Democrats Sweep Pennsylvania Special Elections
Pennsylvania is an important battleground state because it often has close election races between Democrat and Republican candidates. In one of the most-watched Senate races of November 2022, Democrat John Fetterman flipped the Senate seat held by Republican Pat Toomey. At the same time, another Democrat–Josh Shapiro–won the governor’s seat by a landslide. On February 7, 2023, Democrats won three Pennsylvania special elections. This gives the Democratic Party control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
What Happened?
All three special elections happened in Allegheny County. This area of Pennsylvania includes Pittsburgh. These congressional districts are considered Democratic districts.
In the 32nd district, longtime state Rep. Tony DeLuca died in October 2022. During the November midterm election, 86 percent of the votes were cast for DeLuca and the Democrats. In the special election voters chose Democrat Joe McAndrew over Republican Clay Walker–a local pastor and first-time candidate. McAndrew is a campaign and party staffer who is active in local politics. He won the election by almost 50 percentage points.
In the 34th district, Summer Lee was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November. Her seat at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was then vacated. That seat will now be filled by Democrat Abigail Salisbury, a small-business lawyer. Salisbury was chosen 88 percent to 12 percent. over the Republican candidate—a retired police officer named Robert Pagane.
In the 35th district, Austin Davis was elected to the position of lieutenant governor. That left his seat at the state House open. He will now be replaced by Democrat Matt Gergely, a longtime politician. Gergely beat Republican Don Nevills by nearly fifty percentage points. Interestingly, Gergely will now take the seat that once belonged to his brother, Marc.
What Happens Next?
The Pennsylvania legislature has been at a standstill while waiting for the special elections to wind up. It is expected that the new members will be sworn in by the end of February.
Democrats also may gain another seat in the Pennsylvania state House soon. Republican Rep. Lynda Culver was elected to a seat in the state Senate in a special election last week. Her seat will now be vacant, which will require another special election.
Why It Matters
These three wins mean that Democrats hold 102 seats out of 203 in the Pennsylvania state House. That gives them a narrow majority. This marks the first time in a dozen years that Democrats have gained a majority in the state House of Representatives. Pennsylvania Democrats say they want to use their majority to focus heavily on workers’ rights as one of their important political issues. However, their majority is very slim. If any Democrats decide to vote with Republicans, that lead could be eroded. This limits what House Democrats will be able to accomplish. Also, Republicans still control the state Senate. New legislation that the governor can sign into law must pass through the Senate as well. So, both political parties must cooperate to pass new laws.
Dig Deeper Use the Internet or your school’s library to find election results in Pennsylvania over the last ten years. Collect the data and make graphs that show how close the party division in the legislature has been for each election.
