Pennsylvania primary outcome solidifies swing state races, sending a warning to Trump in crucial battleground
Voters in Pennsylvania participated in key primary races for President, with a notable divergence among Republicans voting for Haley over Trump. The state’s results could impact the upcoming presidential election. Additionally, Senate and House races set the stage for November, with notable victories and candidate selections in various districts. Pennsylvania voters were active in critical presidential primary races, showcasing a significant split between Republicans favoring Haley over Trump. These results may influence the forthcoming presidential election. Moreover, Senate and House contests are shaping up for November, with noteworthy wins and candidate picks across different districts.
Voters in Pennsylvania headed to the polls on Tuesday to select the nominees in a series of key primary races up and down the ballot.
While the primary races for President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were largely ceremonial as both candidates claimed the required delegates to become their party’s presumptive nominee earlier this year, Tuesday’s results showed a worrying sign for Trump in the GOP presidential primary.
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More than 119,000 registered Pennsylvania Republicans, or roughly 17% of voters, snubbed Trump and voted for Haley in the primary. The former president won 83% of the vote with about two-thirds of the ballots in.
The results come roughly seven weeks after Haley dropped out of the race and with independents prohibited from voting in the GOP primary, it’s a major sign of weakness for Trump.
Pennsylvania remains one of the seven battleground states that will determine whether Trump or Biden wins. Both candidates have heavily stumped in the state. But if Trump doesn’t woo back disaffected Haley voters it could cost him in November.
Still, the down-ballot races, including the Senate and a handful of House primaries, provided most of Tuesday’s excitement as the results will set the stage for November, when control of both the Senate and House will be up for grabs. Polls closed at 8 p.m.
Results:
Presidential
Biden won Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, with the Associated Press calling the race in his favor only two minutes after polls closed, at 8:02 p.m. Biden won 92% with three-fourths of the ballots in. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who has suspended his campaign, secured 6.7%.
However, as in previous nominating contests this cycle, an uncommitted vote effort against Biden was promoted by a coalition that urged voters unhappy with Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war to cast their ballots as “uncommitted.”
The “Uncommitted PA” effort, whose website is paid for by the Democratic Socialists of America, was seeking to secure 40,000 votes, about half of Biden’s victory in 2020, in Tuesday’s primary. NBC News projected write in-votes garnered less than 2% of the vote, or roughly 14,000 votes with about three-fourths of the votes in. Only registered Democrats could vote in the Democratic primary.
In the Republican primary, Trump defeated his one-time U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, 83% to 17%, with 68% of the vote counted for, with the Associated Press calling the race at 8:09 p.m. Eastern time.
Since exiting the race in early March Haley has pulled roughly 10% to 20% of the vote in GOP state primaries against Trump. In Wisconsin, another critical battleground state, Haley won 12.8% of the votes compared to Trump’s 79.2%.
Only registered Republicans could vote in the GOP primary.
Delegates at stake: 67 Republican delegates, 159 Democratic delegates
Senate
Incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who is seeking a fourth term, and Republican Dave McCormick won the Democratic and Republican primaries. Both candidates, who ran unopposed, are likely to use their expected primary wins to propel their campaigns ahead of their general election matchup.
The Associated Press called the races for both primaries at 8:01 p.m.
The 2024 race is McCormick’s second time seeking a Senate seat in the Keystone State after losing the Republican primary race to Dr. Mehmet Oz during the 2022 midterm elections. Oz, who had the backing of Trump, then went on to lose in the general election to now-Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
The race between Casey and McCormick, who has the backing of Trump, is expected to be one of the most competitive of the 2024 cycle and could decide which party controls the Senate in November.
1st Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) soundly defeated Mark Houck, 63.1% to 36.9%, with 78% of the vote counted after the Associated Press called the race at 8:13 p.m.
Fitzpatrick, the co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, is a centrist Republican who has served in Congress since 2017.
Houck, an anti-abortion activist who is in favor of banning abortion with no exceptions for rape and incest, first came into the national spotlight in 2022 when he was federally charged for allegedly pushing a 72-year-old Planned Parenthood volunteer outside an abortion clinic in Philadelphia. Houck was later acquitted in the case in 2023.
In the Democratic primary, Ashley Ehasz, a former Army helicopter pilot, ran unopposed and will face Fitzpatrick in November. Fitzpatrick previously defeated Ehasz in 2022.
Fitzpatrick’s seat is one of 16 districts that Biden carried in 2020 that was won by a Republican, making the district a pivotal seat both parties will be seeking in November.
12th Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) survived a primary challenge in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District from local Edgewood Borough Councilwoman Bhavini Patel, with the Associated Press calling the race for Lee at 9:21 p.m.
Lee secured 60.8% of the vote with 96% counted, while Patel won 39.2%.
Lee, a prominent member of the “Squad” who is seeking her second term in the House, has been a vocal critic of Israel and its response to the Oct. 7 attack on the country by Hamas. While Lee’s seat is not expected to be competitive in November, Tuesday’s primary offered one of the first tests of how lawmakers calling for a ceasefire in Gaza will fare in 2024.
In the GOP primary, businessman James Hayes ran unopposed and will face Lee in November.
10th Congressional District
Former WGAL-TV anchor Janelle Stelson won the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 10th District, defeating five other Democrats for the opportunity to take on incumbent Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) in November.
Stelson won with 43.7% with 98% of the votes counted, with the Associated Press calling the race at 9:28 p.m.
Stelson defeated retired Marine Mike O’Brien, former WITF-FM executive Blake Lynch, Harrisburg Councilwoman Shamaine Daniels, Army veteran and Carlisle school board member Rick Coplen, and businessman John Broadhurst.
Perry, a former chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, has been a staunch ally of Trump and was an alleged participant in the effort to keep the former president in power in 2020.
7th Congressional District
State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie won the GOP primary race in Pennsylvania’s 7th District against Republican rivals personal injury lawyer Maria Montero and business owner Kevin Dellicker, with the Associated Press calling the race for Mackenzie at 9:41 p.m.
Mackenzie secured 42% of the vote with 85% of votes counted, while Montero won 24.9% and Dellicker won 33.1%.
Mackenzie will now face incumbent Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), who ran unopposed for her seat in the Democratic primary, in November.
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Attorney general
Five Democrats and two Republicans ran in the attorney general race to replace Democrat Michelle Henry, who was appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) in January when he stepped down as attorney general and was sworn in as governor.
Former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale won the Democratic primary, defeating four other Democrats and securing 36.9% of the vote with 90% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday won his GOP primary race against state Rep. Craig Williams with 70.3% of the vote with 86% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. Williams won 29.7% of the vote.
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