Republican Westmoreland County commissioner candidates John Ventre and Paul Kosko will remain on the GOP primary ballot after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling.

As a result, county election officials said more than 22,000 mail-in ballots will be sent to voters beginning Thursday. Voters could begin to see ballots arrive by this weekend, according to county Election Bureau Director Greg McCloskey.

The Supreme Court was asked to weigh in on the decision issued earlier this month by the Commonwealth Court, which affirmed a lower court ruling that kept Ventre and Kosko as candidates.

County Republican Committee Chairman Bill Bretz sought to terminate their candidacy, claiming they did not file required statements of financial interests with the election bureau and the chief clerk.

Bretz claimed the state’s election code mandated the document to be filed in two separate county offices. Common Pleas Judge Jim Silvis ruled it was sufficient for candidates to file just the one statement with the election bureau.

As a result, Ventre, a retired UPS executive, and Kosko, who recently retired as a computer specialist with the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, will appear as candidates on the May 16 ballot, challenging incumbent Republican commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew for two GOP nominations. Patricia Fritz, a former chief deputy the Westmoreland County sheriff, also is seeking the Republican nomination.

Former county commissioner Ted Kopas and Scottdale resident Sydney Hovis are the Democratic candidates in the race.

The top-two vote-getters in the Republican and Democratic primaries will square off in the November general election for three seats on the board of commissioners.

Ventre, Kosko and Fritz were defeated by Kertes and Chew in the 2019 Republican Primary.

“This is a victory for all voters in Westmoreland County,” Kosko said of court rulings that allowed him to remain on the May ballot. “We keep marching on and want the voters to decide.”

Bretz said he acted as a private citizen and not on behalf of the Republican committee when he filed the initial challenge of the Ventre and Kosko candidacies. The GOP committee in February overwhelmingly endorsed Kertes and Chew for reelection.

Ventre said his prior unsuccessful challenge of Bretz’s party leadership led to bad blood with the Republican leadership.

“This whole thing for the Republican chairman to attack two good challengers made no sense. This thing is almost vindictive, and it was a waste of time,” Ventre said.

Bretz said he initiated the ballot challenge as part of his backing of the two Republican incumbents and said he ultimately wanted the court to make clear how and where candidates should file paperwork required to run for county office.

“This is a loss for election integrity,” Bretz said of the court ruling. “That was one of the requirements, to file in two places.”

With the court case ended, elections officials started their work to get ballots mailed to voters.

McCloskey said NPC Inc., the Blair County company hired to prepare and send the two-sided ballots to voters, is expected to put them in the mail by Thursday. Mail-in and absentee ballots also will be available at the courthouse on Wednesday, where voters can request, receive and submit their completed ballots, officials said.

Mail-in ballot applications will be accepted by the county though May 9. Mail-in ballots must be returned to the courthouse by 8 p.m. on May 16.

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