent for that same office in a general election.

Kathy Zittle, from Voter Services, said that a prospective candidate seeking to run as an independent in a general election must sign an oath saying the candidate was not registered with a given party 30 days prior to the primary.

In short, she said, however a candidate is registered 30 days before the primary is how they are considered for running in the general election.

(Indeed, a March 8 article published on line <http://campaigndiaries.com/2009/03/08/specter-loose-ends/> suggested that one of Arlen Specter’s best bets to retain his senate seat would be to switch to the Democratic Party because losing to Pat Toomey in next year’s Republican Party primary would disqualify him from running in the general election.)

Regardless, McIntyre said he feels great about his victory and isn’t concerned with facing Eichinger again in the fall. He said his 71 percent to 29 percent margin of victory proves the people of Pennsbury are united.

“The people of Pennsbury have spoken,” he said. “They’re united in their desire to move forward as a community – not as divisive factions – to preserve what we love about Pennsbury.”

School board

In two regional school board races, Jeff Leiser of Birmingham Township and Holly Manzone of Pocopson Township won both the Republican and Democratic Party primaries for Region B of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. Both topped Laura Maurer in the two primaries and will earn their seats on the board come November.

Region B includes Birmingham, Pocopson and Newlin townships.

In Region A, four candidates split the two primaries. All four candidates, Karen Halstead, Jeff Hellrung, Vic Dupuis and Keith Knauss cross-filed to run in both primaries.

Halstead and Dupuis won the Democratic Party primary for that party’s nomination in the general election, while Knauss and Hellrung won the Republican Party nominations.

Results are not final until certified by the state Board of Elections.