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.
Latest headlines:
- Last big projections of the evening: McClelland secures the treasurer upset
- Republican Jeffrey Olsommer on track to win Pennsylvania's only special election
- Mackenzie projected to win PA-07 and take on Rep. Susan Wild
- DePasquale projected to win the Democratic AG primary
- Stelson projected to win Democratic primary in 10th District
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
Welcome!
Happy primary day to those who celebrate! (That's us, fellow Pennsyvlanians.)
The Keystone State is already in the public eye this election cycle, as it's expected to be a battleground state for both the presidential race and a critical U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick. And there are consequential races down the ballot, too: Several competitive U.S. House races could impact the balance of the House majority, while Democrats are hoping to compete for control of both chambers of the state legislature to earn their first state government trifecta in more than 30 years.
And while the candidates for president and Senate are set, today's primary contests will determine just who's on the ballot from each party in those key down ballot races. Tonight, we're closely tracking a handful of significant U.S. House races, including progressive Rep. Summer Lee's bid to hold off a more moderate challenger; moderate Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick's challenge from the hard right; and a three-way GOP primary to decide who will face off against Rep. Susan Wild in one of the most competitive House races this fall. We've also got our eyes on some hotly contested primary contests for statewide offices like attorney general and a number of spicy state legislative races.
As usual, we'll be here to guide you through it all with the latest results and analysis throughout the evening. We should start seeing results come in shortly after polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern. Thanks for joining us!
—Tia Yang, 538