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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But PA-01 may be a tighter race this time around

That’s right, Meredith, and as I mentioned earlier, Fitzpatrick beat Ehasz by 10 points in 2022, but there are signs that this race could be tighter. It’s a purple district that has seen some shifts to the left, namely some recent school board elections. Voters flipped the Central Bucks School District from majority Republican to majority Democratic in an election last year, and Democrats swept the Pennridge School Board election. Of course, school board elections have their own quirks, particularly with some of the identity politics issues that have come to a head in recent years, but we could see a similar friction emerge with abortion as a hot-button issue in the general. While Fitzpatrick is hardly an anti-abortion activist, it’s an area where he hasn’t been as clearly moderate (he’s voted for abortion bans, for example, and his campaign website avoids the issue entirely), and Ehasz has a clear advantage on this front. Of course, Fitzpatrick’s incumbency and the more conservative reaches of the district could certainly be enough to keep him in his seat, but I’d be willing to bet it will be by a slimmer margin than last time, if he manages to pull it off.

—Kaleigh Rogers, 538


Biden and Trump projected to win their primaries in Pennsylvania

Coming as no surprise to anyone, ABC News projects that Biden and Trump will win their respective primaries in the Keystone State. But that doesn't mean voters are going to be happy about the outcome in November. In a March survey by Franklin and Marshall College, a majority of Pennsylvania voters said they would be sad if either Biden or Trump is reelected. When asked if they would feel happy or sad if each candidate won, 50 percent said they would be sad if Biden won and 53 percent said the same about Trump. Forty-eight percent said they would be happy if Biden won, and 43 percent would be happy if Trump won.

—Mary Radcliffe, 538


Incumbent Dwight Evans wins in the 3rd

ABC reports that Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans is projected to win his primary in the central and west Philadelphia-based 3rd District. With 29 percent of the expected vote reporting, Evans has a resounding 89 percent of the vote over challenger Tracey Gordon, the city's former register of wills. Evans has effectively secured a fifth term in Congress tonight, with no Republican challenger currently on the ballot in this majority Black, deep-blue district.

—Irena Li, 538


Fitzpatrick will likely face off against Ehasz, again

As Kaleigh just mentioned, Fitzpatrick is well ahead of his challenger from the right, Houck, in the 1st District. This means those voters will see a redux of the 2022 race, when he beat Democrat, Army Apache helicopter pilot Ashley Ehasz. Ehasz is supported by EMILY's List, the pro-choice organization working to elect more women to Congress.

—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor


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