Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.
By Stephen Caruso & Kate Huangpu | Spotlight PA
Democrats will stay in control of the Pennsylvania House after holding off strong GOP challenges in Northeast Philadelphia, the city’s suburbs, and the heart of Trump country.
In the state Senate, Republicans easily maintained their majority after Tuesday’s election. That means the uneasy relationship between the chambers that has slowed policymaking to a crawl will continue in 2025.
Democrats flipped the state House in 2022 after more than a decade of GOP control. The party’s one-seat majority will remain the same next year.
Despite its size, majority control gives Democrats the power to set the agenda and block Republicans from unilaterally sending proposed constitutional amendments to the voters on issues like expanded voter ID.
Both parties spent big in their quests to keep and flip seats. Candidates in 21 competitive legislative races and their allies spent at least $34 million between May 14 and Oct. 21. The total is sure to rise as campaigns submit their final reports and the full weight of independent spending becomes clear.
Tuesday’s election caps a stop-and-start session that was among the least productive in recent history due to a lack of compromise between the divided legislature.
All told, Shapiro had signed just 210 laws as of Tuesday, the lowest total since the 2009-10 session — the last in which the legislature was split between Democrats and Republicans.
State House control hinged on Johnstown, Philadelphia
Capitol insiders from both major parties focused on three state House races as key to control: the 72nd District in Western Pennsylvania, the 144th District in suburban Philadelphia, and the 172nd District in Northeast Philadelphia. All three are held by Democrats.
State Rep. Frank Burns (D., Cambria) currently holds the seat in the 72nd District, whose voters preferred Trump by 30 percentage points in 2020. He won against Republican Amy Bradley, a former local chamber of commerce executive, in a race where spending exceeded $4 million.
Burns, one of the last rural, Blue Dog Democrats, has frequently voted against his party on hot button issues like stricter gun laws or LGBTQ rights. He has also backed some economically populist proposals, saying in TV ads that he voted to lower taxes and wants to lower prescription drug costs, and that his opponent was involved in the sale of a hospital in the district.
State Rep. Brian Munroe (D., Bucks), in the 144th District, won with 51.3% of the vote. Spending in that race topped $1.7 million.
Munroe, a Navy veteran, faced a torrent of attacks on his military record funded by his GOP opponent and a PAC largely bankrolled by Pennsylvania’s richest man. Speaking to Spotlight PA before Election Day, he said he “absolutely” thinks the commonwealth needs campaign finance restrictions among other changes.
“I think that there needs to be repercussions,” Munroe said. “You people gotta be able to trust to some degree what’s being put out there as being factual or not.”
In the 172nd District in Northeast Philadelphia, Democratic newcomer Sean Dougherty beat GOP candidate Aizaz Gill. The Associated Press called the race Thursday with Dougherty leading by 454 votes.
Dougherty, an attorney and scion of a local political family, defeated state Rep. Kevin Boyle (D., Philadelphia) in the April primary.
In a statement, the head of the Democratic caucus’ campaign arm said holding the chamber despite Republicans’ top-of-the-ticket successes validated the party’s legislative agenda, such as increased education spending.
“This was a tough election, but our incumbents proved they have the confidence of their constituents,” said House Democratic Campaign Committee Executive Director Madeline Zann.
For Republicans, the down-ballot failure has led to frustration about another two years out of power.
State Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R., Lawrence) pointed to Democrats’ big financial advantage — their campaign committee outraised the GOP’s by nearly $10 million, and the party outspent Republicans in nearly every competitive race. To fix it, Bernstine said that the party needs to work with “Republican voters and donors to make them know their investment means something.”
He also criticized the chamber’s “extremely gerrymandered” map. (While Republicans have argued the creation of more Democratic-leaning seats in the chamber was done for political reasons, data tests show the map better reflects the partisan makeup of the state as well as population shifts over the past decade.)
Still, Bernstine added, “there’s no excuses.”
“We need to go out, recruit good candidates, and make the House in two years a Republican House of Representatives, and make Pennsylvania great again,” Bernstine said.
The loss kicks off a closed-door fight for leadership of the caucus. As of Thursday morning, two lawmakers — House Republican campaign chair Josh Kail of Beaver County and ranking Education Committee Republican Jesse Topper of Bedford County — announced challenges to House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler, of Lancaster County.
Leadership elections will be held this week.
Status quo in the state Senate
Democrats and Republicans each picked up one seat Tuesday — meaning the chamber will keep its 28-22 split in favor of Republicans.
Democrat Patty Kim, a current state representative, won a Dauphin County district represented by Republican John DiSanto. The district was redrawn in 2022 during the redistricting process to encompass areas that have historically voted for Democrats, and DiSanto announced he would not run again.
But her flip was countered by one from the GOP.
Former Republican congressional staffer Joe Picozzi beat state Sen. Jimmy Dillon (D., Philadelphia) in the 5th District.
Dillon had faced many critical news stories, including a report that a social media account for Dillon’s basketball academy posted racial slurs. Dillon denied he wrote the posts, saying others had access to the account.
While Kim expressed hope before Election Day about flipping the chamber, she told Spotlight PA, “Even if we flip one seat … I think it’s a definite win.”
BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
