Image

1:24 AM / Saturday February 15, 2025

18 Feb 2024

Democrats retain majority in the Pennsylvania House with a 102-100 partisan divide

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
February 18, 2024 Category: Election 2024 Posted by:

By Brooke Schultz
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democrats retained their slim majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday after voters elected a former school board member to represent them in a Philadelphia suburb that has been trending more to the left.

Jim Prokopiak’s election to the Bucks County seat will give Democrats a 102-100 majority in the House, which they have sought to defend in four special elections in the past year. A Republican lawmaker’s resignation last week shifted the power back to Democrats, and Prokopiak’s win kept it in place.

He defeated Republican challenger Candace Cabanas and will replace former state Rep. John Galloway, who resigned to serve as a magisterial judge. Cabanas has said previously she plans to run again during the general election.

“What I heard from voters is that Bucks County residents need help supporting their families, want control over their own bodies, and ensure they have the ability to chart their own paths in life,” Prokopiak said in a statement. “I’m committed to taking my conversations with voters to Harrisburg and making their dreams a reality.”

While campaigning, Prokopiak, 49, said his goals as a lawmaker aligned with the party’s larger ambitions since they retook the chamber — more money for K-12 education, preserving access to abortions and a higher minimum wage.

“No one can afford to live on the federal minimum wage in this area,” he said. “If we’re going to be talking about good-paying jobs and creating life-sustaining jobs, the first thing we have to do is raise the minimum wage because it’s clear that is not sustaining anybody.”

Democrats have kept all six seats that have gone up for special elections in the past year, in mostly reliably Democratic districts. Prokopiak will represent a seat that has favorably elected Democrats in past election cycles.

Galloway’s seat has trended Democratic, and Republicans have slowly been losing their grip on the county as a whole.

The race drew national attention from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which spent $50,000 to protect the party’s majority in the chamber.

It was a first step for the committee, which has said it is planning to spend at least $60 million on statehouse races nationally this cycle, the group’s largest-ever budget. It will feature special emphasis on erasing GOP majorities in Arizona and New Hampshire and in the Pennsylvania Senate while holding small Democratic majorities claimed in 2022 in Minnesota and Michigan.

“This victory is a promising sign for Democrats up and down the ballot this year – it’s clear that momentum is on our side,” Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams said in a statement, adding that their focus will be on defending the House majority and flipping the state Senate.

Democrats in Pennsylvania have used their newfound power this year to advance a number of the caucus’ priorities, and they have a philosophical ally in the governor’s office with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. The Legislature remains politically divided with a firm Republican majority in the Senate.

“Over the last year I think, since the Democrats have been in the majority, they’ve pushed legislation that has helped the middle class,” Prokopiak said previously. “I want to do that.”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Leave a Comment

Recent News

Color Of Money

Pennsylvania governor seeks more money for schools and transit, but relies heavily on surplus cash

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email Governor Josh Shapiro presents his 2025-26 budget proposal to the Pa. General Assembly, as...

Seniors

How Type 2 inflammation contributes to asthma, COPD, and allergic conditions

February 3, 2025

Share Tweet Email BPT Do you live with persistent, moderate-to-severe asthma, COPD, allergies, eczema or hives? Inflammation...

SUNrise

cj speaks…Celebrating in forgiveness for Black History Month

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email By cj “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and...

Week In Review

Black History Month explained: Its origins, celebrations and myths

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email This undated photo provided by the Association for the Study of African American Life...

Commentary

Commentary: The Retirement Party

January 19, 2025

Share Tweet Email President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt at Madison College, April 8, 2024,...

Health

What you need to know about glaucoma

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email FAMILY FEATURES More than 4.2 million Americans live with glaucoma, a leading cause of...

The Philadelphia Sunday Sun Staff