April 24: The Winners and the Losers

Wednesday. The Day After. Who won, who lost.

PA Weather






New Castle | Cloudy, 53






Williamsport | Chance of Showers, 61






Easton | Scattered Showers, 67

PA Sports






Sixers (0-2) | Thu vs. New York






Pirates (13-11) | Milwaukee 2-1 | Wed vs. Milwaukee






Phillies (15-9) | Cincinnati 1-8 | Wed vs. Cincinnati

What We’re Hearing. The PAGOP kicks off the start of the General Election campaign with a series of rallies with its fall candidates across the Commonwealth today and Thursday – part of “Fighting For Pennsylvania’s Future” bus tour

Daily Bruce. “Don’t worry Darlin’, now baby don’t you fret
We’re livin’ in the future and none of this has happened yet.” – Livin’ In The Future

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Top Story

1. Five Takeaways From the PA Primaries

“Voters went to the polls for the Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday, cementing races up and down the ticket in what will be one of the critical swing states in November.

Pennsylvania will also be the site of one of the most closely watched Senate races in the fall, as Republican David McCormick, who scored Donald Trump’s backing despite past friction with the former president, looks to unseat Sen. Bob Casey.

Meanwhile, Rep. Summer Lee, a staunch progressive who has been critical of Israel’s war against Hamas, managed to fend off a primary challenge from the center in an important victory for the left.” (The Hill)

Related

Casey and McCormick To Face Each Other As Nominees In Pennsylvania’s High-Stakes US Senate Contest. “Casey and McCormick won their respective party primary contests after they were uncontested and now enter what is likely to be a grueling, expensive and hard-fought 2024 general election campaign that culminates in the Nov. 5 vote.” (AP)

PA-01: U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick Defeats Anti-Abortion Activist In Republican Primary. “The last Republican member of Congress representing Philadelphia suburbs has survived another primary challenger.” (WHYY)

PA-07: Mackenzie Claims Victory In The Lehigh Valley’s GOP Congressional Primary. “State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie pulled out a dominant win Tuesday in the three-way Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District.” (LehighValleyNews.com)

PA-10: Janelle Stelson Wins Democratic Race To Face U.S. Rep. Scott Perry. “She used her familiarity with area voters to claim an easier-than-expected win in the six-candidate Democratic primary for the 10th Congressional District.” (PennLive)

PA-12: Summer Lee Beats Bhavini Patel In Contentious Democratic Primary. “Lee’s victory, leading by 22 percentage points and more than 22,000 votes with 98% of ballots counted, caps one of the most closely watched races in southwestern Pennsylvania this cycle and confirms definitively the ongoing strength of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party in Western Pennsylvania.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Why AP Called the Pennsylvania 12th District Primary For Summer Lee: Race Call Explained. (AP)

PA-14: Dziados Leads In Democratic Primary For Chance To Unseat Reschenthaler In Congress. “Retired U.S. Army veteran Chris Dziados, with overwhelming support from his home county, appeared ahead in the race to secure the Democratic nomination in the 14th Congressional District.” (Tribune-Review)

State

2. In Upset, McClelland Wins Democratic Nomination For State Treasurer

“A former Allegheny County project manager on Tuesday upset the Democratic Party-endorsed candidate to win her party’s nomination for state treasurer.

Erin McClelland was declared the winner over party-endorsed state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro of Erie County, according to the Associated Press. Bizzarro was unopposed in the primary for the Democratic nomination for the House seat he has held for 12 years.

McClelland, 48, will now take on Republican incumbent Stacy Garrity, 59, who was unopposed for her party’s nomination, in November.” (PennLive)

Related

PoliticsPA Election Coverage. Results from all the contested races throughout the Commonwealth. (PoliticsPA)

DePasquale, Sunday Win Primaries To Vie For PA Attorney General In The Fall. “Former Democratic state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale and Republican York County District Attorney Dave Sunday will face off in the race for Pennsylvania attorney general this fall after winning their parties’ nominations on Tuesday.” (PennLive)

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta Wins Democratic Primary For Auditor General Against Mark Pinsley. “Despite lacking a background in auditing, Kenyatta argued in his campaign that his experience on Pennsylvania House committees that oversee state agencies prepared him for the job.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Pennsylvania’s Redesigned Mail Ballot Envelopes Trip Up Many Voters Who Left Date Incomplete. “A design change Pennsylvania officials made to prevent voters from making a disqualifying error on their mail ballots appears to have backfired. (Votebeat)

Trump Can’t Shake Lingering Primary Protest Votes in Pennsylvania. “Pennsylvania could ultimately decide the election in November — and it’s a state that President Biden won by about 80,500 votes in 2020. Nikki Haley received at least 147,000 votes in Pennsylvania’s GOP primary on Tuesday, with over 90% of the vote counted.” (Axios)

Protesters Urged PA Dems To Cast ‘Uncommitted’ Votes Against Joe Biden. The Primary Showed An Uptick In Write-Ins. “Preliminary primary voting results from the state’s largest Democratic counties showed a higher percentage of write-in votes on the Democratic presidential party line than in the 2020 presidential primary, a possible sign of protest votes cast against President Joe Biden.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Olsommer Wins Special Election To Fill Adams’ Seat

“Republican Jeff Olsommer defeated Democrat Robin Skibber in a special election for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Olsommer’s win prevented Democrats from increasing a slim 102-101 majority in the chamber. He is owner of an insurance business and former director of the Wayne Economic Development Corp.

The 139th District election for representation of Pike and Wayne counties in the Poconos was necessary after Rep. Joe Adams in February resigned citing a medical issue he said required him to prioritize taking care of his family.” (The Center Square)

Related

HD-80: Barger Takes Lead In 80th; Gregory Concedes Race. “Three-term incumbent State Rep. Jim Gregory will likely not be serving a fourth term. Based on unofficial vote counts that don’t include write-ins, Gregory fell behind in Tuesday’s Republican primary to former pastor and radio station operator Scott Barger.” (Altoona Mirror)

HD-100: Cutler Beats Conservative Primary Opponent In Contentious State House Race. “State Rep. Bryan Cutler Tuesday night notched a decisive victory over a primary challenger who waged a well-organized grassroots campaign backed by several right-wing organizations frustrated with Republican Party leaders in the Legislature.” (LNP)

HD-117: Election Shocker: Walsh Upsets Cabell In State 117th House District Race. “In a stunning upset, challenger Jamie Walsh has apparently narrowly defeated incumbent state Rep. Mike Cabell to win the Republican nomination for the 117th House District seat, according to unofficial results from the primary election Tuesday.” (WVIA)

HD-172: Sean Dougherty, Johnny Doc’s Nephew, Defeats Incumbent Kevin Boyle In State House Race. “Sean Dougherty unseated seven-term incumbent State Rep. Kevin Boyle in Tuesday’s Democratic primary Tuesday in a Northeast Philadelphia district and will advance to the general election in a critical race that could help determine which party controls the state House.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• A New Day Has, Indeed, Dawned In The Pennsylvania State House. (Reps. Joe D’Orsie and David Rowe)
• Foreign Investment In Pennsylvania Company Is Good. (Peter Mihalick)
• Can Pennsylvania Afford a Green Transition in Energy? (David Marks)

1 Thing

5. Why Every Vote Matters

So you think your vote doesn’t count in the end, eh? Check out these unofficial results from around the Commonwealth.

HD-117 (R): Jamie Walsh leads incumbent Mike Cabell by 8 votes.

HD-38 (D): John Inglis leads Victoria Schmotzer by 48 votes. 

HD-10 (D): Incumbent Amen Brown leads Cass Green by 111 votes.

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