Shapiro backs four House contenders in Election Day 2026 Pa primary
Election Day 2026 pa has Democrats in Pennsylvania choosing nominees Tuesday for four U.S. House races they want to flip in November. The races are in the 1st, 7th, 8th and 10th Congressional Districts, all Republican-held seats viewed as top pickup opportunities.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has backed candidates in each of the key primaries. His picks are Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie in the 1st District, retired firefighter and union leader Bob Brooks in the 7th, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti in the 8th and former TV news anchor Janelle Stelson in the 10th.
Shapiro's backed primary slate
Harvie is running against former congressional aide Lucia Simonelli. Brooks faces a crowded four-way primary that also includes military veteran and former prosecutor Ryan Crosswell. Cognetti is unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the 8th District, and Stelson is trying again after running for the seat in 2024.
Shapiro himself has no primary opponent in his bid for a second term. He is also the Democratic nominee’s running mate against state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is unopposed in her primary.
Pennsylvania's four target districts
The four races sit inside a larger fight over control of the U.S. House, where Republicans hold a slim majority. Former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly carried the 1st District in 2024, while Donald Trump won the 7th, 8th and 10th Districts by larger margins.
That makes the primaries a filter for Democrats before the fall campaign begins. Brian Fitzpatrick in the 1st District, Ryan Mackenzie in the 7th, Rob Bresnahan in the 8th and Scott Perry in the 10th are all unopposed in their Republican primaries.
Voters and November ballot
Tuesday's voting also includes primaries for lieutenant governor and both chambers of the General Assembly. Half of Pennsylvania's 50 state Senate seats and all 203 state House seats are up in November, with Democrats holding a slim majority in the state House and Republicans keeping an edge in the state Senate.
Only registered party members may vote in their party's primary. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not take part in either primary. As of May 11, Pennsylvania had nearly 9 million registered voters, including 3.8 million registered Democrats, 3.6 million registered Republicans and about 1.2 million unaffiliated voters.
Vote totals in Pennsylvania
The state has shown a large primary electorate before. In 2024, Democrats cast about 1.1 million votes in the presidential primary and Republicans cast about 953,000. In the more competitive 2022 U.S. Senate primaries, both parties cast roughly 1.3 million votes.
The will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. House, lieutenant governor, state Senate and state House, along with a special election in state House District 196. For Democrats, Tuesday's results set the field for four November contests that could reshape the House fight in Pennsylvania.
