As of 1:30 p.m. 99.84% of precincts (in-person ballots) are reporting. 2,518,569 mail-in ballots have been counted (95.71%) and there are 112,796 mail-in ballots that still need counted.. Counties may continue to accept ballots that are postmarked by November 3, 2020 and received by mail through today at 5:00 p.m.

The discussion below includes preliminary vote tallies and could change once the mail-in ballots are counted, which favor Democratic candidates. Official election results can be found on the Department of State website: https://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) has received 49.53% of the vote, while President Donald Trump (R) has received 49.33% of the vote.

All 18 congressional seats were on the ballot this year. It’s projected that Republicans won 9 seats, Democrats won 8 seats, and 1 seat is still too close to call. The undecided race is:

  • PA-17 (Allegheny, Beaver, Butler): Rep. Conor Lamb (D) vs. Sean Parnell (R)

The three statewide row office races were on the ballot.

  • Attorney General: Current Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) is projected to defeat his opponent Heather Heidelbaugh (R)
  • Auditor General: Tim DeFoor (R) is projected to defeat his opponent Nina Ahmad (D)
  • Treasurer: Stacy Garrity (R) has 49.11% of the vote, while current Treasurer Joe Torsella (D) has 47.51%

25 of the 50 state Senate seats (odd-numbered districts) were up for election this year. So far, Republicans are projected to win 14 races, Democrats 7 races, and 4 races are too close to call.

Of the 4 undecided races, 2 are held by a Republican and 2 by a Democrat.

  • SD-9 (Delaware): Sen. Tom Killion (R) vs. John Kane (D)
  • SD-11 (Berks): Sen. Judy Schwank (D) vs. Annette Baker (R)
  • SD-15 (Dauphin): Sen. John DiSanto (R) vs. George Scott (D)
  • SD-45 (Allegheny): Sen. Jim Brewster (D) vs. Nicole Ziccarelli (R)

All 203 state House members were up for election this year. As of now, Republicans are projected to win 103 seats, Democrats 73 seats, and 27 seats are too close to call.

Of the 27 undecided races, 16 are held by a Democrat, 7 by a Republican, and 4 are open seats.

  • HD-3 (Erie): Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D) vs. Greg Hayes (R)
  • HD-16 (Beaver): Rep. Robert Matzie (D) vs. Rico Elmore (R)
  • HD-18 (Bucks): Rep. Kathleen Tomlinson (R) vs. Harold Hayes (D)
  • HD-26 (Chester): Rep. Tim Hennessey (R) vs. Paul Friel Jr. (D)
  • HD-33 (Allegheny): Rep. Frank Dermody (D) vs. Carrie Delrosso (R)
  • HD-36 (Allegheny): Jessica Benham (D) vs. Adrian Doyle (R); retiring member: Rep. Harry Readshaw (D)
  • HD-45 (Allegheny): Rep. Anita Kulik (D) vs. Daniel Devito (R)
  • HD-48 (Washington): Rep. Tim O’Neal (R) vs. Harlan Shober Jr. (D)
  • HD-50 (Greene): Rep. Pam Snyder (D) vs. Larry Yost II (R)
  • HD-55 (Westmoreland): Rep. Joe Petrarca (D) vs. Jason Silvis (R)
  • HD-105 (Dauphin): Rep. Andrew Lewis (R) vs. Brittney Rodas (D)
  • HD-115 (Monroe): Rep. Maureen Madden (D) vs. Dulce Ridder (R)
  • HD-118 (Luzerne): Rep. Mike Carroll (D) vs. Andrew Holter (R)
  • HD-119 (Luzerne): Rep. Gerald Mullery (D) vs. John Chura (R)
  • HD-123 (Schuylkill): Peter Symons Jr. (D) vs. Timothy Twardzik (R); retiring member: Rep. Neal Goodman (D)
  • HD-127 (Berks): Manuel Guzman Jr. (D) vs. Vincent Gagliardo Jr. (R); retiring member: Rep. Tom Caltagirone (D)
  • HD-133 (Lehigh): Rep. Jeanne McNeill (D) vs. David Molony (R)
  • HD-140 (Bucks): Rep. John Galloway (D) vs. Jeanine McGree (R)
  • HD-142 (Bucks): Rep. Frank Farry (R) vs. Malinda Lareau (D)
  • HD-151 (Montgomery): Rep. Todd Stephens (R) vs. Jonathan Kassa (D)
  • HD-152 (Montgomery): Nancy Guenst (D) vs. Karen Houck (R); retiring member: Rep. Tom Murt (R)
  • HD-157 (Chester): Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D) vs. Bryan Walters (R)
  • HD-158 (Chester): Rep. Christina Sappey (D) vs. Eric Roe (R)
  • HD-162 (Delaware): Rep. David Delloso (D) vs. Peter Gaglio Jr. (R)
  • HD-165 (Delaware): Rep. Jennifer O’Mara (D) vs. Robert Smythe Jr. (R)
  • HD-167 (Chester): Rep. Kristine Howard (D) vs. Wendy Leland (R)
  • HD-168 (Delaware): Rep. Chris Quinn (R) vs. Debra Ciamacca (D)

The Week Ahead

Once all the excitement of the election has died down, we’ll be back to business in Harrisburg next week. As of now, both the House and Senate have only scheduled session for Tuesday. While likely intended for leadership elections, it’s hard to say now whether or not that will happen, given that votes are still being counted. 

As of now, the only committee meeting scheduled is a House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee informational meeting on the Regional Response Health Collaboration Program.

Any additional meetings can be found here:

House

Senate

Continuing with 2020’s theme of “things that never happen,” it’s likely we’ll see some additional session days scheduled during the sine die period (post-election through the end of the session, which ends on November 30). The Commonwealth has been operating with a “five-twelfths” budget since July 1, which only carries the state until the end of this month. The General Assembly still needs to develop and pass a state spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year. Additionally, there is the matter of appropriating and distributing federal CARES Act dollars, which must be done by November 30. As often happens in a typical budget season, while the main event is to figure out the state’s fiscal affairs, there’s the possibility other unrelated legislative matters being brought up for consideration.