MILLIRON GOODMAN 2020 MG General Election Update: A Glimpse at the Breakdown of the 2021-22 PA General Assembly Quick Snapshot: Pennsylvania voters have returned 18 incumbent members to Congress and have elected the first Republican auditor general in more than two decades. Democrat Josh Shapiro was also reelected for a second term as the state’s attorney general while state treasurer, Democrat Joe Torsella, lost his reelection bid in a big upset. Republicans will keep majority control of both chambers of the General Assembly. We will also have a mother and son duo serving together in the House chamber beginning in January. Statewide Row Offices: Attorney General: Democrat Josh Shapiro has won another four-year term as Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement officer, defeating challenger Heidi Heidelbaugh. Shapiro is a former state lawmaker and Montgomery County commissioner. Auditor General: Dauphin County controller, Republican Tim DeFoor, was declared the winner in Pennsylvania’s auditor general race, defeating Democrat Nina Ahmad, a former deputy Philadelphia mayor. DeFoor will replace Eugene DePasquale, who was term limited. Treasurer: Republican challenger Stacy Garrity defeated incumbent Treasurer Joe Torsella in the race for the state’s treasurer. Garrity is a retired Army Reserve Colonel. She started work as a cost accountant at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. and worked her way up to become Vice President of Government Affairs and Industry Liaison at GTP. Torsella’s loss is seen as a setback to Democrats’ hopes in 2022 statewide races. Congressional Races: Based on unofficial elections results from the Department of State, no incumbent member of Congress in Pennsylvania lost this election cycle. Below is a look at the close matchups. The delegation has 18 members, with 9 Republicans and 9 Democrats. PA1: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) has defeated Democratic challenger Christina Finello. PA6: Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester) has defeated GOP challenger John Emmons. PA7: Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh) declared victory over GOP challenger Lisa Scheller. PA8: Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Lackawanna) was declared the winner over GOP challenger Jim Bognet. PA10: Rep. Scott Perry (R-York) has defeated Democratic challenger and state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. PA16: Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Butler) has defeated Democratic challenger Kristy Gnibus. PA17: Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Allegheny) declared victory over GOP challenger Sean Parnell. MILLIRON GOODMAN State House and State Senate: Heading into election day, favorable polls and a flood of campaign money had raised Democratic expectations that there could be a blue wave with potential increased support for down-ticket Democrats. In late October, the nonpartisan election-forecasting service Cook Political Report moved the Pennsylvania House from “lean R” to “toss up.” However, the suburban anti-Trump revolt that took place in 2018 did not extend to 2020. Across the nation, and in Pennsylvania, Republicans swept state races and, in some cases, picked up seats. While we await the official results, one thing is clear, Republicans will maintain control of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and even net a few seats. Both Democrats and Republicans poured an unprecedented amount of money into this year’s Pennsylvania statehouse races. Control of the state legislature is particularly important heading into 2021, when lawmakers will draw new congressional maps and potentially shape Pennsylvania politics for the next decade. For Democratic Governor Tom Wolf – who has grappled with a Republican-controlled House and Senate his entire time in office – it was key to his agenda for raising the minimum wage, enacting a severance tax on natural gas drilling, and other issues. All 203 state House seats were on the ballot this year, and half of the state Senate. Democrats went into the election needing a net pickup of nine seats to regain the state House majority, and four seats in the state Senate. Incumbents survived with a few exceptions According to unofficial results from the Department of State, we could see a total of five incumbents defeated (3 DEMs on the House side/1 DEM & 1 GOP on the Senate side) and two open House seats flipped (GOP to DEM, DEM to GOP). At the time of this writing there is one race that is still too close to call. Incumbent state Senate Democrat Jim Brewster narrowly leads Republican candidate Nicole Ziccarelli by 91 votes in Pennsylvania’s 45th state Senate District, but there is still debate over whether hundreds of mail-in ballots should be counted. If this holds true, House Republicans will grow their majority to 113 seats, up from 110 in the 203-member House. On the Senate side, Republicans would maintain their majority of 28 in the 50-member Senate. The breakdown for the 2021-2022 PA General Assembly would look like this: HOUSE 113 Republicans – 90 Democrats SENATE 28 Republicans – 1 Independent – 21 Democrats MILLIRON GOODMAN It is also worth noting Republican Milou Mackenzie, a former teacher as well as the owner of an interior design business, won state House District 131 (Northampton County) held by retiring Republican state Rep. Justin Simmons. Her son, Ryan Mackenzie (R), won reelection to continue representing the 134th legislative district in the state House, which means they will become the only mother and son serving together in the chamber beginning in January. Key State House and Senate Races Below is a look at the noteworthy contests based on unofficial election returns as of today (December 3, 2020). To view all races, visit the Department of State election returns website. Click on the “Offices” tab to select the Senator in the PA General Assembly or Representative in the PA General Assembly. Pennsylvania House District 33 (Allegheny County) – GOP Pickup The most notable race is in Allegheny County, where House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody drew a strong challenge from Republican Oakmont councilwoman Carrie DelRosso. The state’s unofficial results show DelRosso defeated the incumbent with 16,353 votes (51.4%) to Dermody’s 15,465 votes (48.6%). DelRosso runs her own Public Affairs and Marketing company, which has served a range of public bodies including the Riverview School District, Verona and Plum boroughs, Penn Hills School District, and numerous private sector clients. Dermody was first elected in 1990. In House District 33, then candidate Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by five points in 2016. The district includes Brackenridge, Cheswick, East Deer, Frazer, Harmar, Indiana, Oakmont, Springdale, Tarentum, and part of Harrison as well as Arnold and New Kensington in Westmoreland County. Pennsylvania House District 55 (Westmoreland County) – GOP Pickup Newcomer Republican Jason Silvis, a film stuntman, defeated incumbent state Rep. Joe Petrarca. Silvis collected 52.31% of the votes counted compared with Petrarca’s 47.69%, a margin of 1,439 votes, according to unofficial results from the Pennsylvania Department of State. Petrarca was first elected in 1994 and currently serves as the Minority Chair of the House Children and Youth Committee. In House District 55, which encompasses portions of Westmoreland County, Trump won by 33 points four years ago. Pennsylvania House District 123 (Schuylkill County) – OPEN SEAT – GOP Pickup Republican Tim Twardzik will take over the district that has been held by retiring Democrat Rep. Neal Goodman since 2003. Twardzik defeated Peter “PJ” Symons for the open seat with 15,079 votes or 62.63%. Symons received 8,998 votes or 37.37%. Symons was prothonotary of Schuylkill County for 16 years ending in 2011. He most recently worked for North Shore Railroad Co. Twardzik is a retired Executive Vice President and a co-owner of Ateeco Inc., Shenandoah, maker of Mrs. T’s, the world’s largest selling brand of frozen pierogies. The seat has been Democrat-controlled since it was created in 1969. MILLIRON GOODMAN Pennsylvania House District 143 (Bucks County) – GOP Pickup State Rep. Wendy Ullman, a Democrat, was defeated by Republican Shelby Labs. Labs received 22,517 votes (51.54%) to Ullman's 21,172 votes (48.46%) according to unofficial returns. Ullman won the seat long held by Republicans in 2019. She was the first Democrat to represent the district since the early 1980s. It was formerly held by Republican Rep. Marguerite Quinn who did not seek reelection during her bid for the state Senate. Labs, an administrative assistant, said education, affordable health care and strengthening the economy would be her long-term priorities if elected. Pennsylvania House District 152 (Montgomery County) – OPEN SEAT – DEM Pickup Democrat Nancy Guenst defeated Karen Houck and John Weinrich for the seat held by retiring Republican state Rep. Tom Murt. The seat has been Republican controlled since it was created in 1969. Guenst, the mayor of Hatboro and former Hatboro council member, had 20,183 votes or 50.98%. The challenging Republican, Upper Moreland school board member Houck, had 16,672, while independent candidate Weinrich garnered 2,732. Pennsylvania Senate District 9 (Delaware County) – DEM Pickup Democrat John Kane declared victory over state Sen. Tom Killion with 80,083 votes (51.95%). Killion has 74,078 votes or 48.05%. Killion was first elected to the state Senate in 2016 after winning a special election to replace Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Dominic Pileggi. Prior to that, Killion served as a state representative for the 168th legislative district for 13 years and before that, he had served on Delaware County Council from 1992 to 2000. He currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee and Vice Chair of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. Kane was taking his second shot at a state Senate seat, having gone up against then-state Sen. Tom McGarrigle in the 26th district in 2014. Kane is a business manager for the Plumbers Union Local 690.