Democrats hope to tie Pennsylvania Senate for first time in decades

Pennsylvania Senate Democrats hope to tie the state Senate in Tuesday’s elections, while republicans hope to expand their supermajority in the state’s upper house.

Bye control of the State House may be seizedThe 50-member state Senate remains an uphill battle for Democrats.

Pennsylvania redistricted maps for 2022 would allow Republicans to maintain control of the state Senate, and Democrats would likely need a “blue wave” in a swing state to tie the chamber. But with Democrats set to flip at least one Republican-held Senate seat, they believe they are inching closer to tying the score or flipping the chamber for the first time in 30 years.

Governor Josh ShapiroDemocrat, has given several state Senate endorsements and funneled $350,000 to the Senate Democrats’ fundraising arm in hopes of achieving a Democratic “triple bottom line” in the state House, Senate and governor’s mansion. But he spent significantly more—$1 million—trying to help House Democrats maintain their narrow majority.

Republicans savagely attacked State Senator Jimmy Dillon (D-Philadelphia), which represents part of Northeast Philadelphia and has spent more than $1 million to try to turn around the vulnerableaccording to available campaign finance reports. However, the Philadelphia Republican Party did not endorse Dillon’s Republican challenger, Joe Picozzi, and his name did not appear in Philadelphia GOP-sponsored literature at the polls on Tuesday.

Northeast Philadelphia remains an opportunity zone for Republicans. While the Northeast still has an advantage in Democratic voter registration, its residents are often more conservative than the rest of deep-blue Philadelphia.