HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Republican Joan Orie Melvin has been elected to Pennsylvania's highest court, changing the partisan balance of the seven-justice Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Melvin's margin over Democrat Jack Panella in Tuesday's general election was slim -- 53 percent to 47 percent, with 99 percent of the state's precincts counted.
Melvin's victory restores a one-seat majority that the GOP lost in 2007.
More Races: See Latest Election Results"It was always a win-win situation. Because we've both served on the superior court and no matter what, we are public servants and we continue as judges," Melvin said.
The 53-year-old Melvin lives in the Pittsburgh suburb of Wexford. Panella is a 54-year-old Democrat from Northampton County.
Both are sitting judges on the Superior Court.
Both candidates have leveled accusations that the other has been influenced by donations made to their campaign, and both have been at the center of controversy surrounding campaign ads.
More: Donations Become Issue In Pa. Supreme Court RaceMelvin refused to accept the judicial pay raise that emerged from the failed 2005 legislative pay raise. She continues to return to the state Treasury the after-tax portion of her salary increases that have been granted since then.
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