Democrat Nate Bible led two-term Republican incumbent David Lozier in the high-profile race for Beaver County District Attorney Tuesday night, according to unofficial election results.
Lozier trailed Bible by 49.2% to 50.7% with all precincts reporting – the two were separated by less than 650 votes.
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During his campaign, Lozier — who fell short of a third four-year term — defended his role in creating the Beaver Valley Regional Police Department and overseeing a number of high-profile criminal cases during his eight-year term. He praised his efforts to equip police officers with body-worn cameras, support the county’s Special Victims Unit and introduce new DNA testing capabilities.
Bible, an attorney with NBMS Law in Beaver and a part-time public defender, vowed to be more active in the day-to-day legal proceedings than Lozier. It was approved by the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents the Pennsylvania State Troopers at Beaver and three other barracks. He criticized the minister’s Bible for being “too soft” on crime and said the Republican’s relations with law enforcement were strained.
In August, Bible accused Lozier of using the still-unsolved 2018 murder of Rachel DelTondo to score political points when Lozier publicly named Sheldon Jeter as the prime suspect in her death. Lozier said he hopes naming Jeter will shake up new information in the case. Bible promised that the case would be among the first he would explore, if elected to serve as the county’s top prosecutor and chief law enforcement official.
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When asked how he handled excessive force incidents involving law enforcement in Beaver County, Writers said that while officers who abuse their authority “should be punished just as much as the criminals they are charged with apprehending,” policing is “an extremely difficult job and I do not… “The utmost respect to the men and women of law enforcement.”
“I assure you that any case of excessive use of force will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” Bible said in an election Q&A with The Times. “I will certainly take into account the difficult job that law enforcement has, and I will really try to put myself in their shoes in this particular situation. However, they will not be given any special treatment, and if charges are warranted they will be brought forward.”
The Beaver County Board of Elections began pre-polling absentee and mail-in ballots at 7 a.m. Tuesday and finished counting in-person ballots by 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Of Beaver County’s 111,611 registered voters, 45,120, or 40.4%, cast ballots in the 2023 municipal election — up from 33.7% in 2021 and 36.4% in 2019. About 83% of requested mail-in ballots were returned in The county’s 12,054 are sent to the Beaver County Elections Office.
For a complete list of unofficial results, visit beavercountypa.gov.
This story will be updated with comments from the candidates.
This article originally appeared in the Beaver County Times: Bible appears to have ousted Lozier in the tight race for Beaver County district attorney
