Pa. election 2024: The state Senate races to watch as Democrats seek the majority

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Spotlight PA link: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/02/pennsylvania-state-senate-elections-2024-democratic-majority-flip-republican/

HARRISBURG — Democrats want to flip the Pennsylvania Senate this November, and party backers are eyeing a handful of districts as key to taking control of the chamber for the first time in 30 years. Political insiders told Spotlight PA that only a small number of districts, mostly in Western and central Pennsylvania, are competitive in this year’s state Senate elections.

In addition to picking up those seats, Democrats will also have to fend off Republican challengers in vulnerable districts where residents have increasingly voted for GOP candidates. Because of the high stakes, political observers expect these races to draw big money and national interest, which happened in 2022 when a flood of cash helped Democrats flip the state House.

Republicans hold 28 state Senate seats to Democrats’ 22. GOP control of the chamber is the norm. Except for a brief 16-month interlude in the 1990s, Republicans have held a majority in the upper chamber since 1980. The chamber’s 50 senators serve four-year terms, and half the body stands for election every two years. In presidential election years like 2024, lawmakers in odd-numbered districts are on the ballot.

If Democrats flip the upper chamber and hold onto the state House, the party will control the governor's mansion and the legislature in 2025, a so-called “trifecta” that would pave the way for lawmakers to pass a far-reaching agenda over Republican objections.

- more at link -

Please click on the link to see detailed analyses. The best chance to flip the Senate (per Spotlight PA) will be these Senate districts:

SD-15
Democratic candidates: State. Rep Patty Kim; Harrisburg pastor Alvin Taylor
Republican candidates: Dauphin County Treasurer Nick DiFrancesco, Army veteran Ken Stambaugh

SD-37
Democratic candidate: Nicole Ruscitto, educator and former local township councilor
Republican candidate: State Sen. Devlin Robinson

SD-45
Democratic candidates: State Rep. Nick Pisciottano; social worker Makenzie White; former Duquesne Mayor and environmental organizer Nickole Nesby
Republican candidates: Security services business owner Jen Dintini; local GOP committee member Kami Stulginskas (Spotlight PA could not identify a website or social media account for this candidate.)

SD-49
Democratic candidates: Erie County Democratic Party Chair Jim Wertz; Selena King, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.)
Republican candidate: State Sen. Dan Laughlin