Centre County’s legal landscape to remain unchanged after election
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Centre County voters returned every incumbent in uncontested judicial races.
- Bernie Cantorna won a third term as district attorney, four judges reelected.
- Five positions draw nearly $800,000 in annual taxpayer-funded salaries.
Centre County’s legal landscape is likely to remain unchanged after voters appeared to return every candidate to office in a slate of uncontested races.
Centre County Judge Katie Oliver is on track to be retained for another 10-year term, keeping the post she’s held since taking the bench in 2016. She is the second-longest tenured of the county’s four judges.
Her initial term saw her advocate for Centre County’s treatment courts. She was a founding member of the behavioral health court and presides over the DUI court.
District Attorney Bernie Cantorna won a third term, giving him another four years as the county’s top prosecutor. He has not been contested since he took office in 2018 and won more votes this reelection cycle than the one that preceded it.
District judges Kelley Gillette-Walker, Don Hahn and Steven Lachman were each elected to new six-year terms. Gillette-Walker and Lachman are poised to serve their third terms, while Hahn is in position to serve his second.
Together, the five positions carry a combined annual salary of nearly $800,000 funded by taxpayers. Below are the unofficial results as of 10:39 p.m. Tuesday with 88 of the county’s 91 precincts reporting.
All results are unofficial until certified by Centre County’s elections board.
Oliver’s retention
Yes: 27,529
No: 14,893
District attorney
Bernie Cantorna (D): 32,582
Write-it totals: 1,008
District judges
District 49-1-01
Don Hahn (D/R): 2,374
Write-it totals: 25
District 49-3-02
Kelley Gillette-Walker (D/R): 8,949
Write-it totals: 144
District 49-3-05
Steven Lachman (D/R): 2,433
Write-it totals: 22
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 11:33 PM.