Excited for Pennsylvania: Key Points for Tuesday’s Primary Election

Pennsylvania is the ultimate battleground for 2024, with the White House, Senate, and House all poised to flip based on how voters here cast their ballots. In this series, Pining for Pennsylvania: Unlocking the crucial Keystone State, the Washington Examiner will look at the demographics, politics, and key issues that have made Pennsylvania the must-watch state of the year. Part Two, below, looks at the important races in the state ahead of the November election.

Voters in Pennsylvania head to the polls Tuesday, where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are expected to easily win their respective primaries after clinching the nominations last month.

Both presidential candidates have recently visited the commonwealth in an attempt to gin up support for their campaigns in this crucial battleground state.

But the down-ballot races will be the more exciting contests to watch on Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats seek to gain a foothold in Pennsylvania, which Biden won in 2020 and Trump won in 2016.

The Keystone State is a closed primary state, meaning only registered Republicans and Democrats can vote in the primary. Independents can’t vote in either party’s primary.

Here are the top races to follow on Tuesday.

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David McCormick gets a second chance at a Senate seat

Incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) is running for a fourth term in Pennsylvania, where victory will help Democrats hold on to control of the upper chamber.

Republican challenger David McCormick is all but certain to win the GOP primary and face off against Casey later this year, as he faces no opponents in the primary. Casey is also running opposed in the Democratic primary.

McCormick is running for the Senate a second time after losing the contentious GOP primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022. Despite widespread name familiarity, Oz lost the race to now Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).

McCormick boasts the support of Trump and former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA). The race will be one of the most competitive contests this year, with both parties expected to pour millions to win. Both Casey and McCormick seek to use their expected primary wins Tuesday as a springboard to their general election matchup.

Rep. Summer Lee faces a primary challenge over Israel

First-term Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) hopes to win the Democratic primary in the 12th Congressional District against fellow Democrat and local Councilwoman Bhavini Patel.

The two have battled over the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as Lee’s progressive stance in criticizing Israel has angered Republicans and even some centrist Democrats.

Lee, the first black woman elected from Pennsylvania to the House, supports an immediate ceasefire in the Middle Eastern conflict.

But Republican megadonor Jeffrey Yass is funding a super PAC that opposes Lee and is backing Patel’s bid.

Over the weekend, fellow progressive “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones headlined a Lee rally ahead of Tuesday’s contest. Casey and Fetterman are backing Lee’s reelection bid.

The primary will be one of the first tests of how politically potent the Squad’s pro-Palestinian stance is.

Democrats aim for Rep. Scott Perry’s seat

Although Perry is running unopposed in the GOP primary for his seat, he is facing stiff competition from Democrats hoping to retake the 10th District.

Six Democrats are running in the primary that will determine his November rival. Those candidates are retired Marine Mike O’Brien, former WGAL-TV anchor Janelle Stelson, 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, was an alleged participant in the effort to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election to Biden and the subsequent Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

In August 2022, he announced that FBI agents carrying out a search warrant seized his cellphone and attacked the move as “banana republic tactics.”

Democrats have sought to make the 2024 election a referendum on several issues, including protecting American democracy, to keep control of the White House and Senate while retaking the House.

However, the Cook Political Report rated the seat as “Leans Republican.”

Rep. Susan Wild defends her seat

Three Republicans are battling to take on Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), who represents the 7th District, in the fall.

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, personal injury lawyer Maria Montero, and business owner Kevin Dellicker are hoping to emerge as the sole Republican to unseat Wild.

The Cook Political Report rated Wild’s seat as a Democratic toss-up. Similarly, Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics rated the seat as a Democratic toss-up.

Wild was first elected to the House in 2018 and is serving in her third term. She maintains a cash advantage over her Republican rivals raising more than $1.37 million in the first three months of the year. She has more than $2.6 million cash on hand.

Dellicker raised the most amount of money among the GOP challengers in the first three months of 2024 at a little over $205,000. He had $169,000 cash on hand at the end of the quarter.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick faces primary challenge

Incumbent GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is hoping to fend off a primary challenge from Mark Houck in the 1st District. Houck is an anti-abortion activist and hard-right Republican.

He came to national attention when he was federally charged in 2022 and then acquitted in 2023 of pushing a 72-year-old Planned Parenthood volunteer outside an abortion clinic in Philadelphia.

Houck is in favor of banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest, a stance that is at odds with sizable portions of the public.

Fitzpatrick, co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, has served in Congress since 2017 and is a centrist Republican in an age where much of the nation has become polarized. He notably is keeping his distance from Trump and did not endorse Doug Mastriano’s gubernatorial bid in 2022.

Whichever candidate wins on Tuesday will face Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz, a former Army helicopter pilot whom Fitzpatrick defeated in 2022.

The Cook Political Report rated the seat as Likely Republican.

Attorney general race

Five Democratic candidates and two Republicans are running in the attorney general race to replace Democrat Michelle Henry, who succeeded current Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA).

Democratic candidates include former Philadelphia chief public defender Keir Bradford-Grey, former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan, Philadelphia state Rep. Jared Solomon, and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.

The state Democratic Party did not endorse a candidate in the race, but DePasquale received the most votes during a party endorsement meeting.

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On the Republican side, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday is vying against state Rep. Craig Williams for the attorney general race.

Sunday boasts the backing of the state GOP as he looks to become the first Republican attorney general in the commonwealth since 2008.