Kenyatta Johnson ally wins his old seat

Jordan Harris a former teacher who most recently ran the city's Youth Commission, will take the 186th District state House seat of his political ally, Kenyatta Johnson, who resigned in January to take a seat on City Council.

Harris handily defeated attorney Damon Roberts, who has twice run for City Council, and high-school teacher Timothy Hannah, who previously ran for the district seat and for Congress.

There is no Republican running in the district, so Harris will be unopposed in the November general election.

Harold James, who lost the seat in the 2008 Democratic primary election to Johnson, won the special election to finish the last six months of Johnson's second two-year term. James, who defeated Republican Barbara Hankinson in a special election Tuesday, said he will be a mentor to Harris in that time.

Harris will start a new two-year term in 2013.

The district represents parts of Southwest Center City, Point Breeze and other portions of South Philadelphia.

In other races Tuesday:

169th District: David Kralle cruised to victory in the GOP primary over opponent John McCann in the Northeast Philadelphia district.

Kralle won with more than double McCann's votes. He will face off against Democrat Ed Neilson in the fall to fill the seat vacated by Dennis O'Brien, who was elected to City Council last fall. Kralle was his top aide.

Neilson defeated Kralle in a special election Tuesday night to fill out the remainder of O'Brien's term in Harrisburg.

172nd District: Incumbent Kevin Boyle defeated Daniel Collins and will run against Republican Al Taubenberger (a former mayoral candidate) in November. The Northeast Philly district covers parts of Fox Chase, Rhawnhurst, Bustleton and Burholme.

180th District: Incumbent State Rep. Angel Cruz appeared to fend off another challenge from retired police officer Jonathan Ramos. With 97 percent of the precincts reporting, Cruz had nearly a 500-vote lead.

Cruz beat Ramos two years ago by just 139 votes. The district represents parts of North Philadelphia, Fairhill, West Kensington, Feltonville and Harrowgate.

182nd District: Brian Sims declared victory in his race over state Rep. Babette Josephs Tuesday, but election officials said that only 87 percent of the votes were counted in the race and the rest won't be tallied until Wednesday.

Sims, who would be the state Legislature's first openly gay member, held a 200-vote lead over Josephs when the vote tally was completed last night. Rich Vito, a computer operator for the board of elections said that not all of the voting cartridges had been turned in Tuesday night.

Josephs has held the Center City seat since 1985.

The Associated Press had declared Sims the winner, but they were later informed by the city that their vote totals were wrong.

188th District: Incumbent James Roebuck held a more than 800-vote lead over challenger Fatimah Muhammad with nearly 92 percent of the votes counted.

The district includes parts of University City, Walnut Hill, Cedar Park, Spruce Hill and Garden Court.

The race centered on the candidates' differing views on school vouchers, which allow tax dollars to fund private-school education.

Muhammad, a first-time candidate, was an outspoken supporter of the voucher system throughout her campaign, which received a $25,000 boost from Students First PA, a pro-voucher group, in February.

190th District: Incumbent Vanessa Lowery Brown defeated challengers Wanda Logan, Audrey Blackwell-Watson and Lemuel Thornton. She will run unopposed in November for the district representing portions of Overbrook, Strawberry Mansion and Haddington.

192nd District: Incumbent Louise Bishop defeated Will Mega. She will run unopposed in November to represent the district, which includes parts of Overbrook and Wynnefield.

194th District: Incumbent Pamela Delissio beat challenger Ray Bailey. She will face Republican challenger Linda Bateman in November in the district, which covers Roxborough, Manayunk and parts of Montgomery County.

195th District: Incumbent Michelle Brownlee defeated challengers Andrew Kleeman and Takeem Morgan. She will run unopposed in the fall for the district, which covers parts of Francisville, Fairmount, Brewerytown, Mantua and Spring Garden.

197th District: J.P. Miranda, a 26-year-old who has already worked in City Council, the state Senate and for Mayor Nutter, was leading Tuesday night.

With 98 percent of the vote tallied, Miranda appeared to have defeated Jewel Williams, the 27-year-old daughter of Philadelphia Sheriff Jewell Williams, who held the seat for 10 years before resigning in January.

Miranda and other challengers had accused Williams and her father of trying to confuse voters into thinking the sheriff was again seeking his House seat. Williams said she could not help it if her name was similar to her father's. Her campaign manager said the campaign was designed to capitalize on her father's legacy in office.

Also running were Kenneth Walker Jr., Jamil Ali and James Johnson.

In a special election to complete the final six months of Jewell Williams' last term, Democratic Ward Leader Gary Williams defeated Republican Steve Crum and former state Sen. T. Milton Street Sr., who was running as an independent.

Crum, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary Tuesday, will face the Democratic primary winner in the November general election.

198th District: Incumbent Rosita Youngblood defeated Charisma Presley and Malik Boyd and will run unopposed in November to represent the district housing parts of Olney, Germantown, Chestnut Hill and North Philadelphia.

200th District: Incumbent Cherelle Parker defeated challenger Bobbie Curry with 98 percent of the vote. She'll run unopposed in November for the district representing parts of Northwest Philadelphia.

201st District: Stephen Kinsey defeated challengers Michael Ellis and Karl Gamble to replace retiring incumbent John Myers. He'll run unopposed in November to represent the district, which houses parts of East Germantown and Ogontz.

202nd District: Incumbent Mark Cohen defeated Numa St. Louis and will run unopposed in November for the district representing parts of Olney and Northeast Philadelphia.

203rd District: Incumbent Dwight Evans defeated Lamont Thomas and will run unopposed in November for the district representing parts of West Oak Lane, East Oak Lane, Oak Lane and Olney.

- Inquirer staff writer Troy Graham contributed to this report.

Contact Chris Brennan at 215-854-5973 or brennac@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @ChrisBrennanDN. Read his blog at phillyclout.com.