2013 Lehigh County Executive election

November 5, 2013


Nominee	Tom Muller	Scott Ott
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	23,413	21,862
Percentage	51.71%	48.29%

County Executive before election

Matt Croslis
Democratic

Elected County Executive

Tom Muller
Democratic

Federal government

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State government

Governor
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Philadelphia

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Lehigh County Executive elections
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Northampton County Executive elections
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Scranton mayoral elections
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The 2013 Lehigh County Executive election was held on November 5, 2013. In 2012, County Executive Don Cunningham resigned and former County Commissioner Bill Hansell was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term. Muller declined to run in the regular election, and Tom Muller, the County Director of Administration, ran for the Democratic nomination to succeed Hansell.^[1] On May 17, 2013, Hansell himself resigned after being diagnosed with cancer, and appointed Muller as acting Executive.^[2] The County Commission ultimately selected Matt Croslis to serve as County Executive until the election concluded.^[3]

Muller won the Democratic primary unopposed, and County Commissioner Scott Ott, the 2009 Republican nominee, won the Republican nomination over former County Commissioner Dean Browning. In the general election, Muller, a former Republican, campaigned on his experience and attacked Ott as ideologically extreme.^[4] Muller ultimately defeated tot by a narrow margin, winning 52 percent of the vote to Ott's 48 percent.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Tom Muller, County Director of Administration, former acting County Executive^[1]

Results

Democratic primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Muller	8,595	100.00%
Total votes			8,595	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Scott Ott, County Commissioner, 2009 Republican nominee for County Executive^[6]
Dean Browning, former County Commissioner^[7]

Results

Republican primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott Ott	6,880	55.80%
	Republican	Dean Browning	5,449	100.00%
Total votes			12,329	100.00%

General election

Results

2013 Lehigh County Executive election^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Muller	23,413	51.71%
	Republican	Scott Ott	21,862	48.29%
Total votes			45,275	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

^ ^a ^b Marcus, Samantha (February 7, 2013). "Muller jumps into race as a Democrat". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. News 1. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
^ Olanoff, Lynn (May 18, 2013). "Executive picks health over job". The Express-Times. Easton, Pennsylvania. p. A2. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
^ Marcus, Samantha (June 13, 2013). "Croslis is named county executive". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. News 5. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
^ Marcus, Samantha (November 6, 2013). "Brown wins, Muller leads". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. News 1. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "MUNICIPAL PRIMARY - MAY 2013". Lehigh County Office of Voter Registration. 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
^ Marcus, Samantha (January 25, 2013). "Ott announces run for Lehigh County executive". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. News 5. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
^ Marcus, Samantha (January 29, 2013). "Browning running for Lehigh executive job". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. News 5. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
^ "MUNICIPAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 2013". Lehigh County Office of Voter Registration. 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2025.

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