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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Answer: Swiftie reporting

I am a fan of Swift since the "Lover" era, but I haven't listened to much of the new album, yet. That said, given what I know about Matty Healy and his centrality to the album, my guess is B? I know he's got a cover of the "Starting Line." (I am a millennial, after all.)

—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor


Answer: I have no idea

But is it C? I feel like she'd write a song about her hometown.

—Monica Potts, 538


Answer: I could not be more indifferent about Taylor Swift if I tried

Headline says it all, really.

But for the sake of fun, I'll go ahead and guess B.

—Mary Radcliffe, 538


Question: While we wait for more results, how about a little Pennsylvania 'pop' quiz?

Some of you may know I’m a bit of a Taylor Swift fan. The pop star, who grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to Nashville as a teen to start her career, released a heroic, 31-song double album last week. It’s chock full of references to all kinds of things including, by my count, at least one hat tip to her home state. So for my fellow live bloggers, can you guess which of these Keystone State staples was mentioned in Swift’s lyrics on "The Tortured Poets Department?"

A) The Philadelphia Eagles
B) Pop-punk band The Starting Line
C) West Reading, PA, Taylor’s hometown
D) Former state Sen. Vince Fumo

Kaleigh Rogers, 538


Democratic women to watch

Today, five Democratic women will be up for reelection in the House: Reps. Summer Lee, Susan Wild, Madeleine Dean, Mary Scanlon and Chrissy Houlahan. Of these incumbents, only Lee is facing a challenger. In 2022 Lee, now a member of the progressive group known as The Squad, narrowly defeated Steve Irwin in the Democratic primary despite heavy opposition spending by AIPAC. This year, Lee's challenger is Bhavini Patel, an Indian-American small business owner. As Irena mentioned, Patel has aligned herself as a more moderate, pro-Israel foil to Lee, who's been endorsed by a full slate of progressive groups including the Justice Dems, Working Families Party, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Sunrise Movement and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Beyond the Democratic women running as incumbents, a couple running in open primaries for competitive races in November are on the ballot today, too. In the 1st District, Army Apache helicopter pilot Ashley Ehasz is running unopposed to face Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in November. Ehasz lost to Fitzpatrick in 2022 by about 10 percentage points and is backed by the pro-choice organization, EMILY's List.

In the 10th district, two women, Shamaine Daniels and Janelle Stelson, are running in a crowded primary field to face Rep. Scott Perry in November. Daniels lost to Perry in 2022 by less than 10 points. But it is Stelson who may have front-runner status, and has the backing of EMILY's List, today. I'll be watching the 10th to see if Daniels will get a rematch in November, or if support from EMILY's List (and some other key endorsements) gives Stelson the edge.

We'll be updating the table below as we track how each of these women do tonight:

—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor