Republicans in the Pennsylvania State Senate refused to seat an incumbent Democrat who won a tight race certified by the Commonwealth’s Secretary of State, thrusting the chamber into chaos that resulted in Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman being ousted as presiding officer, KDKA CBS-2 reports.

The issue stems from a challenge to the victory of Democrat Jim Brewster, who represents the state’s 45th Senatorial District, by his Republican challenger, Nicole Ziccarelli, who lost the race by just 69 votes out of more than 132,000 cast.

Although the ballots were recounted and certified by elections officials, Ziccarelli has pressed her case in federal court, claiming that more than 2,000 mail-in ballots in Allegheny County were illegal because they did not have the date written on the security envelope.

Lt. Gov. Fetterman opened the session by calling for the ceremonial swearing in of all state senators.  Republicans objected, saying Brewster, who was in attendance, should not be sworn in, but all others should be.  Arguments and shouting broke out across the senate floor, with Republicans putting a motion on the floor to oust Fetterman as Presiding Officer of the Senate, which received votes from all 28 Republicans in the chamber.

Jake Corman, the Republican Senate Majority Leader, then took the gavel and proceeded with the swearing in of the 49 other Senators.

While the district election was certified, Republicans have refused to honor the results, saying that Ziccarelli case must be heard in federal court before the seat is filled.  When asked how long those appeals should be allowed to continue, Republicans could not answer, setting up a situation where continuing appeals means the seat stays open indefinitely.