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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Stelson projected to win Democratic primary in 10th District

ABC News reports that Janelle Stelson is projected to win the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania's 10th District. With 63 percent of the expected vote reporting, she leads with 44 percent, well ahead of Mike O'Brien's 23 percent in second place. Stelson will advance to the general election to face Rep. Scott Perry, who has arguably the most conservative voting record of any Republican who represents a seat that Trump would've won by less than 5 points in 2020 or that Biden would've carried. However, the GOP starts out as favorites for the general election, as ratings outlets view it as a Lean Republican seat.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Kenyatta projected to win Democratic primary for Auditor General

ABC News reports that progressive Philadelphia State Rep. Malcom Kenyatta is projected to win in the Democratic Auditor General primary. He's currently ahead of Mark Pinsley by around 23 percentage points, a significant improvement from the last time he appeared on a statewide primary ballot, winning just 11 percent of the vote in the 2022 Senate primary. He will face Republican incumbent Timothy DeFoor in November, who ran unopposed today.

—Mary Radcliffe, 538


Fitzpatrick projected to win in PA-01

ABC News reports that Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is projected to win the GOP primary in the 1st District, conquering his right-flank challenge from anti-abortion activist Mark Houck. He's faced a primary challenger in every election since he was first elected in 2016, but has always triumphed. Fitzpatrick will once again go up against Democrat Ashley Ehasz this fall, whom he beat by 10 points in 2022.

—Kaleigh Rogers, 538


Downballot races show incumbents leading

I wrote earlier about some of the races for state House. So far, it looks like state Rep. Brown, in West Philadelphia, and state Rep. Salisbury, in the Pittsburgh area, are fending off challenges from the left, according to The New York Times. In the Brown race, Blackwell and Green may have split the vote against him. In the Democratic race for state Senate in Erie, Erie County Democratic Party Chair Jim Wertz is projected to defeat former Fetterman staffer Selena King, according to The New York Times.

—Monica Potts, 538


Pennsylvania features the first real primary challenge against The Squad

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has paved the way for some bitter Democratic primary fights in 2024. Among those most critical of Israel's actions in the conflict has been The Squad, an informal group of around nine progressive Democrats who often clash with their party's establishment. Of that cohort, Rep. Summer Lee of Pittsburgh is the first to face a contested primary in 2024 — but she won't be the last. At least four members, including Lee, have potentially significant primary opposition in part because of their vocal denouncements of Israel — although increasingly negative views of the Middle East nation's actions among the Democratic base means the conflict may not be as helpful to The Squad's challengers as some may have expected.

Should Lee survive, she would join Reps. Greg Casar of Texas and Delia Ramirez of Illinois among those who've won renomination (Casar and Ramirez faced no opposition in their March primaries). But some members with primaries later this summer may have problems, especially the two who are arguably most endangered: New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush. For one thing, they've each been outraised by their leading challengers, and they both have potential scandals that could derail their reelection efforts. Last fall, Bowman pulled a fire alarm in a Capitol office building right before a vote, which resulted in him paying a fine and receiving a censure from the House. And Bush faces investigations by the Department of Justice, Federal Election Commission and House Ethics Committee into alleged misuse of funds to pay her security team, including payments to her husband as part of that team.

Beyond those two, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar may be the other Squad member who could have some trouble. Two years ago, she defeated former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels by just 2 percentage points in the Democratic primary; now Samuels is back for a rematch, although Omar has already raised more than twice as much as the $2.4 million she'd brought in by the time of the 2022 primary>. Otherwise, there are few signs that New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley will have difficulties. Ocasio-Cortez does have a challenger, but his largely self-funded effort pales in comparison to Ocasio-Cortez's campaign war chest, while Tlaib's little-known opponents only just filed for the race and haven't reported raising any money. Pressley, meanwhile, has no primary opposition ahead of Massachusetts's May 7 candidate filing deadline.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538