EASTON, Pa. – Former Northampton County judge Stephen Baratta was on track to secure the Democratic nomination for district attorney Tuesday night, after amassing a sizable lead over incumbent Terry Houck in unofficial results.
- Former judge Stephen Baratta claimed victory in the Democratic primary for Northampton County District Attorney Tuesday night, after amassing a 2100-vote lead in preliminary results
- Incumbent DA Terry Houck said he is confident he finished first in the Republican primary as a write-in candidate, even though no write-in results have been released
- If Houck is correct, the same candidates will face a rematch in the General Election
“I think I had a reputation in my governmental service to Northampton County. I believe that I brought important issues before the voters,” said Baratta. “I put a lot on the line for this, and I'm so happy that the voters supported me.”
However, voters cast more than 2,000 write-in ballots in the Republican primary, virtually guaranteeing a contested race in November.
Write-in candidates must secure at least 250 votes to appear on the general election ballot in county races. Although the first-place Republican finisher is sure to have crossed that threshold, Northampton County did not release the results of write-in votes Tuesday night.
Nevertheless, Houck effectively declared victory in the Republican primary.
“The numbers haven't gone the way we had hoped they’d have gone. But we're through to the fall,” he said. “I got the sufficient number of write-in votes, so I’m confident those numbers will hold up going forward.”
If he is correct, the two candidates will face a rematch in November.
The race for the Democratic nomination for district attorney was one of the most expensive primaries in Northampton County since 2013, consuming nearly $250,000 of spending and in-kind donations overall. Baratta outspent Houck nearly 2 to 1.
Baratta’s forceful criticism defined the race from its first days, as he painted Houck as incompetent and corrupt. Houck consistently called his opponent’s criticisms “lies.”
He resigned his role on the bench late last year specifically to run against Houck, Baratta said, after hearing about “nonsense in the [DA’s] office.”
Baratta served as a judge on the county’s Court of Common Pleas from 1997 until his resignation in December, including a stint as president judge from 2013-18. Before his election to the court, he worked as the county’s first assistant district attorney.
Houck started his career as a police officer in Philadelphia in 1977, before becoming an assistant district attorney in Bucks County nine years later. There, he eventually was promoted to chief deputy, overseeing the unit prosecuting child abuse and sex offenses.
He joined the Lehigh County district attorney’s office in 2002 to lead the violent crime unit, and came to Northampton County in 2006 to serve as first assistant district attorney. He first ran for district attorney in 2019.
