Did Brian Fitzpatrick win is not the result that defined the night in Pennsylvania. Democrats said they flipped the Pennsylvania Senate, and Josh Shapiro said that gives the party a Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg.
As of midnight, Democrats said they had flipped four GOP-held seats and were on track to lose one seat, for a likely net gain of three seats. Shapiro said, "For the first time in decades, Pennsylvanians used their power tonight to flip the state Senate so that we can deliver even more results for our communities."
Josh Shapiro and Harrisburg
Republicans entered Tuesday’s election with a 27-23 majority in the legislature’s upper chamber. Republicans had led the state Senate since 1994, and control of both chambers plus the governor’s office gives Shapiro and legislative leaders the power to push policies they have already named.
Shapiro said, "Now, with a Democratic trifecta, we’ll be able to get even more stuff done — from raising the minimum wage and lowering costs, to giving survivors their day in court, to building more housing and codifying abortion rights." Those are the priorities Democrats attached to winning the Senate, not a general promise to do more with power.
race calls
The had called only one of the contested Senate races by midnight, and it had not called dozens of state House races. Democrats also declared victory in the state House, while the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said the party had expanded its majority there.
Unofficial results also showed Democrat Josh Shapiro winning reelection against Republican Stacy Garrity. New members are scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 5, when the new legislative session officially begins and the seat-by-seat math turns into governing power.
For voters, the practical change is not immediate lawmaking, but the control structure that shapes the next session. Democrats say they have the votes to try to move minimum wage, reproductive rights, housing, and transit priorities once the legislature convenes next year.
