A once-Republican district situated in the suburbs of Philadelphia remained in Democratic hands following a special election on Tuesday, allowing the party to maintain a slim majority in the state House of Representatives.
“Democrats maintained their narrow Pennsylvania House majority Tuesday by winning a special election and along with it continued control over how the chamber will handle abortion, gun rights, and election law legislation,” the Associated Press reported.
“Heather Boyd won a seat in the Philadelphia suburbs, beating Republican Katie Ford for a vacancy created by the resignation of Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel. Zabel quit the Legislature in March, shortly after a lobbyist accused him of sexually harassing her,” the report continued.
Boyd, a former congressional and state legislative aide, represents a district that was previously held by Republicans but has recently shown strong support for Democratic candidates, the AP continued.
With her victory, Democrats now hold 102 seats, the minimum required to wield control over the agenda in the 203-member House. However, the state Senate still maintains a Republican majority.
The Democrats’ victory in the Delaware County district carries significant implications for first-term Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro.
With at least one chamber now supporting his agenda, Shapiro gains an advantage heading into the crucial final month of budget negotiations. Moreover, the outcome could impact a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to restrict abortion rights. Legislative Republicans are currently just one House floor vote away from putting the amendment to voters as a referendum.
The AP noted further:
Shapiro cut an ad focusing on the abortion issue for Boyd, who reported raising more than $1.3 million, including more than $1 million in in-kind advertising from the House Democrats’ campaign arm and the Democratic Party. Ford reported raising about $146,000, more than half of which came from the House Republicans’ campaign arm.
Boyd emphasized protection of abortion rights, drawing a contrast with Ford, who is personally against abortion but says she did not want to change existing state law. Republicans had hoped to regain the majority, in part, to advance the proposed constitutional amendment that says the Pennsylvania Constitution does not guarantee any rights relating to abortion or public funding of abortions.
Ford was critical of Boyd, who’s been a leading Democratic Party official in Delaware County, for allegedly failing to lodge a stronger reaction after learning about the allegations against Zabel. Boyd responded by saying she was respecting a request from the lobbyist for confidentiality regarding her claim that Zabel rubbed her leg while the two of them discussed a bill outside the Capitol in Harrisburg in 2018 and didn’t stop when she moved away, the AP noted.
“Common sense says that if someone comes to you and says that they’re being sexually harassed, you do something about it,” Ford said during a televised debate. “You don’t just let it go.”
The AP noted further: “Boyd responded that she did not endorse or support Zabel after hearing of the lobbyist’s account, and says she tried unsuccessfully to find someone to run against Zabel.”
Pennsylvania has been a key battleground state in the past and is expected to remain one during next year’s presidential election. That said, the state has been trending blue in recent years after then-GOP nominee Donald Trump won it in 2016 but lost it to Joe Biden in 2020. Also, Democrat John Fetterman managed to flip a U.S. Senate seat blue last fall after defeating Trump-backed Dr. Mehmet Oz last year after GOP Sen. Pat Toomey decided to retire.
“Republicans entered the 2022 election with a 113-90 advantage in the state House, but Democrats flipped a net of 12 seats in November, barely enough to claim majority status after 12 years and elect one of their own as speaker,” the AP reported. “In a second House special election on Tuesday, Republican Michael Stender kept the central Pennsylvania seat in his party’s hands.”
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