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Summer Lee, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, addresses supporters at her election night watch party Downtown shortly after midnight on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.
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Editorial: Losing gracefully and winning patiently are necessary democratic norms

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette

Editorial: Losing gracefully and winning patiently are necessary democratic norms

The candidates had hope but not enough data. “Unfortunately we’re not going to have a resolution tonight, but we can see the path ahead. We can see victory ahead,” Dave McCormick told his followers on election night. Mehmet Oz told his, “When all of the votes are tallied, I am confident we will win.”

The primary will almost certainly result in a recount. State law requires a recount when the difference between candidates is less than 0.5%. The secretary of state must order the new tally by 5 p.m. on May 26, and it must be finished by June 7. Recounts rarely change the results, but this one will keep Republicans on edge — and will give Democratic nominee John Fetterman a bit of a head start.

Meanwhile, it’s looking increasingly like the Democratic primary for the 12th Congressional district between state Rep. Summer Lee and attorney Steve Irwin will not require a recount. Ms. Lee’s camp claimed victory — prematurely, we think — with a lead of under 500 votes, but on Friday that expanded to nearly 700, a margin of 0.6%, and the Associated Press called the race in her favor.

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The tightness of these races and the possibility of recounts place responsibility on the candidates, as well as their parties. As we wrote earlier this week, many voters feel distrustful of the electoral system. Every screw-up like Lancaster County’s increases that number. Every candidate who won’t lose gracefully also increases that number. The Republican record is not good.

“Dr. Oz should declare victory. It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they just happened to find," Donald Trump declared in a “truth” (the equivalent of a tweet) on his social media network, "Truth Social.” He called the election a "MESS.”

These pronouncements can become self-fulfilling, making a mess of elections that aren’t actually messes to begin with. Mr. Oz, thus far, has taken a small but important step toward sanity and responsibility by declining the former president’s advice. He and Mr. McCormick should keep a patient vigil while the votes are counted, and recounted, in order to lay a solid foundation for the contentious race to come.

For her part, Ms. Lee followed the Trumpian strategy, declaring an early victory with a small lead and a few thousand votes left to count. She turned out to be correct about the result, but what if she hadn’t been? It would have made resolving the tight election far more difficult and contentious than necessary.

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Calling the race on one’s own terms may be sound strategy for oneself, but it doesn’t serve the public. Every time a candidate treats election results more as a matter of appearance and bravado than mathematical reality, our political culture declines just a little bit more.

First Published: May 21, 2022, 4:00 a.m.

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Summer Lee, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, addresses supporters at her election night watch party Downtown shortly after midnight on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.  (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette
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