Tuesday’s Big Wins in PA confirm our progressive vision is popular!
We couldn’t be happier with the results from Tuesday’s midterms! Because of the hard work of progressive grassroots organizing, Democrats won big proving our values are shared by the majority of voters!
Historically, Midterms are elections where the President’s party always loses seats. Instead in Pennsylvania, we saw blowout victories for our recommended candidates, Democrats Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman, winning races for Governor and US Senator respectively. Progressive Pittsburgh leader Summer Lee defeated AIPAC, and is now the first Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania. Summer will now be joining the squad and a growingly progressive US House.
Some races still haven’t been called, but it’s looking like one of the most unexpected results from Tuesday may be that we have even flipped control of the Pennsylvania State House! This had previously been considered out of reach and would represent the first time in over a decade that Democrats had control of the PA House. This accomplishment is in large part thanks to record turnout from voters standing up for our rights combined with Democrat led redistricting earlier this year to redraw previously gerrymandered districts.
The passage of fairer district maps earlier this year led to the assumption that Democrats would certainly win more seats in this election, but enthusiastic voters across the state increased the wins to the point that we are waiting for just two remaining uncalled seats to declare winners. 102 seats are the majority and Democrats currently have 101 to the Republicans 100. The two remaining races are:
In Bucks county, HD142 Democratic Candidate Mark Moffa has a 2 vote lead on Republican Joseph Hogan. Bucks County has remaining mail in, absentee and overseas ballots to count.
In Montgomery County, HD 151 Democratic Candidate Melissa Cerrato is down only 14 votes to Republican William Stevens. Montgomery County will start counting provisional ballots today. Overseas ballots will start being counted on this Sunday November 13 but Military ballots can still be received up until next Tuesday November 15.
We’ll be watching these races in the hopes that Democrats take the majority in Harrisburg. Without a Republican majority in the house, the proposal to amend our state constitution to ban abortion will be dead. Republicans won’t be able to pass it through both the PA House and Senate a second time, as a constitutional change requires before going to the ballot.
If Democrats win the PA House majority, it’ll be a game changer! We’ll finally get to see our movement electeds introduce legislation in Harrisburg and lead on the systemic changes we need to thrive locally. With a Democrat in the Governor seat and majority control of the House, Republicans in the Senate would need to negotiate with Democrats on our budget instead of completely cutting us out. We would have the ability to make a real push for a livable minimum wage, affordable healthcare, a green new deal and equitable public school education. These policies are not only necessary for us to survive and thrive, they are also widely popular policies that we would hold all Democrats accountable to lead on.
*At the national level, Republicans need seven more seats called to win majority control while the Democrats need 20 to retain the majority. If we lose the House, it is likely because of New York State Democrats who failed to put forth a progressive agenda and who unlike Pennsylvania House Dems, failed at redistricting.
In the US Senate, we’re waiting on results from Nevada. Incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is down by 1,951 votes with 93% of the vote counted. Georgia is headed to a December runoff, with Democrat Rev Warnock up by 48,744 votes. If Democrats come on top in Nevada, they won't have to wait until December for a majority.
What Tuesday’s transformative wins tell us is that our progressive vision for Pennsylvania, and the country, is overwhelmingly popular. Republicans spent millions throughout the state and nationally trying to stoke fear on the economy, culture wars, and through tough on crime advertising rooted in anti-Black racism, but they failed miserably! Thanks to the districts that are no longer gerrymandered, we can see that Pennsylvanians at large agree with our vision, not only on reproductive freedom and democracy, but also on the economy, mass incarceration, and community safety! It’s worth noting that Progressive District Attorneys were elected across the country on Tuesday. And in Philadelphia, attempts to impeach our own endorsed District Attorney Krasner by PA House Republicans may have galvanized our base to show up in record numbers.
This fall, our volunteer canvass leaders in 6 neighborhoods throughout the city supported over 136 volunteer canvassers! We organized our progressive base to have real conversations with neighbors about the issues that impact our lives and our families. Our work paid off and Philly had the second highest midterm turnout in the past few decades!
So what’s next for us? We’re committed to leadership development. 20 volunteer leaders stepped into new roles and developed their leadership skills. We’re committed to base building. Hundreds of neighbors signed up for our neighborhood groups and will be invited to join neighborhood meetings, political education events and develop their own leadership through our future trainings. We’re committed to keep building progessive electoral power. In next year’s Municipal Primary Election, we will see all seats on City Council and the Mayor on the ballot. Increasing Philly’s progressive squad in City Hall and electing a Mayor aligned with our values would be transformative for the city!
But we need you to be part of and shape our future victories!
We’re asking members to weigh in with their thoughts through our Membership Endorsement Survey for next year's Municipal Primary. The 2023 election cycle has officially started and we want to start assessing how our base feels about tentative candidates. If you’re not already a Reclaim dues paying member, you can join today for $27 a month, or whatever amount makes sense to you to invest in our collective vision. If progressive electoral power is something you want to get involved with or learn more about, you can sign up for our Electoral Strategy Taskforce.
We know no matter who wins in each election, we keep fighting. We want to thank you for choosing to fight alongside us and for making Reclaim your political home. We’re proud to be in the movement with you!
*national numbers updated at 10:20pm 10/11/22