What did Lois Murphy get for $6 Million?

Six of the seven Republican candidates for Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas won Tuesday.

The only Democrat elected to the bench was Lois Murphy. If the name sounds familiar, Murphy ran twice against U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District, which includes Montgomery County.

Murphy lost both times, but she and the Democratic Party spend more than $6 million on those campaigns. For that kind of money, Murphy bought herself name recognition and a job in the Montgomery County Courthouse. Not exactly the halls of Congress, but it's a living.

Common Pleas Court judges earn $161,850 a year and serve 10-year terms, after which they can seek retention until a mandatory retirement age of 70. The current salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $168,000 per year, with annual COLA increases.

While Murphy is relatively young, she's stuck in a courtroom for the next 10 years, effectively ending her future in politics.

Talk about bad timing. Murphy committed to running for a county judge seat before Congressman Gerlach announced he would not seek another term. Murphy could have won the 6th Congressional District seat next year.

The Montgomery County Republican Committee couldn't resist taking a shot at Murphy in this statement released Thursday:

We fielded a very talented team of experienced public servants in the Court of Common Pleas race. In the campaign, we talked about the candidates, their backgrounds and their commitment to Montgomery County.

Tuesday, it was the voters turn. They spoke loudly and clearly. They rejected partisan cries and today, we are celebrating the election of 6 members of our Judicial Team to the Court of Common Pleas.

Carolyn Tornette Carluccio, Garrett D. Page, Wendy Demchick-Alloy, Kelly Wall, Gary S. Silow and Patricia Coonahan captured 10-year terms on the bench.

This victory was the result of a complete team effort. We had a terrific ticket that worked very hard. We had tremendous support from our Committee and hundreds of volunteers. We had a sound strategy and executed it well.

"Tuesday night was a hell of a night for Republicans in Montgomery County," MCRC Chairman Robert Kerns said. "Congratulations to our entire team."

Were it not for a Democratic candidate benefiting from spending $6 million in two unsuccessful Congressional campaigns, it may have been a clean sweep for the Republican ticket.

Republicans also did very well in local races across the county, with significant victories in North Wales, Lansdale, Hatfield and Abington, to name a few.

Thank you to our volunteers, supporters, candidates, and committee people. We couldn't have done it without you. And we can't do it again in the future without you.