Democrats look to build on election wins in Pa., elsewhere as GOP refocuses

Democrats racked up victories in high-profile races across the country Tuesday night, prompting many on the left to view the wins as a repudiation of President Donald Trump and something to build on going into next year’s pivotal midterm elections.

Some top Republicans downplayed the results, while others said Tuesday’s showing should serve as a wake-up call.

“What happened last night was blue states and blue cities voted blue,” U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during a news conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill. “We all saw that coming, and no one should read too much into last night’s election results.”

Democrats notched some big election wins in Pennsylvania — a state Trump carried by more than 120,000 votes a year ago.

On Tuesday, Pennsylvanians voted in favor of retaining three Democratic justices on the state Supreme Court, a Democratic Superior Court judge and a Democratic Commonwealth Court judge. All of them were retained with about 62% of the vote.

Democratic candidates also won contested races for Superior and Commonwealth courts.

Democrats also performed well down the ballot and in unexpected places.

In Allegheny County, candidates running only as Republicans earned victories in just 15 contested municipal races, the unofficial results showed.

And in Westmoreland County, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by a wide margin, the three Supreme Court justices were all retained with about 53% of the vote.

“It was tough sledding,” said Christopher Nicholas, a Republican political consultant in Harrisburg. “In wave elections, even candidates that don’t deserve to win get dragged across the finish line, and that’s what we saw last night.”

Since 1968, only one Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice has failed to be retained by popular vote.

Still, the Supreme Court races drew national attention and millions of dollars in campaign contributions because they presented a rare opportunity for Republicans to try to change the makeup of the state’s highest court, which has five Democratic justices and two Republicans.

Spending was on track to exceed $15 million, with the justices and their allies outspending Republicans by a wide margin after an early blitz by the GOP, the Associated Press reported.

“The outcomes shouldn’t be surprising, but the margins should be a little bit of a red flag,” said Vince Galko, a Republican strategist in Harrisburg.

“It just shows you how fickle things are — 365 days ago, we were celebrating one of the greatest days in the (Republican) party’s history. Now we’ve got to get back to work,” he added.

“I don’t think this election portends a lot for next year’s elections,” Nicholas said. “Some of our elections this year weren’t even elections — (judges seeking retention) were kind of running against themselves. Next year, you will have well-funded candidates on both sides.”

Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Greg Rothman said Republicans need to refocus.

“One year ago, our party was celebrating tremendous victories. Last night, the Republican Party sustained losses in Pennsylvania and across the nation. We knew this would be a tough election cycle, but if the choice is to fight or run, we will always choose to stand and fight,” Rothman said in a statement.

“We need to do a better job of communicating our core principles of freedom, security, prosperity and opportunity for all, and our vision for the future. Today is the first day of the 2026 campaign, and we are getting back to work,” Rothman added.

Mike Mikus, a Democratic strategist from suburban Pittsburgh, called Tuesday’s results “the biggest statement against a president that I’ve seen in a very, very long time.”

In addition to losses in Pennsylvania, he pointed to wins in races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, for mayor in New York City and for a redistricting measure in California that will favor Democrats.

In Georgia, a state Trump carried in 2024 and 2016, Democrats flipped two seats on the state’s Public Service Commission by defeating Republican incumbents. And in deep-red Mississippi, Democrats flipped two seats in the state Senate, breaking a GOP supermajority in that chamber, and gained another seat in the state House.

Pennsylvania Democratic Chairman Eugene DePasquale, of Pittsburgh’s Uptown, said Tuesday’s results were a “major step in building a Pennsylvania Democratic Party that can win back voters that have been left behind and who are ready to elect leaders who will work every day to get stuff done for them.”

Mikus agreed, adding: “People are upset over affordability issues, whether it’s utilities or costs at the grocery store or buying clothes or housing. If Democrats can focus on the bread-and-butter issues that everybody is affected by, they can be very successful. Democrats got away from that in 2024.”

In response to some Republicans downplaying Tuesday’s results, Mikus said, “For Republicans not to take last night seriously, they are more or less whistling past the graveyard.”