Democrats in Pennsylvania advanced their November plans after primaries on Tuesday in which candidates backed by Gov. Josh Shapiro won Democratic nominations in multiple swing U.S. House districts, setting up general-election matchups the party hopes will help it win back House seats. The Associated Press reported that Shapiro’s endorsements and national Democratic allies helped determine the Democratic challengers in three suburban and urban battleground districts held by Republican incumbents.
Shapiro also secured the Democratic nomination for governor, and the AP reported that he is set to face Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in November after both prevailed in their primaries without an opposition rematch. Shapiro, the AP said, told supporters at a primary-night event that once served as a centrifuge where the U.S. Navy tested G-forces on astronauts that Democrats needed to win in November to change what he described as the lack of accountability in Washington.
In the party’s congressional races, Janelle Stelson, Bob Harvie and Bob Brooks won Democratic nominations in three swing districts. The AP said all three were endorsed by Shapiro and were Democrats’ choices in contests where Democrats previously faced contested primaries to determine who would challenge incumbent House Republicans in November.
The AP reported that in Fitzpatrick’s district in suburban Philadelphia, Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner, defeated Lucia Simonelli, a first-time candidate and climate activist. In another swing seat, Stelson, described by the AP as a former local television anchor and personality, defeated Justin Douglas, a progressive minister and a Dauphin County commissioner, to earn the nomination to face incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick in the fall.
For the district where Brooks will challenge incumbent Republican Scott Perry, the AP said Brooks won a four-way Democratic primary. Brooks beat former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County executive Lamont McClure and former legislative aide Carol Obando-Derstine, according to the AP.
In the fourth swing district, the AP reported that Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. She will run in November against incumbent Republican Rob Bresnahan, who also had no opponent in the Republican primary.
Shapiro’s political message at the primaries, the AP reported, tied the congressional contests to a broader effort to control Pennsylvania’s state Legislature. The AP said Shapiro urged supporters to help win Democratic control of the Legislature for the first time in more than three decades, and he specifically called for Senate control, saying a Democratic majority would allow, in his view, the funding of mass transit, building more housing, and codifying abortion rights into state law.
The AP also placed Pennsylvania’s House races in a wider national context, saying Democrats are trying to retake the U.S. House and block what they view as the last two years of President Donald Trump’s agenda. The article described Democrats’ approach to the swing districts as focused on selecting “top tier” candidates they believe can perform best against Republican incumbents, including through coordination between Shapiro allies and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Philadelphia’s House contest also moved forward as the AP reported that state Rep. Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary for a seat in Congress. The AP said no Republican sought the nomination, making Rabb the expected successor to retiring Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans, and the AP reported that Rabb was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and online streamer Hasan Piker and backed financially by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The AP said Rabb defeated Sharif Street, a state senator and former state party chairman and son of former Philadelphia mayor John F. Street, as well as Dr. Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon, to win the Democratic nomination in the open contest.