Pennsylvania reelects Supreme Court justices, extending a Democratic majority on its highest court

[Wiz Imp]

Last edited Tue Nov 4, 2025, 11:06 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — All three of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices who sought reelection Tuesday will get another term, ensuring Democratic jurists keep their majority on the presidential battleground state’s highest court — one at the center of pivotal fights over voting rights, redistricting and elections.

The result shapes the makeup of the seven-member court through the next presidential election in 2028. The three justices had been elected as Democrats, and voters were deciding whether to extend the court’s Democratic majority. Rejecting all three could have plunged the court into a partisan deadlock if the state’s politically divided government could not agree on temporary appointees to fill in.

Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht won new terms, with support from the Democratic Party and allies including Planned Parenthood, labor unions, trial lawyers and a constellation of progressive groups.

In particular, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — considered a potential White House contender in 2028 who is up for reelection next year — appeared in ads for the justices and lobbied for their retention.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-supreme-court-election-55e2fff26ab17e6f02f9e4808497587c

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. How wonderful this news is!

I am thrilled that those 3 Justices won their battles.

[FakeNoose]

2. Jeff Yass wasted millions of dollars on his stupid mailers

Every voter in Pennsylvania received a bushel of worthless postcards telling us that we're all going to hell if the 3 Democratic judges are retained for another 10 years.

Oh my God! Jeff Yass, the wealthiest person in the state, could have fed the poor for an entire year with the money he wasted on those ridiculous mailers.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I heard some idiotic radio ad here in Philly by the GOP

that was done to a '60s song (I can't for the life of me remember which one - my brain keeps saying "Barbara Ann" but I don't think it was that but something from the era) for "vote no".

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Woot! THANK GOODNESS!

I heard last night that something like $20 million was spent on the retention races.

I did also hear that one of them will hit the mandatory retirement age of 75 before the 10 years is up so there will be an open seat at that point.

[nycbos]

4. I thought that watching the Rangers game would be less stressful than watching these election results.

It turns out the exact opposite happened. The election results are fantastic across the country so far and the Rangers played like absolute crap

[ancianita]

6. They won by a landslide!

[Septua]

7. Trump and MAGA lose again...

I truly hope today's voter choices are a sign that the nation has adopted "No Kings" as a movement and not a just protest meme.

[Deminpenn]

8. It was only by a couple thousand votes, but "Yes" won in even

my red county of Beaver.

[John1956PA]

10. Beaver County's northern neightbor, Lawrence County, voted "No" to all three PA Supreme Court retentions.

Of the two lower court retentions, Lawrence County voted "No" for one and "Yes" for the other.

In Lawrence County tallies, of the three PA Supreme Court retentions, Christing Donohue fared a bit better than the two males, but she still came up short 49.4% to 50.6%.

The two lower court out-right elections saw each of the Republican candidates win by about 14,500 to 9,500.

Voter turnout was at its usual weak level for an off-year election. The MAGAs were energized to come out in strong numbers as compared to the Dems.

Lawrence County's current trend to favor Republican candidates over Dems remains significant. However, with the close margin in the retention votes, there is hope for us Dems that the tide turning a bit.

[Deminpenn]

11. "Yes" won in some surprising places

Beaver county has voted for Dems recently. Tom Wolfe and Josh Shapiro, iirc, both won. And the county elected a Dem DA two years ago.

Here are the other "yes" counties:
Allegheney
Berks (which has a big Hispanic population)
Beaver
Bucks (might be bad news for Brian Fitzpatrick)
Centre
Chester
Columbia
Cumberland
Dauphin (Harrisburg area)
Delaware
Erie
Lackawanna
Lancaster
Lehigh (might be trouble for the R House incumbent)
Luzerne
Monroe
Montgomery
Montour (1 of 3 won)
Northampton
Northumberland (1 of 3 won)
Philadelphia
Pike
Union
Washington
Westmoreland (it wasn't really close)
York (2 of 3 won)

Even the counties where "no" won, the vote was much closer than usual where the counties in the "T" generally give Rs of 35+ points.. The most interesting vote was the one in Westmoreland, which is very conservative where :"yes" won by about 6k votes for each retention candidate. That should put a scare into Rentchenthaler.

The two seats Rs flipped in 2024, PA-7 and PA-10 both voted for :yes". With the votes in Cumberland and York counties, Perry could be in trouble.

[Wiz Imp]

21. If Democrats can maintain any momentum at all, Perry's toast.

Democrats won numerous races in Dauphin & Cumberland counties that hadn't voted for Democrats in decades. I'm especially glad the Democrats won the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas races (first time in 33 years!!). I can't stand Chardo & Zugay. Their ads were so disgusting - the only reason they could give for people to vote for them is that they've won elections before. They said nothing about actually doing the job of a Judge.

https://democraticunderground.com/100220776495

[Deminpenn]

22. Dems swept the statewide judicial races

Good to learn they did well in other local judicial elections.

I wonder if last night's results put a scare in Kim Ward and the rest of the state Senate Rs to quit holding up the state budget, now on month 5.

[AllaN01Bear]

9. ding. THIS

KICK. eggscllent news.

[Deminpenn]

12. Dems also swept the Commonwealth and Superior court races

All judges were retained andDs Newman and Tsai won seats on the lower courts.

[Wiz Imp]

16. Yep! It was a 7 for 7 sweep!

[BlueWavePsych]

13. Democrats didn't just rebound. They dominated.

Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill cruised to double-digit victories in Virginia and New Jersey. Two Georgia Democrats flipped seats on the state’s Public Service Commission, the first non-federal statewide wins for a Democrat in nearly two decades. Democrats flipped a pair of Republican-held state Senate seats in Mississippi, cracking the GOP supermajority in a deep-red state. And a successful California ballot measure delivered five additional seats for the party’s House margins ahead of the 2026 midterms, offsetting Texas’ redistricting push.

But they also started to overperform in special elections, hinting that the tide was turning. And on Tuesday, their first big electoral test of the second Trump era, they didn’t just match the wins from eight years ago that had been a harbinger of a blue wave in the 2018 midterms — in several key races, they exceeded them.

“After brutal losses, like 2024 and 2016, it is hard to trust polling … and your gut of what should happen historically. You can’t trust it,” said Stephanie Schriock, a Democratic strategist who formerly led EMILY’s List, a progressive group that elects women. “But everything, the internal polling, the organizations on the ground, the No Kings and Indivisible movement, the energy, it was all there.”

“The one thing that would worry me, besides making sure you hold the House, is looking at how Democrats were able to fire up their base in some of these local elections in Georgia,” the strategist said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/05/democrats-2025-win-midterms-virginia-new-jersey-00637057

[Cha]

20. TY for all that additional Dem s Win info!

[meow2u3]

14. I've seen more Democrats voting in my precinct in the 4 years I served as an Inspector of Elections

Many young people were voting for the first time. Democrats, independents, and disaffected Republicans (moderates MAGAts call RINOs) created a steady stream of voters sick and tired of MAGA tyranny. We told him who shall not be named a resounding NO!

We wiped up the floor with the repunks!

[wolfie001]

15. The Great News just keeps coming!!!

So happy about this!

[BBbats]

17. Proud Of My State Today!

[Cha]

19. I bet.. I'm proud of PA, too.. my son was

born there while we were on vacation.

[Cha]

18. Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht won new terms

TY.. Good to know who they are and the background on the Help they had getting Reelected. So Important!