First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Pennsylvania Democrats have taken control of the State Senate, giving Governor Josh Shapiro and his party full control of state government in Harrisburg for the first time in 33 years, after Tuesday's midterm elections delivered the Senate majority Shapiro had made the centrepiece of his re-election campaign.
Democrats flipped four Republican-held seats to take the 50-seat chamber 26-24, reversing the 27-23 Republican majority they faced going into Election Day: Eileen Hartnett Albillar defeated Frank Farry in the 6th District, Mark Pinsley defeated Jarrett Coleman in the 16th, Chris Thomas defeated Tracy Pennycuick in the 24th, and Brian Wrightson defeated Rosemary Brown in the 40th. Republicans won back one seat, with Tom Jones defeating James Malone in the 36th District. Democrats also expanded their majority in the State House, to about 111 seats, and Shapiro won a second term, defeating Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity by about 60.2 percent to 38.5 percent.
Shapiro announced the result on social media, writing: "TRIFECTA DELIVERED. Pennsylvanians just came together to flip the State Senate for the first time in over THREE DECADES — delivering a Democratic trifecta that's ready to raise the minimum wage, codify reproductive freedom, invest in mass transit, and so much more." He added that the real work begins now.
The result ends more than three decades of Republican control of the Senate, which the party had held continuously since 1994, and gives Democrats their first Senate majority since 1993. For most of the past decade Pennsylvania has had divided government, with Democrats holding the governor's office and, since 2022, a narrow House majority, while Republicans held the Senate — blocking Shapiro's marquee proposals.
With the trifecta, Shapiro has said the first bill to reach his desk will raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, from $7.25, where it has stood since 2009. He has also pledged to sign bills codifying abortion rights, investing in mass transit across the state, building more housing, lowering costs, and giving survivors of sexual abuse their day in court. Shapiro has long supported legalising recreational marijuana and has included it in his budget proposals, and the Senate flip removes a longstanding obstacle to that as well.
Shapiro also promised to continue working across the aisle, welcoming collaboration with legislative Republicans with "open arms". Democratic Senator Jay Costa of Allegheny County is expected to become Senate president pro tempore when the new two-year legislative session begins, with the newly elected legislature due to be sworn in on January 5, 2027.