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

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

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.


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A crowd of Democrats vying to challenge hard-right Republican Scott Perry in Pennsylvania's 10th District

In the Harrisburg-based 10th District, Republican Rep. Scott Perry won reelection by a little less than 8 percentage points in 2022. But he remains a target for Democrats, thanks to the district's potential competitiveness and Perry's reputation as an archconservative. A crowd of six contenders have entered the Democratic primary to earn the right to face Perry in November, and there's some degree of uncertainty about how this primary might play out.

If there's a front-runner, it's probably former news anchor Janelle Stelson, whose long tenure at WGAL in the Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York TV market has made her a familiar face in the region. Stelson had raised $577,000 as of April 3, and she has endorsements from EMILY's List and the business-friendly New Democratic Action Fund. However, Stelson has competition in retired Marine fighter pilot Mike O'Brien, who has slightly outraised Stelson by bringing in $736,000. The other candidate of note is Harrisburg City Council member Shamaine Daniels, the party's 2022 nominee against Perry, although she's only raised $73,000.

But both Stelson and O'Brien have faced questions about their ties to the district, as Stelson lives just outside it in Lancaster County and O'Brien only recently moved to the area. Stelson has also faced scrutiny for having only recently switched her party registration from Republican to Democrat and for having made a racist joke on air around a decade ago involving Asians eating cats. Whether that's enough to derail her remains to be seen: The only recent poll we've seen was a late February survey for Stelson's campaign by Normington, Petts & Associates that found her leading with 36 percent, followed by Daniels at 16 percent and O'Brien at 9 percent.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Pennsylvania voters split on Senate preferences, while many don't feel strongly

Pennsylvania is one of several critical swing states with a U.S. Senate election this November. While neither party's primary is contested today, we're going to be hearing a lot about this contest, which will help determine who controls the chamber. Unsurprisingly, Pennsylvania voters are fairly evenly divided when it comes to which party they'd rather see in control, but nearly one in five don't seem to see much of a difference. Asked in a CNN/SSRS survey in March whether they thought the nation would be better or worse off if Republicans won control of the chamber, 38 percent of registered voters said they thought it would be better off and 42 percent thought it would be worse off. Nineteen percent said it will not make any difference.

—Mary Radcliffe, 538


The Keystone State's key Senate race is on autopilot tonight

Pennsylvanians will technically pick their nominees today for the state's U.S. Senate election this fall, though the results won't be a nail-biter — both major party candidates are running unopposed in their primaries. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. is running for a fourth term, while David McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO and diplomat under the Bush administration, is hoping to claim the seat for Republicans.

While today's primary isn't competitive, the general election matchup is already attracting a lot of attention. Democrats currently have just a one-seat majority in the Senate and are defending at least seven competitive seats this cycle, including Casey's in Pennsylvania. That means control of the chamber could come down to the Keystone State, a prospect that both parties are taking seriously.

Both candidates have already dropped millions of dollars on the race. While McCormick slightly outraised his opponent last quarter, Casey has spent over two and a half times as much money this cycle and has close to twice as much cash on hand as McCormick.

Casey also leads in every poll we've collected of the race, although some of those leads are within the margin of error. All the major election handicappers agree that he appears to have an edge in the race for now, though it's still competitive enough that things could easily change by November. Tonight won't be able to tell us much about the future, but it marks the official start to one of the most closely watched matchups this cycle.

—Cooper Burton, 538


The Israel-Hamas conflict has impacted local dynamics in Lee's race

Reporting live from the 12th District, there have definitely been some shenanigans playing out here in the Lee-Patel race, Geoffrey, so I'll be interested to see what happens with the other Squad challenges. For example, the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, an influential progressive group located on the East End in Pittsburgh, endorsed Patel over Lee. In 2022, the IDC endorsed Lee over the more moderate Steve Irwin, so it may look like the club has had a change of heart.

However, there's much more happening behind the scenes. Allegheny County's 14th Ward includes Squirrel Hill, traditionally the home of Pittsburgh's orthodox Jewish community. In January of this year, over 150 new members became a part of the IDC in advance of their annual votes on board members and endorsements, growing the club's membership by more than 50 percent. The new IDC members ousted board members that they considered too pro-Palestine, and were instrumental in directing the group's endorsements. So while it may appear to voters that a progressive group is abandoning Lee, a peek behind the curtain reveals quite a bit more is going on.

—Mary Radcliffe, 538


Attorney general and other statewide races to watch tonight

One of the most competitive races today could be the Democratic contest for the open state attorney general, where Pennsylvania voters have a full slate of five candidates to pick from. It seems to be anyone's contest here, with each candidate bringing endorsements and support from different Democratic factions to the table.

The fundraising leader in this race is Northeast Philadelphia State Rep. Jared Solomon, a veteran who's emphasized anti-corruption and public safety on the campaign trail and in the state legislature. But his good-government bent hasn't seemed to win him friends in the party — he came in last in balloting for the Democratic Party endorsement (which no candidate ended up winning). The next biggest fundraising numbers came from Delaware County DA Jack Stollseimer and former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan, who previously served as a prosecutor in Philadelphia.

But there are two other candidates who may have other advantages in their pockets: The top vote-getter in the inconclusive party endorsement contest was Eugene DePasquale, who likely has a name recognition advantage. A Pittsburgh native, he represented York County as a state rep before winning statewide office as auditor general, and he's the only candidate from Western Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the most progressive candidate in the race is likely Keir Bradford-Grey, a former chief public defender in both Montgomery County and Philadelphia. She's backed by the progressive Working Families Party and is looking to become the state's first Black AG, and the first AG in the country with a background primarily as a public defender. Her showing could tell us something about Pennsylvania Democrats' mood at a time when progressive prosecutors like Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner have come under increased scrutiny.

Whoever wins will be gearing up for a competitive general election, where they'll face the winner of today's GOP primary between York County DA David Sunday, who has his party's endorsement, and state Rep. Craig Williams, another veteran who represents parts of Chester and Delaware Counties and served as the chamber's impeachment manager against Krasner last year.

Further down the ballot, Democrats are also choosing their candidates today to challenge incumbent Republicans for two other statewide posts. In the Democratic primary for auditor general, the state's top fiscal watchdog, progressive Philadelphia state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta earned the party nod, and is likely favored over Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley. For state treasurer, Erie state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro is similarly favored over Pittsburgh-area small business owner Erin McClelland. These races are expected to be highly competitive in November too: They were each decided by just a few percentage points in 2020, and Democrats have set their sights on reversing the results this time around.

—Tia Yang, 538