PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania Democrats now hold a 9-8 majority in the state's congressional delegation, as incumbents in the east retained their seats and two newcomers in the Allegheny County area secured victory.
The GOP is expected to win a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, but Democratic performance in Pennsylvania helped beat back an anticipated "red wave."
Democratic winners in Pa. include Summer Lee, Pa.-18, who at age 34 will be the first Black congresswoman from the state.
Democratic fortune in the House increased substantially after a 2018 order from the Pa. Supreme Court that ruled the congressional map an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Prior to that, Republicans held a 13-5 advantage in the delegation for several elections in a row.
Pennsylvania congressional races
In one of the highest-interest battles on the ballot, incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick defeated Democrat Ashley Ehasz to represent Bucks County in the House for his fifth term in a row.
Fitzpatrick, brother of Mike Fitzpatrick, who represented Bucks County from 2005 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2017, served as an FBI special agent, federal prosecutor and special assistant U.S. attorney prior to taking office in 2017.
Democratic incumbents Mary Gay Scanlon, Madeleine Dean, Susan Wild and Chrissy Houlahan kept their hold on the Philadelphia suburbs, representing the 4th, 5th, 7th and 6th congressional districts, respectively.
Scanlon defeated David Galluch by nearly 85,000 votes, and Dean defeated Christian Nascimento by nearly 80,000.
Lee, who has been a state representative, defeated Republican Mike Doyle. She'll take the congressional seat being vacated by retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle. (And, yes, the identical names caused some confusion during the campaign, too.)
New Jersey congressional races
South Jersey’s political divide remained with an even split of reigning leaders from each party. Democrats were defending 10 seats to the Republicans’ two in the first election since congressional districts were redrawn after the 2020 census.
Democratic incumbent Donald Norcross and Republican Claire Gustafson ran against one another in 2020 and, like two years ago, Norcross beat Gustafson to represent Jersey’s 1st District.
And, representing New Jersey’s 2nd District for the third consecutive term is incumbent Republican Jeff Van Drew. Chris Smith, the longest-serving congressman in America, will also continue representing the 4th District.
New Jersey's 3rd
The most contentious race was between incumbent Democrat Andy Kim and Republican Bob Healey for the 3rd Congressional District. Stakes were high, as this district is historically known for party turnovers, but Kim secured his position for the 2022-2023 term.
Kim won in the newly drawn 3rd District in southern and central New Jersey, which includes more Democratic voters than the previous district’s boundaries.
Kim’s win over Healey, an executive at a yacht maker in South Jersey, bolsters Democrats in a year when they faced serious headwinds, including inflation and sagging approval ratings for Democratic President Joe Biden.
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“I believe we can heal this country,” Kim told supporters Tuesday night. “I believe it’s possible. What I don’t believe is, I don’t believe my kids are doomed to grow up in a divided America. What is happening right now doesn’t have to be this way.”
Kim made headlines in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol when colleagues and others found him helping to clean up the mess around the building.
Pennsylvania Legislature
Pennsylvania Republicans are expected to retain control of the state Senate, but the Associated Press is reporting that Democrats are likely to make significant gains in the House (with some observers seeing the possibility of retaking the majority). Prior to Tuesday, House Democrats had a 23-seat gap behind Republicans.
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The Philadelphia suburbs held three of the most competitive races, with Republican incumbents Tim Hennessey, Todd Stephens and Chris Quinn grappling to remain in office.
Quinn, representing Delaware County, defeated Democrat Lisa Borowski.
Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, both ballot questions have passed with overwhelming support. One will create a new department for airport oversight, and other will give preference points for city jobs to graduates of CTE schools.
Democrats won the four special elections for Philadelphia City Council at-large seats. The seats were vacated so those Council members could launch mayoral campaigns.
Jim Harrity, Sharon Vaughn, Quetcy Lozada and Anthony Phillips are all leading with nearly 80% of the vote.
Results are continuing to filter in. Follow along below:
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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the ratio of the Democratic majority in Pennsylvania's congressional delegation. There are nine Democrats and eight Republicans representing Pennsylvanians in the U.S. House.