(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania Democrats appeared poised to make gains in the state Senate based on incomplete general election vote counts Tuesday night, with their candidates running ahead in four closely-watched Senate races but behind in a fifth.
The four races all involved Republican incumbents – Sens. Jarrett Coleman, Tracy Pennycuick, Rosemary Brown, and Frank Farry. The fifth, in which the Democrat was running behind, involved incumbent Democratic Sen. James Malone.
Democrats went into the night on the short end of a 27-23 split in the Senate, and much of their chance of gaining a tie or grabbing the majority appeared tied to those five races. About 10:35 p.m. Tuesday, it was too early to call them.
But Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro had already defeated Republican challenger and Treasurer Stacy Garrity, and Democrats appeared unlikely to lose control of the state House, which they held 103-100 as the night began. The Associated Press had already called a number of closely watched House races in favor of Democrats, including wins for incumbent Reps. Frank Burns, Mandy Steele, Arvind Venkat, and Robert Matzie.
And, Democratic challenger Hadley Haas declared herself the victor in her 44th House District challenge to incumbent Republican Rep. Valerie Gaydos.
Control of all three legs of government would allow Democrats to push their priorities through with far less friction than they experienced in the past two years, when they held the governor’s office and the House, but Republicans ran the Senate. Shapiro, in his Tuesday night victory speech, spoke about legislation to raise the minimum wage, deal with housing issues, and bolster abortion rights.
The backdrop for all the races was a political environment that one pollster called “as toxic as I have seen it in a long time, against Republicans.”
Here’s where some key races stood before 11 p.m. Tuesday:
In Senate District 36, the challenger, Republican Rep. Tom Jones, had a lead of 54,209 to 48,556 over Malone.In Senate District 16 in Lehigh and Bucks counties, Republican incumbent Coleman was running behind Democratic challenger Mark Pinsley, the Lehigh County controller. Pinsley had 53,014 votes to Coleman’s 48,714.Democratic challenger Brian Wrightson was ahead of Republican incumbent Brown in Senate District 40 by a count of 49,485 to 46,472. The district includes all or part of three counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.In Senate District 6 covering part of Bucks County, Democratic challenger Eileen Hartnett Albillar was ahead of Republican incumbent Farry by a count of 44,576 to 40,217.In Senate District 24 covering parts of Berks and Montgomery counties, Democratic challenger Chris Thomas had a lead over incumbent Republican Pennycuick by a count of 28,478 to 18,896. Mike Schonewolf of the Green Party had 988 votes.In another closely watched race, Republican incumbent Sen. Camera Bartolotta was in a contest with Independent Party candidate Jodi Borello in western Pennsylvania’s Senate District 46. Bartolotta held a lead of 49,999 to 39,001 shortly before 11 p.m.
Going into Tuesday, it was nearly impossible to find serious election watchers who believed Republicans had a chance of retaking the House, given the national souring on Republican Donald Trump’s agenda. Among closely watched House races Tuesday evening:
Haas was ahead of Gaydos in the 44th House District in Allegheny County by a count of 15,004 to 12,899. It was a rematch of the 2024 contest in which Gaydos beat Haas by a roughly 54%-46% margin.In Allegheny County, the Associated Press declared incumbent Steele the winner in her 33rd House District contest against Republican challenger Mike Hammill. Just before 11 p.m., Steele had 16,807 votes to Hammill’s 9,259.In another Allegheny County race, AP declared incumbent Venkat the winner over Republican challenger Libby Blackburn. Venkat had 19,499 votes to Blackburn’s 11,302 just before 11 p.m.
The national dynamics involving President Donald Trump, the war in Iran, and high gas prices all loomed in the background. Candidates were well aware of it.
Blackburn said some “Republicans aren’t even voting Republican because they are against the war.” Some of President Trump’s policies are not popular in her district, she said, and particularly those that have an effect on household costs.
“The economy and affordability is everyone’s biggest issue,” Blackburn said. “We need to find a way to trim what everyone is spending.”
Because a Republican is in the White House, Blackburn said, Republicans are getting held to a different standard. But Blackburn said the Democrat who holds the highest elective position in Allegheny County – County Executive Sara Innamorato – has positions that will wind up “overtaxing” residents.
Democratic candidate Bradford Chambers, challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Brett Miller in Lancaster County’ 41st House District, said President Trump’s decisions were in play.
“People who live here know who is responsible for their gas prices going up,” said Chambers.
In the 44th House District, Gaydos said people “being hurt in their pocketbooks” was part of the election environment. Even though much of the blame appears to be going toward the federal government, Gaydos said, state and local officials play a larger background role in affecting the economy than most people realize.
For voter Carmen Ramos, the politicians had it right.
“My heart goes out to the youngest people working there,” Ramos, a resident of Ephrata in Lancaster County, said of the food factory where she has worked for 31 years. “They can’t afford anything. The rent, the food, the child care.”
Ramos, 66 and a registered Democrat, voted for Malone at the American Legion post in the Lancaster County borough. She said she immigrated to the U.S. 37 years ago and she has “never seen all the things I am seeing now” when it comes to costs.
Aleksandr and Natalia Bilik came to the U.S. a year or two after Ramos from their homeland of Ukraine, back when it was part of the Soviet Union.
Both voted for Jones in the Senate race because, to them, he better represented “family values.”
Natalia Bilik, a registered Republican who works as a medical technician, said she and husband want to see more family-friendly activities and “for God to be involved in the community.”
