While many Republicans are rejoicing in President Donald Trump’s victory and many Democrats are in mourning, others are analyzing what went wrong.
Bucks County GOP Chair Pat Poprik said, “I am so happy that the majority of voters in Bucks County joined the majority of voters in the country and voted for change. We knew the country was not going in the right direction and that we needed a strong determined leader, like President Trump, to turn it around. Based on how well he did in his first four years, I am looking forward to the next four years to have a stronger border, a better economy, and a safe country in which our children and grandchildren can live.”
Bucks County was the only Delaware Valley county to vote for Trump. He won there by 1,284 votes.
Democratic consultant TJ Rooney said, “I agree, generally, with very little Bernie Sanders says. In this case, however, he is exactly correct. Unless we stop playing identity politics, we will continue to lose elections.”
Delaware County Republican Chair Frank Agovino said, “The level of commitment from volunteers and staff was at a level not seen in decades. Delaware County, and all the collar counties, delivered better results compared to 2020 which proved to be the difference for President Trump, Sen.-elect Dave McCormick, and all of our statewide row offices.” Locally, incumbent Rep. Craig Williams (R-Delaware/Chester) was successful, he noted.
Similarly, Chester County GOP Chair Raffi Terzian was “thrilled with the election of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States and JD Vance as vice president. We are also excited about the election of Dave McCormick as our next U.S. senator, as well as the victories of our statewide candidates,” mentioning Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Auditor General Tim DeFoor, and Dave Sunday, attorney general-elect. Terzian also lauded incumbents Williams and Rep. John Lawrence, who were reelected. He thanked everyone who worked for the GOP victories.
Even that Democratic bastion, Philadelphia, saw a Republican shift, with the election of Joe Picozzi, as state senator in northeast Philadelphia.
“President Trump and Republicans up-and-down the ballot proved that by focusing on the issues that truly impact the lives of Philadelphia residents, including the cost-of-living, crime, illegal immigration, and far-left policies that place special interests above working families, Republicans can win support in our city,” said Philadelphia GOP Chairman Vince Fenerty.
Jeff Jubelirer, with Bellevue Communications, said, Pennsylvania “remains a swing state. It swung back the GOP’s way this cycle. I’m not surprised Trump won given the dissatisfaction among the broad electorate with two big issues – the economy and immigration. Harris had the impossible job of presenting a new agenda while not turning her back on Biden, whose job approval numbers were so negative. I believe many independent-minded voters cared more about who they felt would be better on these issues (in this case, Trump) than they did about their personal feelings about Trump’s character.”
“I think Trump’s coattails helped McCormick a lot as well. The only place where the GOP didn’t make gains was the Pennsylvania House. Districts are drawn in a way that makes it very difficult to beat incumbents. It’s ironic that a conservative Democratic House member (Frank Burns) from a big Trump area was the reason that the Democrats held the slim majority.
“I credit a lot of the GOP’s success this year in Pennsylvania to the efforts of the party to increase voter registration, particularly in Bucks County. It turned out their voters included many who appear to be new and/or not just the typical ‘likely voter’ who regularly participates.”
Bruce L. Castor Jr., a lawyer and former Montgomery County Commissioner, who represented Trump during his Senate trial, wondered how many of the incumbent Democratic senators who voted to convict Trump lost their seats. Those senators include Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), although Casey hasn’t conceded.
“The Trump-GOP comeback began that day,” said Castor. “I called them out on it and dared them to prosecute. How could the Democrats not have realized goading when it was staring them in the eye? And that the rest of the country would recoil at the misuse of all that prosecutorial power? President Trump won because he is best for the country and the Democrats stuck with Biden too long and compounded their mistake by trying to jam a less than unqualified candidate down the throats of the whole rank and file of their party… [This was] the greatest most skillfully done political comeback in U.S. history helped along by the greatest collection of political blunders ever known since politics came to be. They could not help themselves. Hatred is a powerful motivator.”
