HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Republican candidate lost her latest legal challenge after asking a federal judge to effectively overturn a close race for a western Pennsylvania state Senate seat. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan was under pressure to settle a fight that spilled onto the floor of the state Senate last week when majority Republicans refused to let state Sen. Jim Brewster of Allegheny County be sworn in. Ranjan rejected the argument by Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli that Allegheny County was not justified in counting 311 mail-in ballots without a handwritten date. The county’s decision had been upheld by the state Supreme Court. Those ballots helped deliver a 69-vote victory to Brewster. (Photo: WPXI)