On Monday, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman announced May 18 as the special election date to fill the open state Senate seat previously held by state Sen. John Blake (D-Lackawanna). 

Blake announced earlier this year that he was resigning from office to join Rep. Matt Cartwright’s office on March 8 to lead economic development initiatives across the 8th Congressional District in Northeast PA. 

Blake was first elected to represent the state Senate’s 22nd District in 2010 and won by 22 points over Republican Frank Scavo in his most recent reelection bid in 2018. 

The parties will pick the candidates to run in the special election, which will take place on the same day as the state’s primary election. 

The Scranton Times-Tribune reported that local Democrats recommended state Rep. Marty Flynn (D-Lackawanna) for the Democratic Party nomination over this past weekend, although the state party still has to formally approve the nomination. Blake reportedly received 206 votes by local Democrats, while state Rep. Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna) garnered 118 votes. 

Local Republicans have not announced their candidate yet, although the Scranton Times-Tribune reports that Dominic Mastri, an attorney from Moscow, is interested in seeking the GOP nomination. 

This is the third special election announced to take place on the state’s primary date. The special election for the state Senate’s 48 District, to fill the open seat previously held by the late state Sen. Dave Arnold, and the special election for House District 59, to fill the open seat previously held by the late state Rep. Mike Reese (R-Westmoreland), will also take place on May 18.