The more things change, the more they stay the same.
While Republicans may have garnered most statewide offices and a U.S. Senate seat, former President Donald Trump’s coattails did not reach far enough to flip the state House of Representatives.
With the final votes tallied for all the House races, the Democrats retained their one-person majority for 2025.
The state Senate remains firmly in Republican control, so for any bills to pass into law, they must be something that both parties can agree upon, a recipe for moderation.
Republicans fought hard to take two local seats but were unsuccessful.
Democrats retained the Philadelphia seat held by Rep. Kevin Boyle, who is stepping down, and the Bucks County seat held by Rep. Brian Munroe (D-Warminster). Lawyer Sean Dougherty, a Democrat, bested Republican Aizaz Gill to keep that northeast Philadelphia spot in the Democratic column.
Rep. Frank Burns, a Democrat in Cambria County, which was slow to count its ballots, held onto his seat, despite voters in his district supporting Trump by 30 percent in 2020, according to Spotlight PA.
Democrats unsuccessfully targeted Rep. Craig Williams (R-Chester/Delaware), flooding the airwaves with negative commercials.
“The state House races showed the power of incumbency and the gerrymandering that created those seats,” said longtime Republican strategist Charlie Gerow, CEO of Quantum Communications. “Not a single incumbent lost. Even the Trump sweep wasn’t able to overcome that.”
Even though the Democrats have only a one-person majority, they can control the agenda and block Republican bills. They’ve also shown a willingness to take long breaks when one of their members drops out, causing their majority to vanish.
Spokespeople for the Democratic and Republican House campaign organizations did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
