Don’t miss it: Rep. Scott Perry vs. Janelle Stelson in November after Democrat wins crowded primary
Pennsylvania voters participated in key primary races featuring Biden and Trump on the ballots. The presidential nominations were largely symbolic, enabling both candidates to secure delegates earlier. Down-ballot races like the Senate and House primaries generated excitement, with expected impacts on November’s control stakes. Delegates allocated: 67 Republican and 159 Democratic. Incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Republican Dave McCormick emerged victorious in their unopposed primaries. In the 1st Congressional District, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Ashley Ehasz won the primaries. Incumbent Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) retained her seat despite a challenge. Janelle Stelson won the Democratic primary to challenge Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) in November.
Voters in Pennsylvania are headed to the polls on Tuesday to select the nominees in a series of key primary races up and down the ballot.
While President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will appear on the state’s primary ballots, the presidential nominating contests are largely ceremonial as both candidates claimed the required delegates to become their party’s presumptive nominee earlier this year.
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Both Trump and Biden are seeking a foothold in the battleground state ahead of their expected November rematch. Biden recently completed a three-day swing in the state that began in Scranton, his hometown. Trump, meanwhile, held a rally in Lehigh County on April 13, during his third visit to the state this year.
Still, the down-ballot races, including the Senate and a handful of House primaries, are likely where most of Tuesday’s excitement will stem from as the outcome of the primaries will be critical in setting the stage for November, when control of both the Senate and House will be up for grabs. Polls closed at 8 p.m.
Results:
Presidential
Biden won Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, with the Associated Press calling the race in his favor only two minutes after polls closed, at 8:02 p.m. Biden won 95.4% of the vote with 6% counted. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who has suspended his campaign, secured 4.6%.
However, as in previous nominating contests this cycle, an uncommitted vote effort against Biden was promoted by a coalition that urged voters unhappy with Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war to cast their ballots as “uncommitted.” It is unclear how many write-in votes the effort received.
The “Uncommitted PA” effort, whose website is paid for by the Democratic Socialists of America, was seeking to secure 40,000 votes, about half of Biden’s victory in 2020, in Tuesday’s primary. Only registered Democrats could vote in the Democratic primary.
In the Republican primary, Trump defeated his one-time U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, 64.9% to 35.1%, with 3% of the vote counted for, with the Associated Press calling the race at 8:09 p.m. Eastern time.
Only registered Republicans could vote in the GOP primary.
Delegates at stake: 67 Republican delegates, 159 Democratic delegates
Senate
Incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who is seeking a fourth term, and Republican Dave McCormick won the Democratic and Republican primaries. Both candidates, who ran unopposed, are likely to use their expected primary wins to propel their campaigns ahead of their general election matchup.
The Associated Press called the races for both primaries at 8:01 p.m.
The 2024 race is McCormick’s second time seeking a Senate seat in the Keystone State after losing the Republican primary race to Dr. Mehmet Oz during the 2022 midterm elections. Oz, who had the backing of Trump, then went on to lose in the general election to now-Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
The race between Casey and McCormick, who has the backing of Trump, is expected to be one of the most competitive of the 2024 cycle and could decide which party controls the Senate in November.
1st Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) soundly defeated Houck, 82.7% to 17.3%, with 18% of the vote counted after the Associated Press called the race at 8:13 p.m.
Fitzpatrick, the co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, is a centrist Republican who has served in Congress since 2017.
Houck, an anti-abortion activist who is in favor of banning abortion with no exceptions for rape and incest, first came into the national spotlight in 2022 when he was federally charged for allegedly pushing a 72-year-old Planned Parenthood volunteer outside an abortion clinic in Philadelphia. Houck was later acquitted in the case in 2023.
In the Democratic primary, Ashley Ehasz, a former Army helicopter pilot, ran unopposed and will face Fitzpatrick in November. Fitzpatrick previously defeated Ehasz in 2022.
Fitzpatrick’s seat is one of 16 districts that Biden carried in 2020 that was won by a Republican, making the district a pivotal seat both parties will be seeking in November.
12th Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) survived a primary challenge in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District from local Edgewood Borough Councilwoman Bhavini Patel, with the Associated Press calling the race for Lee at 9:21 p.m.
Lee secured 59% of the vote with 55% counted, while Patel won 41%.
Lee, a prominent member of the “Squad” who is seeking her second term in the House, has been a vocal critic of Israel and its response to the Oct. 7 attack on the country by Hamas. While Lee’s seat is not expected to be competitive in November, Tuesday’s primary offered one of the first tests of how lawmakers calling for a ceasefire in Gaza will fare in 2024.
In the GOP primary, businessman James Hayes ran unopposed and will face Lee in November.
10th Congressional District
Former WGAL-TV anchor Janelle Stelson won the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 10th District, defeating five other Democrats for the opportunity to take on incumbent Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) in November.
Stelson won with 44.7% with 60% of the votes counted, with the Associated Press calling the race at 9:28 p.m.
Stelson defeated retired Marine Mike O’Brien, former WITF-FM executive Blake Lynch, Harrisburg Councilwoman Shamaine Daniels, Army veteran and Carlisle school board member Rick Coplen, and businessman John Broadhurst.
Perry, a former chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, has been a staunch ally of Trump and was an alleged participant in the effort to keep the former president in power in 2020.
7th Congressional District
State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie won the GOP primary race in Pennsylvania’s 7th District against Republican rivals personal injury lawyer Maria Montero and business owner Kevin Dellicker, with the Associated Press calling the race for Mackenzie at 9:41 p.m.
Mackenzie secured 42.6% of the vote with 53% of votes counted, while Montero won 27.2% and Dellicker won 30.1%.
Mackenzie will now face incumbent Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), who ran unopposed for her seat in the Democratic primary, in November.
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Races to watch:
Attorney general
Five Democrats and two Republicans are running in the attorney general race to replace Democrat Michelle Henry, who was appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) in January when he stepped down as attorney general and was sworn in as governor.
Former Philadelphia chief public defender Keir Bradford-Grey, former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan, Philadelphia state Rep. Jared Solomon, and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer are all vying for the Democratic nomination.
Meanwhile, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday is running against state Rep. Craig Williams for the attorney general race in the GOP primary.
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