A few races in the battleground state of Pennsylvania were expected to be close, and that played out on election night, with Democratsmanaging to pick up four House seats after narrowly flipping Districts 1, 7, 8, and 10.
President Donald Trump took the state in 2024 amid high inflation, and this year voters have been eyeing cost-of-living and gas pump prices.
Only 13 percent of voters in the state say they’re doing better financially than they were a year ago, according to a recent poll by Franklin & Marshall College. Forty-five percent say they’re doing worse.
Harvie Wins District 1
Democrat Bob Harvie overcame GOP incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick, taking nearly 53 percent of the vote to win Pennsylvania’s Congressional District 1.
The week before the midterms, Fitzpatrick’s campaign accused “a left-wing dark money group” of trying to gut Republican turnout by sending out mailers criticizing his platform and accusing him of supporting mass amnesty.
That came after an organization calling itself The American Forge Coalition targeted Fitzpatrick, along with other Republican candidates ahead of the race. The group styled itself as anti-globalist and anti-illegal immigration.
Fitzpatrick voted against Trump’s tariffs and opposed the continuation of the Iran war without approval from Congress.
Pennsylvania Congressional District 1 was a near-even split in the 2024 presidential election, with former Vice President Kamala Harris pulling ahead by less than three-tenths of a percent.
District 7 Flips, Too
District 7 seemed to be a tighter match at first, but the Democrats flipped it with 56 percent of the vote. GOP freshman incumbent Ryan Mackenzie was toppled by state firefighters union president Bob Brooks, a Democrat.
Brooks, who was ahead in the polls, was endorsed by local firefighters’ unions—and Gov. Josh Shapiro—while Mackenzie was backed by local police fraternities.
Brooks’ campaign highlighted affordability, healthcare, and labor rights, while Mackenzie ran on a platform that included supporting veterans and seniors, and unleashing American energy production.
Scranton Mayor Takes District 8
Incumbent Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), first elected to Congress in 2024, was overtaken bya challenge from Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti.She won with 54 percent of the vote.
At a debate on Oct. 29, Cognetti attacked Bresnahan on his voting record, noting that he declined to support a resolution to limit the war in Iran multiple times.
Bresnahan responded that he was against continuing the war in Iran, but was concerned about “ripping out the rug from underneath our service members” by withdrawing too abruptly.
Cognetti had previously opposed data centers, comparing them to mining companies that drained small towns of resources before abandoning them.
Stelson Picks Up District 10
Democrat Janelle Stelson was able to capture District 10 from incumbent Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.); the pair were fairly even in pre-race polls. She claimed her victory after failing to take the seat in 2024.
This time she won with 55 percent of the vote, reflecting a nationwide shift toward Democrats.
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