Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold will be the next state senator for the 48th district of Pennsylvania.
Michael Schroeder, a Democrat, conceded to Senator-elect Arnold less than an hour and a half after polls across all of Lebanon County and parts of Dauphin and York counties closed.
"Special Elections are always unpredictable, but because of the excellent campaign run by Senator-Elect Arnold, Senate Republicans will now enjoy a 29 to 21 seat majority over the Democrats," said Lawrence Tabas Chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. "We congratulate him on his victory today."
Senator-elect Arnold, 48, captured 64.7% of the more than 28,000 votes.
"Day one, I'm going to get in there and get to work right away. I'm ready to go," Arnold said. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to making a positive difference in Harrisburg."
He replaces former Sen. Mike Folmer, who resigned in September following his arrest on child pornography charges. Arnold will serve out the remainder of the term ending in 2022.