Democrats held on to a narrow majority in the party’s closely-watched battleground state Tuesday night in a special House election in Pennsylvania, the Associated Press predicted.
In the race for the open seat in the 140th state House District, Democrat Jim Prokopiak, a Bucks County school board member, defeated Republican Candace Cabana.
Prokopiak’s victory gives Democrats a slim 102-100 majority in the state House of Representatives and prevents another tie in the chamber.
The party held a one-seat majority, 102-101, before Democrat John Galloway resigned after winning the judgeship in November.
His departure created equality. But otherwise resignation By Republican Joe Adams on Friday, it gave Democrats a new 101-100 advantage.
Republicans control the state Senate and Democrats control the governorship.
The victory in Bucks County, a purple slice of Philadelphia’s northern suburbs, was welcomed by national Democrats, who saw the race as an early bellwether of the party’s fortunes among suburban voters ahead of the 2024 election.
Even the Biden campaign hailed the victory as proof that Bucks County voters will reject Donald Trump in the fall.
“Pennsylvanians across the House control line again defeated the Republican anti-abortion agenda and voted for Democrat Jim Prokopiak, who stands up for women and working people,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.
Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said, “this victory is an encouraging sign for Democrats up and down the ballot this year — the momentum is clearly on our side.”
“Voters want representatives who protect their fundamental freedoms, which is why it’s so important to elect Democrats to state legislatures,” added Williams, the group, the national Democratic arm responsible for funding candidates for state legislative races. invested in the competition.
In an interview before the race, Williams also said the race was “more broadly” about “the bigger picture for Democrats and our opportunities in 2024.”
Prokopiak focused on pocketbook issues during his brief campaign, but he also often touted the role the Democratic majority in the state House will play in protecting abortion rights in the state.
In an interview before the race, he said the winner of the race “will be the deciding vote to pass” or block abortion restrictions in Pennsylvania.
After her victory Tuesday night, Prokopiak said in a statement that voters told her during the campaign that they “need help supporting their families” and “want control over their own bodies.”
“I am committed to taking my conversations with constituents to Harrisburg and making their dreams come true,” he said.
Although the 140th District is blue, it is part of a major swing district.
Galloway, who himself held the seat for 16 years resignedHe ran unopposed in 2022 and defeated his Republican opponent by 20 points in 2020.
Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race Bucks County won In 2016, Hillary Clinton won by just over 17,000 votes, or about 4.4 percentage points. won By less than 2,000 votes. Biden’s margin of victory in 2020 and Clinton’s in 2016 in those years it was bigger in the 140th district.
The race is the seventh special election in the state House in a year that has often seen eye-popping results with partisan control of the closely divided chamber. Democrats won five out of six Early elections to the House of States last year.
Prokopiak’s victory means he will serve the remainder of his term (until the end of the year) and face re-election in November.