PHILADELPHIA and HARRISBURG, Pa. (KYW Newsradio, AP) — Democrats are on the verge of taking control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the first time in more than a decade, but several races remained too close to call early Wednesday evening.
Democrats would need to gain 12 seats to overtake the current Republican majority in the state House. Democratic House leaders said their survey of county election results, and analysis of how uncounted mail-in and provisional ballots are likely to shake out, gave them the confidence they will return to the majority for the first time in 12 years.
With vote counting still underway, Democrats were facing a couple of potential losses in western Pennsylvania and one in Wilkes-Barre, while Republicans were trailing in key races outside Philadelphia and others near Harrisburg, the Poconos and the Pittsburgh area.
Across the commonwealth, Democrats did much better than expected.
Related
Democratic political strategist Mark Nevins said he was bracing for a completely different outcome, but says he thinks that generally, polling missed big motivators for voters.
“I think people are fed up with, basically, with general threats to our democratic process. They're tired of election deniers. They're tired of the extremists. They're tired of people trying to take down our democracy. They’re tired of Trump,” said Nevins.
“I do think that basic human rights matter. I think reproductive rights matter. I think women are a powerful force in elections that should not be underestimated. And I think younger voters are also starting to flex their political will in elections.”
Republican political strategist Christopher Nicholas said the GOP missed chances to grab winnable Congressional seats in Pennsylvania, failing to flip any of the four competitive congressional seats.
“The way the congressional delegation stands, we went into Election Day with nine Democrats and eight Republicans and that's still where we stand,” Nicholas said.
He added that Republicans have three straight losses in races for governor, with the last two by significant margins. Democrat Josh Shapiro’s double-digit win over Republican Doug Mastriano in the governor’s race marks the second straight gubernatorial election where the Republican barely cracked 40%.
Related
“Mastriano won the Republican primary and then in my opinion, proceeded to run another primary race in the general (election and) did not reach out to folks that weren't already with him,” said Nicholas.
“As Republicans, we need to definitely rethink how we're choosing our nominees coming out of the primaries, because there's only one reason you run campaigns and that's to win.”
Nicholas points out it wasn’t a great night for Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates, saying even the ones who did win needed more resources to pull it off.
“My hope is that his time is over, and we can move to someone who is much more easier to elect and to beat Joe Biden, or whoever the Democrats put up in 2024,” he said.
If Democrats claim control of the state house, Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, will become the first female speaker of the House in Pennsylvania history.
"Here, in the birthplace of our nation, in the birthplace of our democracy, it is much more than symbolic that we will finally have a woman that has the gavel in the Pennsylvania House,” said McClinton Wednesday at a news conference at Independence Hall.
Republicans hold the chamber 113-90, so Democrats would need a net pickup of 12 to retake the majority for the first time in 12 years. More favorable district maps and wins by Democrats in high-profile races for governor and U.S. Senate, along with Republican retirements, contributed to the shift.
“Redistricting had an effect, but I mean the biggest thing was having fair districts,” said Trevor Southerland, executive director of the House Democratic Campaign Committee. “Pennsylvania, it’s a purple state and everybody knows that. It’s absurd to think our state House shouldn’t be competitive, and it was very competitive last night."
With more members in the House, the GOP had more targets to defend. Top Republican leaders and campaign strategists did not appear eager to talk about the results Wednesday. The state Senate is expected to remain in Republican control.
“We're just waiting to see how these last races shake out,” said Mike Straub, spokesperson for House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster.
Democrats won three House races in Allegheny County districts in which their candidates are not expected to serve. State Rep. Summer Lee was unopposed for another term but was also elected Tuesday to Congress. Rep. Austin Davis won reelection but was also elected lieutenant governor, on the ticket with Shapiro. And Rep. Tony Deluca easily won another term a month after his death from cancer.
Related
Democratic leaders said Lee and Davis will be available to vote at the very start of the 2023-24 session in January, helping their party take over. It will be up to Cutler to schedule special elections to fill those vacancies next year.
Rep. Chris Sainato conceded his race in the Lawrence County district he has represented in Harrisburg for 28 years. Sainato, a Democrat, said his opponent won by going after his use of legislative expenses in television ads and direct mail. He was among a dwindling number of rural Democratic lawmakers from western Pennsylvania.
“Demographics have changed in western Pennsylvania,” Sainato said in a phone interview Wednesday. “There was only four of us left when there used to be 20. I usually survive this thing.”
A Democratic House majority would be a major boost to Shapiro. House Democrats said they would stick together to maintain a governing majority even if it's narrow, pointing to their repeated votes to uphold vetoes of GOP bills during eight years under outgoing Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.
Rep. Matt Bradford, of Montgomery County, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said at the news conference that a priority will be to give counties more advance time to start processing mail-in ballots before elections.
Majority status would also give Democrats greater leverage in dividing up billions in budget surplus, stimulus money and reserves, and would allow them to block five constitutional amendments that legislative Republicans have positioned for final votes early next year that could put them before voters in the May primary.
Related
