It’s Election Day in Western Pennsylvania’s legislative districts, a race in which Democrats decide whether to regain control of the lower states on the battlefield or whether Republicans will regain a majority on the Capitol.
The Pennsylvania Legislature is currently deadlocked, with Democrats and Republicans each controlling 101 seats.
Democrats lost a razor majority in January after the death of State Sen. Matt Gager.
Voters in the 35th district, located southeast of Pittsburgh on Tuesday chose Democratic candidate Dan Goffnoll, police officer, Republican Chuck Davis, fire chief and Libertarian Adam Kitta.
Democrats far from excited about Biden’s potential political reemergence
Pennsylvania State Capitol (AP Photo/Matt Rourke/File)
If Democrats win the election – the district is leaning blue – this is the fifth time this year.
It comes as Democrats try to leave the political wilderness after the November Sting election setback when the party loses control of the White House and the US Senate and runs short in attempts to regain a majority of American homes from the GOP.
Poll location: Democrats’ numbers reach record lows
And recent polls show that Democrat brands need repairs.
In separate national surveys conducted by CNN and NBC News this month, the party’s favorable ratings fell to an all-time low. These figures followed the Democrats’ record low in a Kinnipiac University survey in the field in February.
Additionally, the latest Fox News National Poll, released last week, shows Congressional Democrats’ approval rate is 30%, close to an all-time low. And Democrat activists are furious at the party’s inability to blunt President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“State Democrats are bolstering the special this year to trust that they place the needs of working families on top of the disruption and dysfunction that Trump and Republicans in Washington promote,” Heather Williams of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said in a statement.
Among the signs of the importance of local elections, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin stopped by the district last month.
“Sending Dan to Harrisburg isn’t just about what it means to this community,” Martin said in a statement in Fox News. “It signals Pennsylvanians. It signals Democrats across the country that we are willing to fight for our values at every level.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin will speak with Fox News Digital on December 12, 2024 in Washington. (Fox News – Paulsteinhauser)
Democrats are supported in special elections, but Republicans are also investing resources in race.
“No matter who looks good on paper, you have to vote,” Pennsylvania Rep. Jamie Burton told the Associated Press that he will lead the GOP campaign division at the Capitol. “We don’t take anything for granted.”
On the Pennsylvania side, voters head to polls to fill vacant state Senate seats.
GOP State Sen. Ryan Aument served as the newly elected head of Republican Sen. Dave McCormick in December.
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Lancaster County Commissioner, Democrat James Andrew Malone, Democratic Mayor East Petersburg, and Republican Josh Parsons, Libertarian Zachary Moore, are running to successfully complete state Senate District 36 aument, a red-sloping seat in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Regardless of the election outcome, the GOP continues to control the current Senate, currently accounting for a majority of 27-22.
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
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