23-05-2025
Pier Hess Graf wins Republican primary for Lebanon Co. DA, will likely serve another term
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf will likely serve another term after winning the Republican primary Tuesday night.
With all 60 precincts reporting in and mail-in votes counted, Graf received 2,437 votes while senior public defender Michael Light II received 1,394 votes. No one ran on the Democratic ticket.
'The most humbling moment of my life was taking the oath as Lebanon County's District Attorney – to have the responsibility of protecting the community where I was born and raised,' Graf said when she announced her re-election campaign.
According to a release by Graf in December, she took 105 defendants to trial during her 15-year career as a local prosecutor. Since becoming District Attorney in 2020, Graf claims she has a 100% conviction rate, and secured first-degree guilty verdicts in each homicide case she personally tried.
As Lebanon County District Attorney, Graf presided over several high profile cases, including against Kimberly Maurer, who was convicted for the torture and murder of 11-year-old Maxwell Schollenberger.
'Our trial team spent years preparing for this trial. Every day, we sifted through evidence and listened to witnesses who detailed the cruelty and utter depravity that was Maxwell's all-too-short life," Graf said. "Knowing his killers will die in prison and never hurt a child again is one of the most meaningful accomplishments in my career."
Graf also oversaw the investigation into the shooting death of Lebanon city police Lt. William Lebo in 2022. Lebo died in a shootout with a man who had broken into a home on the 1100 block of Forest Street.
'Being a prosecutor defines me to my core. I've spent my career in court aggressively facing heinous, violent, amoral criminals who preyed upon the innocent people of our community,' she said in her announcement release.
The Pennsylvania 2025 municipal election is scheduled for Nov. 4.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Pier Hess Graf wins Republican nomination for Lebanon Co. DA
