Pennsylvania primaries 2024: Lee and Fitzpatrick survive, matchups set for November

538 tracked congressional and downballot primary races in the Keystone State.

Last Updated: April 23, 2024, 6:00 PM EDT

Pennsylvania is already in the thick of campaign season for November's presidential and U.S. Senate races, but on April 23, Democrats and Republicans in the Keystone State chose their candidates in a slate of other consequential races down the ballot this fall.

Among the key races to watch: a couple of incumbent House members — progressive Democrat Summer Lee and moderate Republican Brian Fitzpatrick — both fended off challengers from their right, and ballots are now set for a few other consequential contests that could help determine control of the House next year. Plus, some key battle lines for control of the state government in November are set, with the parties finalizing their candidates for attorney general, auditor, treasurer and both chambers of the state legislature.

538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.

Apr 23, 2024, 10:55 PM EDT

Final thought: Did Pennsylvania Republicans learn from loss?

All told, the races today suggest that Republicans in Pennsylvania may be "learning from loss," as my fellow political scientist Seth Masket puts it. To “learn from loss” is to change tack after certain efforts proved failed. The failed effort in 2022 was when the GOP nominated Doug Mastriano for the governor's race, who proved to be too extreme for the state. In Pennsylvania today, the GOP avoided nominating some of the more extreme candidates on the ballot in the 1st and 7th Districts.

—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor

Apr 23, 2024, 10:53 PM EDT

Last big projections of the evening: McClelland secures the treasurer upset

In what look to be the last statewide or federal projections of the evening, ABC reports that Chris Dziados is projected to win the 14th Congressional District Democratic primary, which Geoff mentioned earlier. And in perhaps the surprise of the night, the AP has projected Erin McClelland as the winner in the Democratic primary for state treasurer. McClelland overcame what seemed like a prohibitive fundraising deficit to best the party’s preferred pick, state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro.

And with that, we're about ready to wrap up! We'll get you all a wrapup post shortly to recap the major outcomes, and let you go with an hour to spare before the clock strikes midnight.

Last call for hot Pennsylvania takes, everyone!

—Tia Yang, 538

Apr 23, 2024, 10:29 PM EDT

A final check-in on female candidates

All of today's congressional primary contests where women were running have been projected, according to ABC News. There aren't too many surprises, here. In most places where Democratic women lost, another woman won (e.g. Summer Lee fended off Bhavini Patel in the 12th; Janelle Stelson prevailed over Shamaine Daniels in the 10th). The exception is Tracey Gordon who was mounting a challenge to Democratic incumbent Dwight Evans in the 3rd. For the GOP, in the 7th, Maria Montero would've advanced to a competitive November race, but failed to win. In the 5th, Alfeia Goodwin was uncontested, but she will face an uphill battle in that blue district.

—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor

Apr 23, 2024, 10:28 PM EDT

Final check-in with anti-abortion Republicans

Tonight I've been tracking anti-abortion Republicans, and there was one notable loss: Houck, a far-right anti-abortion activist, lost to moderate incumbent Fitzpatrick. In most of the other races, anti-abortion Republicans ran unopposed, and in Pennsylvania's 7th, all three Republican primary candidates were on our list. As Kaleigh noted, Mackenzie is the projected winner in that race to take on Wild in what's expected to be one of the most competitive House races this fall.

—Monica Potts, 538