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.


0

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


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


Answer: It was B!

Meredith called it with the Matty Healy reference wrapped in a namedrop of "The Starting Line" (who subsequently thanked T Swift for the shoutout). In her song “The Black Dog,” Swift sings about an ex, asking how he can not miss her when in a pub and somebody plays "The Starting Line," but "she’s too young to know this song.” That said, Swift has dropped a political reference or two before, though more general. She uses the term “also ran” on this latest album and has the cutting line “did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism like some kind of congressman?” in “Anti-Hero,” her big single from her last album.

—Kaleigh Rogers, 538


Answer: No idea, but politics?

For kicks, I'll guess D, Kaleigh. If the song is about corruption, Fumo would be a good reference: In 2009, he was convicted of 137 corruption counts for various schemes, defrauding various institutions and obstruction of justice.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Three Republicans duke it out to challenge Rep. Susan Wild in PA-07

The Lehigh Valley, around Allentown in eastern Pennsylvania, is the backdrop to what is set to be one of the most competitive House races in the state (and the nation) this fall: the 7th District. Democratic Rep. Susan Wild will be squaring off against one of three Republicans vying to challenge the three-term congresswoman. In 2022, Wild held onto her seat by just 2 points in this competitive district, and Republicans are hoping they can finally flip it. Razor-thin races like this will help determine if the GOP can maintain control of the House.

The three Republicans battling it out in the GOP primary are Kevin Dellicker, a consulting company owner who was the runner-up in the 2022 primary, attorney Maria Montero, and state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, a local boy who has represented the region in the general assembly since 2012. Dellicker has outraised his opponents by about double, according to recent FEC filings, bringing in $447,000 to Mackenzie's $272,000 and Montero's $214,000. But Mackenzie has received substantial outside support to the tune of almost half a million dollars from Americans for Prosperity Action, a libertarian super PAC founded by the Koch brothers. There's no polling available for this race and not a ton of daylight between the three candidates when it comes to policy positions on hot-button issues like immigration, abortion and climate change, so it could be anyone's race. However, the heavy spending on Mackenzie's campaign and his local name recognition are distinct advantages.

—Kaleigh Rogers, 538