Pennsylvania Republicans win key races as Trump takes Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Republicans swept the three statewide row offices and defeated longtime Democratic incumbents across the board after Donald Trump takes Pennsylvania. 

From statewide to local races, Democrats across Pennsylvania suffered defeats up and down the ballot on Election Day.

Here’s a quick recap of where things stand on Wednesday.

Republicans win statewide offices

Pennsylvania Republicans swept all three statewide offices on Tuesday with York County District Attorney Dave Sunday winning the Attorney General’s race and Auditor General Tim DeFoor and Treasurer Stacy Garrity holding onto their seats. 

Sunday’s victory over former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale marks the first time a Republican has won the office since 2008 when then-Attorney General Tom Corbett was reelected for a second term. 

Control of the Pennsylvania House still up in the air

Democrats went into the evening with a one-seat majority in the Pennsylvania House, but control of the chamber is still up for grabs. 

According to the AP, control of the Pennsylvania House is too close to call with 11 races that still need to be called. 

Control of the chamber comes down to one outstanding race in Cambria County, which had extended voting hours on Tuesday due to issues with voting machines. State Rep. Frank Burns (D-Cambria) has held onto the Republican leaning seat since taking office in 2010. 

Billionaires continue to influence Pennsylvania politics

In the weeks and months leading up to the election, ads hammering Democrats for supporting undocumented immigrants and transgender rights ate up Pennsylvania’s airwaves. 

Billionaires like Jeffrey Yass, who is Pennsylvania’s richest person, and Ken Griffen, the CEO of Citadel, poured millions of dollars into a super PAC supporting Dave McCormick’s, a former Connecticut-based hedge fund manager, efforts against US Sen. Bob Casey.

Additionally, Yass dumped over $5 million into his network of political action committees to support Sunday’s campaign. 

Scott Perry barely hangs onto congressional seat

Congressman Scott Perry (R-York) is on track to eke out a narrow victory over former WGAL anchor woman Janelle Stelson. 

As of Wednesday morning, Perry leads Stelson by 6,412 votes, or a 1.6% margin, with 98% of the ballots counted, giving Perry his narrowest victory since first getting elected to the US House in 2012. 

In the final weeks of the campaign, Stelson hammered Perry for his involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 election and his support for a national abortion ban.