The results of the Pennsylvania state special election are here: the 21st State House District will continue to be controlled by Democrats, as Lindsay Powell has won the seat. This victory is vital to the Democratic Party, not to mention the implications it has for first-term Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro and his agenda.
Lindsay Powell wins Pennsylvania district, keeping Democrats' control in state House https://t.co/9RheA49WhL
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) September 20, 2023
Powell, director of workforce strategies at the nonprofit InnovatePGH, was up against Republican Erin Connolly Autenreith in this election. Autenreith is a real estate agent and chair of the Shaler Township Republican Committee.
The seat was expected to go to Democrats since President Biden won by 20 points in 2020 and former state Rep. Sara Innamorato (D) won 64% of the vote last November.
However, due to Republicans having control of the state Senate while Democrats were only controlling one house (the state House), it was critical that Powell’s party win this election if they wanted to maintain control of both Houses.
By winning this special election, Democrats have restored their control over the lower chamber with a 102-101 margin.
Heather Williams, interim president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), expressed her joy with this victory – “Voters rejected Pennsylvania Republicans’ radical policies…once again!”
Democrats celebrated Powell’s victory as it will give them an advantage when it comes to budget negotiations and could possibly impact a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to restrict abortion rights – something which Ford was adamantly against during her campaign trail, whereas Boyd emphasized protection of abortion rights instead.
Furthermore, Governor Josh Shapiro cut an ad focusing on abortion rights for Boyd and he received more than $1 million worth in-kind advertising from both House Democrats’ campaign arm and Democratic Party – something that helped Boyd win despite Ford raising almost $150K from House Republicans’ campaign arm alone.
With at least one chamber now supporting his agenda, Governor Josh Shapiro gains an advantage heading into upcoming budget negotiations – something which could possibly even affect current laws.
