Mel Evans / AP
Election petitions were due Tuesday from candidates who hope to appear on the May 18 primary ballot, and a number of races appear to have drawn few competitors. Which may be just as well, because that leaves more room for judicial candidates.
There are nine spots available in Allegheny County’s Common Pleas Court. In all, 39 candidates are seeking them, either as Democrats or Republicans or – because judicial candidates can seek the nomination of either party – both.
Happily for voters, perhaps, and the people who lay out the ballots, history suggests some of those candidates will withdraw between now and the primary. Other candidates for all the races on the ballot may be removed against their will if defects are found in their petitions in the days ahead. (Conversely, some candidates may seek to run write-in campaigns in hopes of appearing on the November ballot without filing petitions first.)