An overhead view from the Capitol Rotunda Feb. 6, 2024 (Commonwealth Media Services photo)
With only one race yet to be called, it appears that the partisan makeup of the Pennsylvania Senate will remain the same after Tuesday’s election. Republicans currently hold an eight seat majority with 28 sitting senators compared to Democrats’ 22.
Democrats had hoped to make a long-shot effort to flip the upper chamber, with Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsing just enough candidates to bring the Senate to an even split. But Republicans successfully fended off their challenges.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) did not respond to questions Wednesday.
“We had a very strong, united caucus as we went into this November election,”said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny). “We have not gone backwards in a cycle since 2016, so we continue to move forward, hold our own or pick up seats.”
One seat has changed from Republican to Democrat, but another in Northeast Philadelphia, where votes are still being counted, may go the other way, unofficial results show
The seat flipped by a Democrat represents the 15th Senate District that includes Harrisburg and Dauphin County. In 2023, sitting Republican John DiSanto, the chair of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, announced he would not seek reelection.
Rep. Patty Kim (D–Dauphin), who has held a seat in the state House since 2012, won a commanding victory in April’s Senate primary. On Tuesday, she defeated Republican challenger Nick DiFrancesco, according to unofficial results.
In northeast Philadelphia, where the 5th District Senate race has yet to be called, a 29 year-old Republican challenger, Joe Picozzi, stands a chance to become the only state Senate candidate to defeat an incumbent this election. As of Wednesday afternoon, he led Democrat Sen. Jimmy Dillon by a margin of less than 1%.
Picozzi ran a strong ground campaign. On election day, he estimated that his team had knocked on 70,000 doors. He did it without the formal support of the city’s Republican Party. The Pennsylvania Senate Republican Campaign Committee, however, did support him.
“If you want to see change, if you don’t like the direction that Northeast Philadelphia has been heading, then please consider me and give me a chance,” Picozzi told the Capital-Star Tuesday in a summary of his closing message. “I’ll work my tail off to turn things around here.”
Picozzi said when he talked to voters, the most important issues were crime and the cost of living. If he is declared the winner, it will be the first time a Republican has represented the district since 2001.
Dillon, however, had the endorsement of a local Fraternal Order of Police chapter, and the incumbency after winning a special election in 2022. He was also the subject of controversy when the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Campaign Committee accused him of writing tweets containing racist and homophobic language in late September. The tweets came from the account for a basketball academy that Dillon runs, though Dillon said the tweets were written by the players.
The outcomes of the Senate races on Tuesday are a long shot from what Democrats had hoped for. In early October, Shapiro made four endorsements in Pennsylvania senate races. Had those candidates all won, and no incumbent been defeated, it would have led to a tie in the chamber. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis would have cast the tie breaking vote.
Both candidates seeking election for open seats were successful, Kim in the 15th District and Nick Pisciottano in the 45th, which includes part of Allegheny County. However, the two candidates endorsed by Shapiro who faced incumbents, Nicole Ruscitto and Jim Wertz, lost, the unofficial results show.
State Senate Democrats outperformed members of their party at the top of the ticket. Republicans won every state row office election and the presidency. No winner has been declared in the race for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and GOP challenger Dave McCormick