Democratic voters in Pennsylvania are choosing nominees Tuesday for four U.S. House races that could help decide whether Republicans keep their slim majority in Washington. The races are in the 1st, 7th, 8th and 10th Congressional Districts, and the party is trying to turn each of them into a path back to the House majority.
Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan and Scott Perry are unopposed in their Republican primaries, leaving Democrats to settle their side of the ballot first. In the 1st District, where Kamala Harris narrowly carried the seat in 2024, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has endorsed Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie. In the 7th District, he is backing retired firefighter and union leader Bob Brooks. In the 10th District, Shapiro supports former TV news anchor Janelle Stelson, while Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti is unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the 8th District.
The primary is not only about Congress. Voters across Pennsylvania will also pick nominees for lieutenant governor and both chambers of the General Assembly, with half of the state's 50 state Senate seats and all 203 state House seats on the November ballot. Democrats hold a slim majority in the state House, while Republicans have the edge in the state Senate, making Tuesday's contests part of a broader fight over the state’s political map heading into November.
Only voters registered with a political party may take part in that party's primary, which means independent and unaffiliated voters are shut out of Tuesday's ballot. As of May 11, Pennsylvania had nearly 9 million registered voters, including 3.8 million registered Democrats, 3.6 million registered Republicans and about 1.2 million voters not registered with any party. That pool is larger than the turnout seen in some recent primaries, but still below the roughly 1.1 million Democratic primary votes cast in the 2024 presidential primaries and the 953,000 Republican primary votes cast then.
The pressure on the Pennsylvania races is sharpened by the national math. Republicans hold only a slim House majority, and Democrats view the 1st, 7th, 8th and 10th districts as among their best pickup chances. Trump prevailed by larger margins in the 7th, 8th and 10th Districts in 2024, underscoring how much ground Democrats must make up if they hope to flip more than one seat in the fall.
The will provide vote results and declare winners in the contested primaries for U.S. House, lieutenant governor, state Senate and state House, as well as a special election in state House District 196. Josh Shapiro has no primary opponent as he seeks a second term, and Stacy Garrity is unopposed in the Republican governor primary as the party turns toward November. Tuesday will not settle Pennsylvania's larger political fight, but it will show whether Democrats can field the nominees they need before the real battle begins in the fall.
