On Friday morning, the final outstanding state House race was called. In the Cambria County-based 72nd House District, Democrat incumbent state Representative Frank Burns was declared the winner against Republican candidate and President and CEO of the Cambria County Chamber of Commerce, Amy Bradley, in a hard-fought race that set spending records. Remarkably, all state House incumbents retained their seats, with no seats flipping from one party to another. Democrats will hold on to their razor-thin 102-101 majority. There will be 17 new legislators in the House.
The state Senate will retain its majority, with 28 Republicans and 22 Democrats in the chamber. Senate Republicans held on to highly contested seats, including Senate District 37 in Allegheny County held by Senator Devlin Robinson, and Senate District 49 in Erie held by Senator Dan Laughlin. In a surprise, Senate Republicans picked up the northeast Philadelphia-based 5th Senate District, with Republican Joe Picozzi besting Democrat incumbent Senator Jimmy Dillon. Senator-Elect Picozzi, a former congressional staffer, will be one of the youngest members of the Pennsylvania Senate. Senate Democrats picked up the Harrisburg-based 15th Senate District, with state Representative Patty Kim defeating Republican Nick DiFrancesco.
In news that rocked both state and national politics, the Associated Press declared Republican Dave McCormick the winner against three-term Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Casey. McCormick’s victory notches the 53rd seat Republicans will have in the U.S. Senate when the 119th Congress meets for the first time in January 2025.
In Pennsylvania Congressional election updates, incumbent Republican Congressman Scott Perry defeated Democratic challenger and former news anchor Janelle Stelson in the race for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District. Congressional Republicans also picked up two seats in Pennsylvania. In the Lehigh Valley-based 7th Congressional District, Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Susan Wild lost her reelection bid to Republican state Representative Ryan Mackenzie. In the northeast PA-based 8th Congressional District, Republican Rob Bresnahan ousted six-term incumbent Congressman Matt Cartwright.