{"id":2416245,"date":"2025-03-27T06:32:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T10:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-upset-in-pa-special-election-is-not-about-trump\/"},"modified":"2025-03-27T06:34:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T10:34:03","slug":"democrat-loss-in-pa-special-election-isnt-related-to-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-loss-in-pa-special-election-isnt-related-to-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Loss in PA Special Election Isn&#8217;t Related to Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrat-loss-in-pa-special-election-isnt-related-to-trump%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2416245&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a surprising outcome, Democrat James Malone won a special election in Pennsylvania&#8217;s 36th state senatorial district, a region predominantly Republican, defeating Republican Josh Parsons by just 482 votes. This election result, noted for its significance in a historically Republican stronghold, has sparked discussions among political commentators.Some assert that the victory reflects a backlash against former President Donald Trump, a narrative that was reinforced by statements from Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro.<\/p>\n<p>However, local political analysts contend that the real reasons for the election outcome are more complex, suggesting that disunity among Lancaster County Republicans played a crucial role. Thay assert that comparing the state Senate results to broader county election trends, which overwhelmingly favored Trump in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/waffle-arizona-house-speaker-claims-they-cant-enforce-constitution-wont-commit-to-calling-legislative-hearing\/\" title=\"WAFFLE: Arizona House Speaker Claims They Can\u2019t Enforce Constitution, Won\u2019t Commit To Calling Legislative Hearing\">past presidential elections<\/a>, lacks accuracy due to differing voter demographics within the district. <\/p>\n<p>Despite this upset, Republicans maintain control of the Pennsylvania Senate with a 27-23 majority, emphasizing that special elections can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-governors-races-to-watch-this-election-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Three governor\u2019s races to watch this election - Washington Examiner\">yield unpredictable results<\/a> and do not <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">necessarily signal broader political trends<\/a>. With Democrats eager to flip Senate control, each electoral gain is seen as a step toward achieving that goal.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span>Beth Brelje\/The Federalist        <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/27\/democrat-upset-in-pennsylvania-special-election-is-not-about-backlash-to-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Democrat%20Upset%20In%20Pennsylvania%20Special%20Election%20Is%20Not%20About%20Backlash%20To%20Trump&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/27\/democrat-upset-in-pennsylvania-special-election-is-not-about-backlash-to-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Democrat%20Upset%20In%20Pennsylvania%20Special%20Election%20Is%20Not%20About%20Backlash%20To%20Trump&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/27\/democrat-upset-in-pennsylvania-special-election-is-not-about-backlash-to-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/27\/democrat-upset-in-pennsylvania-special-election-is-not-about-backlash-to-trump\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Democrat%20Upset%20In%20Pennsylvania%20Special%20Election%20Is%20Not%20About%20Backlash%20To%20Trump&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/27\/democrat-upset-in-pennsylvania-special-election-is-not-about-backlash-to-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Democrat political watchers are elated at the stunning special election upset in a Pennsylvania state Senate race in solidly Republican Lancaster County, but their rush to cite Trump-hatred as the cause isn&rsquo;t based in reality.<\/p>\n<p>Democrat James Malone has won the 36th state senatorial district over Republican Josh Parsons, flipping the longtime Republican seat to Democrat with 482 more votes than Parsons. It was not quite a 1 percent margin. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-602011128\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The win was an incredible feat considering the 36th is a majority Republican district, with 97,834 registered Republicans, 55,243 registered Democrats, and 31,492 voters registered as members of other parties or nonaffiliated, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of State. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/26\/us\/politics\/special-election-pennsylvania-state-senate-trump-malone-parsons.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">propaganda<\/a> press say the win is evidence of Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtae.com\/article\/pennsylvania-special-election-democrats-senate\/64291884\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">backlash<\/a> to having Republican President Donald Trump in the White House, asserting that leftists are rallying to oust Republicans. Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro suggested the same idea on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for ...\">social media<\/a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"YG2P4IVwfBW6buZlj\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tonight in Lancaster County, Pennsylvanians rejected a candidate who embraced the extremism and division coming out of DC.<\/p>\n<p>In a district carried comfortably by Donald Trump just a few months ago, they chose a better way forward &ndash; an embrace of competence, commonsense, and a&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zoJkcLwYGr\">https:\/\/t.co\/zoJkcLwYGr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoshShapiroPA\/status\/1904720967039086703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Locally, political operatives tell The Federalist that Lancaster&rsquo;s Republicans are splintered and have not been working in harmony. <\/p>\n<p>Many news <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/democrats-narrowly-win-pennsylvania-senate-seat-scoring-upset-120182444\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">outlets<\/a> have been comparing the smaller, state Senate District 36 results (with 184,569 registered voters) to the full Lancaster County results (355,824 registered voters) in presidential elections, saying this district went big for Trump in the presidential election and now it has gone Democrat. But that is an apples-to-oranges comparison.<\/p>\n<p>The 36th state senatorial district covers only a portion of Lancaster County, including right-leaning farmland and rural areas and portions of left-leaning Lancaster City. It is not the same footprint as the entire Lancaster County, which is larger and has far more rural area.<\/p>\n<p>The full county went to President Donald Trump in the last three presidential elections, with Republicans choosing Trump over Kamala Harris in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionreturns.pa.gov\/General\/CountyBreakDownResults?officeId=1&amp;districtId=1&amp;ElectionID=105&amp;ElectionType=G&amp;IsActive=0&amp;isRetention=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024<\/a> election by nearly 16 percent; Trump over Joe Biden in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionreturns.pa.gov\/General\/CountyBreakDownResults?officeId=1&amp;districtId=1&amp;ElectionID=83&amp;ElectionType=G&amp;IsActive=0&amp;isRetention=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> 2020<\/a> by the same margin; and in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionreturns.pa.gov\/General\/CountyBreakDownResults?officeId=1&amp;districtId=1&amp;ElectionID=54&amp;ElectionType=G&amp;IsActive=0&amp;isRetention=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2016<\/a>, Trump over Hillary Clinton by more than 19 percent.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The important thing is that Republicans still control the state Senate and remain a strong barrier against far-left legislation being passed and signed into law by the Democrat-controlled House and governor,&rdquo; Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward told The Federalist. &ldquo;Special elections are volatile, and their results can be unpredictable. The special election in the 36th District is a prime example of that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Republicans rule the Senate in a 27-23 majority.<\/p>\n<p>A power struggle in the Pennsylvania House was settled in another special election on Tuesday. House power was tied at 101-101 after Democrat state Rep. Matthew Gergely died in January. The Pittsburgh area leans strongly Democrat, and Democrat Dan Goughnour won the seat over Republican Chuck Davis as expected, giving the Democrats a 102-101 Democrat majority. It has been close in the House for several years. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Democrats are eager to flip the Senate. As things stand, often the House passes a measure but can&rsquo;t get it through the Senate. Every victory brings them closer to this goal.  <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lara-logan-challenges-media-to-ask-certain-questions-about-afghanistan\/\" title=\"Lara Logan Challenges Media To Ask Certain Questions About Afghanistan\">award-winning investigative journalist<\/a> with decades of media experience.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Beth Brelje<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BethBrelje\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BethBrelje<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/beth-brelje\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/james-malone\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">James Malone<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/josh-parsons\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Josh Parsons<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/josh-shapiro\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Josh Shapiro<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/kim-ward\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Kim Ward<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pennsylvania\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pennsylvania<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pennsylvania-house\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pennsylvania House<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pennsylvania-senate\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pennsylvania Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/power-balance\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Power balance<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/special-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Special election<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats are thrilled by a surprising special election win in Pennsylvania&#8217;s Republican Lancaster County, but attributing it to anti-Trump sentiment is misguided<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2416246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Capitol-Building9.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[4912,6169,52255],"class_list":["post-2416245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-democrat","tag-loss","tag-pa-special-election"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Capitol-Building9.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2416245"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2416249,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416245\/revisions\/2416249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2416246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2416245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2416245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2416245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}