Daryl Metcalfe's name won't be the only one on the November general election ballot for the 12th District House of Representatives.

Regis Young, director of the Butler County Elections Bureau, notified the Department of State last week that John Olesnevich, 59, of Middlesex, received enough Democratic write-in votes in the April primary to challenge the conservative Cranberry Republican's bid for a sixth two-year term.

A hearing was held May 8, before Butler County Judge Marilyn Horan to decide whether Mr. Olesnevich should be credited with a number of write-ins that were either misspelled or lacked Mr. Olesnevich's first name.

According to the law, both the first and last name should be included and spelled correctly. And, to secure a ballot position, a state legislative candidate must have 300 votes.

Mr. Olesnevich garnered 257 votes that meet the legal requirements. Judge Horan credited him with another 47 votes that had only his last name and another six that were misspelled but close enough to be recognizable. The grand total: 310.

Mr. Olesnevich had attempted to get his name on the spring primary ballot but was forced to withdraw after he failed to get the proper number of signatures. He then mounted a write-in campaign.

Mr. Metcalfe, 45, was not at the 45-minute hearing but was represented by campaign workers and attorney Mike Lazaroff, of Butler, who asked the court to consider that Mr. Olesnevich is not the only person named Olesnevich in the 12th District.

Mr. Olesnevich's attorney, Charles Pascal, of Leechburg, presented affidavits from the other Olesneviches verifying that they hadn't run for office and that they weren't contesting that the votes were intended for John Olesnevich.

Mr. Metcalfe took office in 1998 and has faced ballot competition only a handful of times. In the spring primary, he easily bested challenger Robin Redding, of Cranberry.

Mr. Olesnevich, a Democrat, launched an unsuccessful write-in challenge to Mr. Metcalfe in November 2006. He also ran an unsuccessful campaign for Butler County treasurer in 2007, losing to incumbent Diane Marburger.

Currently working as a substitute teacher in the Karns City Area School District, Mr. Olesnevich retired in 2007 from Herr-Voss Corp. in Callery. The company manufactures steel equipment, and Mr. Olesnevich worked as a fitter on the assembly line. He was a Middlesex auditor from 2002 to 2006 and is a certified tax preparer.

The 12th District encompasses Adams, Clinton, Cranberry, Forward, Jackson, Jefferson, Lancaster, Middlesex, Muddy Creek, Penn, Callery, Connoquenessing Borough, Evans City, Harmony, Mars, Portersville, Saxonburg, Seven Fields, Valencia and Zelienople.