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Dems hold on to House majority
Democrats will maintain their narrow Pennsylvania House majority after winning a special election in the Philadelphia suburbs. Tuesday's win will also help them control how the chamber will handle abortion, gun rights and election law legislation. Heather Boyd defeated Republican Katie Ford in a special election to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel.
Zabel quit the Legislature in March, shortly after a lobbyist accused him of sexually harassing her. Boyd's win gives Democrats 102 representatives, the minimum needed to control the agenda in the 203-seat House.
Republicans keep central Pa. seat
In a second House special election on Tuesday, Republican Michael Stender kept the central Pennsylvania seat in his party's hands.
Stender, a Shikellamy school board member, firefighter and former EMT, was backed by former Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, the Republican who represented the district before winning a state Senate special election earlier this year. Stender beat Democrat Trevor Finn, a Montour County commissioner. The district also includes part of Northumberland County.
McCaffery, Carluccio to vie for seat
Democrat Dan McCaffery and Republican Carolyn Carluccio have won their parties' primaries for a vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The two will face each other in a fall contest for the court, which is at the center of cases on guns, abortion and elections in a presidential battleground state. Each nominee won a two-way primary race. McCaffery defeated Deborah Kunselman, a colleague on the Superior Court, and Carluccio defeated Patricia McCullough, a Commonwealth Court judge who lost a primary for a high court seat in 2021. Party allies reported spending nearly $1 million to help her beat McCullough.
Opponents set for lower court races
Republican Megan Martin and Democrat Matt Wolf each won a two-way primary for an open seat on the Commonwealth Court, while Democrats Jill Beck and Timika Lane captured the nomination in a three-way race for two open seats on the Superior Court, which hears appeals of civil and criminal cases from county courts. They will face Republicans Maria Battista and Harry F. Smail Jr. who were unopposed on the GOP ballot.