Democratic House caucus largest in decades

So how did the House Democrats ring up their biggest election night in decades, pushing their caucus to 113 members? They almost completely wiped the Republicans off the legislative maps in the suburbs of southeastern Pennsylvania and in the Lehigh Valley.

And in doing so, they will begin 2027 with their biggest caucus since 1978.

Democrats beat three Bucks County-based Republican incumbents, two Northampton County-based incumbents, as well as one incumbent in each of Allegheny, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh and Montgomery counties.

Trump won Bucks County by fewer than 300 votes, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win in the county since George H.W. Bush. Republicans outnumber Democrats 201,956 to 195,535 but there are almost 90,000 independent voters in Bucks County.

Bryan Allen, a former member of Bensalem Township council, got 55% of the vote to defeat Rep. Kathleen Tomlinson, who has represented the 18th District for three terms. Kristin Egan, a Neshaminy school board member, defeated Rep. Joe Hogan, R-Bucks, a one-term incumbent. Hogan filled the vacancy created when former Rep. Frank Farry left to take a seat in the Senate. Farry lost Tuesday too.

In a third Bucks County legislative district, Tim Hayes, former borough council president of Dunbar Borough, defeated three-term incumbent Shelby Labs by just over 200 votes.

In 2027, just two of the eight lawmakers representing Bucks County will be Republican and one of them, Rep. Craig Staats, won by defeating an independent candidate who got 46% of the vote.

In Chester County, businesswoman and former public school teacher Madeelyn Alvarino defeated Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester, who has represented his district since 2011. Republican Rep. Craig Williams' district had included a portion of Chester County, as well as a portion of Delaware County. He was defeated Tuesday by Elizabeth Moro, a real estate agent and cafe owner.

With those districts flipped there are no Republicans representing House districts in either Chester or Delaware counties. There are 11 legislative districts in Delaware County and nine in Chester County.

In the Lehigh Valley, Reps. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton, Milou Mackenzie, R-Northampton, and Gary Day, R-Lehigh, all lost Tuesday. Northampton County commissioner Jeff Warren defeated Emrick, while former journalist Meriam Sabih beat Mackenzie and Rachel Cuevas received more votes than Day.

In 2027, just two of the six Northampton County House districts will be held by Republicans and just one of the seven Lehigh County House seats will be held by a Republican.

In Montgomery County, Margaret Burke, a former business professional and scientist, defeated Donna Scheuren, a first-term incumbent who succeeded Tracy Pennycuick when she left the House for a Senate seat. Pennycuick lost on Tuesday too. There are 14 House districts in Montgomery County; Democrats will hold them all in 2027.

In western Pennsylvania, community organizer Hadley Haas defeated Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny, who has represented her district since 2018. In 2027, just four of the 21 House seats covering Allegheny County will be represented by Republicans.

Open seat flipped

In addition to those gains, Democrat Sara Agerton, a Mechanicsburg borough council member, flipped the 88th District by defeating Republican Jeff Warren. The district is currently represented by Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland. Delozier is retiring at the end of the session.

Republicans successfully regained a House seat in Butler County that the Democrats picked up in an August special election. Democrat Brandon Dukes defeated Republican Scott Timko in the special election but Timko won the rematch on Tuesday.