[4] Aichele successfully ran for the office of Chester County Controller in 1997 defeating two other candidates in the primary, including future State Representative Duane Milne, and eventually succeeded retiring Republican incumbent Joseph Carpenter.
[6] In 2006, State Senator Bob Thompson died from pulmonary fibrosis at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
In what was considered a stunning upset, Dinniman defeated Aichele by twelve percentage points to become the first Democrat to represent Chester County in the State Senate since 1890.
[8][9] Incoming Governor Tom Corbett announced his intention to nominate Aichele for the position of Secretary of the Commonwealth in January 2011.
Aichele resigned from the Board of Commissioners later that month and served as Acting Secretary until her nomination was unanimously approved by the State Senate in April.