Voters in Pennsylvania will fill two vacant state legislative seats in special elections on Tuesday.
The results could impact control of the state House and maintain the Republican hold on the state Senate.
In the state House race, voters in District 35, located southeast of Pittsburgh, will choose a replacement for Democratic state Rep. Matt Gergely, who passed away in January.
This leaves the state House split at 101 seats each for Democrats and Republicans.
The candidates are Democrat Dan Goughnour, a McKeesport school board member and police officer; Republican Chuck Davis, president of the White Oak Borough Council and a volunteer firefighter; and Libertarian Adam Kitta.
In the state Senate race, voters in District 36, located in Lancaster County, will elect a successor to Republican Sen. Ryan Aument, who left in December to work for U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick.
The candidates are Republican Josh Parsons, a Lancaster County commissioner; Democrat James Andrew Malone, the mayor of East Petersburg; and Libertarian Zachary Moore.
Democrats have a strong history in House District 35. Gergely won the seat in a 2023 special election with 75% of the vote and ran unopposed in 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris carried the district in the 2024 presidential election with about 58% of the vote, compared to 42% for former President Donald Trump.
While Trump performed well in some parts of the district, including Liberty, Lincoln, Port Vue, South Versailles, and White Oak, these areas made up less than a third of the total vote.
The most competitive areas were Versailles and West Homestead, where Harris narrowly won.
Senate District 36, on the other hand, leans Republican. Trump won 57% of the district’s vote in the 2024 election, and McCormick secured 56% in his successful bid for U.S. Senate. Aument ran unopposed in 2022.
Trump carried 18 of the district’s 22 municipalities, while Harris narrowly won East Hempfield, East Petersburg, Lititz, and Manheim, which together accounted for only about 37% of the total vote.
Democrats gained a narrow House majority in 2022 for the first time in over a decade and have defended it through a series of special elections since.
The Associated Press will not project winners but will declare a winner only when it’s clear the trailing candidates cannot close the gap.
Pennsylvania requires automatic recounts for close statewide races, but this does not apply to state legislative races.
However, voters can request a recount through county election boards or the courts. The AP may still declare a winner if the lead is too large to be affected by a recount.
What to Expect on Election Day?
- Election Date: Tuesday
- Poll Closing Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Ballot: State Senate District 36 and State House District 35 special elections
- Eligible Voters: Registered voters in District 35 or District 36
Voter Turnout and Early Voting
Senate District 36 has about 185,000 registered voters, with Republicans making up 53% and Democrats around 30%.
House District 35 has about 43,000 registered voters, with Democrats comprising about 61% and Republicans about 25%.
Turnout in House District 35 was about 52% to 53% in the 2022 and 2024 general elections, with about 21% participating in the 2023 special election. In Senate District 36, the 2022 general election saw a 51% turnout.
As of Friday, about 2,800 of the 4,000 requested absentee ballots in House District 35 had been returned, with 83% from Democrats.
In Senate District 36, nearly 11,000 of 16,000 requested absentee ballots had been cast as of Wednesday, but party data was unavailable.
Counting the Votes
In the 2024 general election, results were first reported at 8 p.m. ET in Allegheny County and at 8:13 p.m. ET in Lancaster County.
Counting ended around midnight in both counties, with about 98% of the votes counted.
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