Stealth Blue Wave Helps Democrats Flip The Pennsylvania House

Pennsylvania Democrats claim that first time since 2010 they have flipped the state House.

CBS 3 in Philadelphia reported:

Some votes are still being counted, but Pennsylvania Democrats claim they will have at least the 102 seats necessary to flip the state House, party leaders said during a press conference outside Independence Hall on Wednesday. It would be the first time the Democrats have controlled the House since 2010.

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If the results are confirmed, Pennsylvania is also poised to have its first-ever female speaker of the Pennsylvania House: Joanna McClinton, an African American woman who represents parts of Delaware and Philadelphia counties.

“Pennsylvania voters rejected – overwhelmingly – fear,” McClinton said. “Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly rejected hatred. Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly rejected division.”

The state senate has been under Republican control since 1993, but as the results are tallied, it is clear that there was a wave in the midterm election, but it was blue, not red.

In Michigan, Democrats control the state legislature for the first time in 40 years. 

Nationally, Democrats look to be in a position to keep the Senate, and their House losses could be modest enough to leave Republicans with a paralyzed majority that would be the smallest gain against a first-term president in a midterm since the Great Depression.

The one issue that powered voters in both national and state-level contests is abortion.

In Pennsylvania, a Democratic House means that the Republican legislative assault on voting rights will end. House Republicans have regularly passed bills to end mail-in voting in the state. That behavior will stop with Democrats in charge of the House.

Democrat Josh Shapiro will be the new governor of the Keystone State, as the blue wave has reshaped state and local as well as national politics.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association