Hansen is added to Montco state senate ballot

State Sen. Bob Mensch (R., Montgomery) is no longer running for reelection unopposed.

Jack Hansen, a Democratic borough councilman from Lansdale, got his name added to the ballot through a last-minute write-in campaign.

After the tallies were certified from the May 20 primary, Hansen's campaign announced this week that he got 1,506 write-in votes; he needed 500.

The 24th District is a craggy conglomeration of northeast Montgomery County, northern Bucks County, and southeast Berks County. This will be the first election under a significant redistricting that added a swath of Berks County and removed a chunk of Lehigh County.

Hansen, a Navy veteran and former small business owner, is campaigning for increased public education funding, a tax on natural gas drilling, and expansion of Medicaid.

Mensch, of Pennsburg, worked in telecommunications and was a Marlborough Township supervisor before being elected to the state House in 2006 and the Senate in 2008. He champions economic development, low taxes, and open space, according to his Senate website. - Jessica Parks