2020 Pennsylvania Senate election

The 2020 elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 3, 2020, with 25 of 50 districts being contested. Primary elections were held on June 2, 2020.[1] The term of office for those elected in 2020 began when the Senate convened in January 2021. Pennsylvania State Senators are elected for four-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every two years.[2] The election coincided with the 2020 United States presidential election, United States House of Representatives elections, and the entirety of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

2020 Pennsylvania Senate election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03) 2022 →

All odd-numbered seats in the Pennsylvania State Senate
26 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Joe Scarnati Jay Costa
Party Republican Democratic
Leader since January 2, 2007 (2007-01-02) January 4, 2011 (2011-01-04)
Leader's seat 25th 43rd
Last election 29 21
Seats before 28 21
Seats won 15 10
Seats after 28 21
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 1,636,593 1,580,922
Percentage 50.87% 49.13%

  Third party
 
Party Independent
Last election 0
Seats before 1
Seats won 0
Seats after 1
Seat change Steady

Results
     Democratic hold      Democratic gain
     Republican hold      Republican gain
     No election

President Pro Tempore before election

Joe Scarnati
Republican

President Pro Tempore

Jake Corman
Republican

Republicans had controlled the chamber since the 1994 election (26 years).

Special election

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48th senatorial district

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A special election for the 48th senatorial district was held on January 14 following Republican State Senator Mike Folmer's resignation after being arrested for possession of child pornography.[3] Democrats selected Lebanon Valley College associate professor Michael Schroeder as their nominee, while Republicans nominated Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold.[4]

Pennsylvania Senate, District 48 special election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David Arnold 18,234 68.70
Democratic Michael Schroeder 9,950 35.30
Total votes 28,184 100.00
Republican hold

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[5] Lean R October 21, 2020

General election overview

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Statewide results[6]
Affiliation Candidates Votes % Seats before Seats up Seats won Seats after
Republican 20 1,636,593 50.87 28 15 15 ( ) 28
Democratic 24 1,580,922 49.13 21 10 10 ( ) 21
Independent 0 0 0 1 0 0 ( ) 1
Total TBD 3,217,515 100 50 25 25 50
Popular vote for 25 Senate seats
Republican
50.87%
Democratic
49.13%
Percentage of 25 Senate seats won
Republican
60%
Democratic
40%

Close races

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Six district races had winning margins of less than 15%:

District Winner Margin
District 9 Democratic (flip) 3.9%
District 13 Republican 11.26%
District 15 Republican 3.46%
District 19 Democratic 14.90%
District 37 Republican (flip) 4.14%
District 45 Democratic 0.06%

Results by district

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District Party Incumbent Status Party Candidate Votes %
1 Democratic Larry Farnese Lost in primary Democratic Nikil Saval 121,855 100.00%
3 Democratic Sharif Street Unopposed Democratic Sharif Street 87,162 100.00%
5 Democratic John Sabatina Unopposed Democratic John Sabatina 67,365 100.00%
7 Democratic Vincent Hughes Unopposed Democratic Vincent Hughes 112,759 100.00%
9 Republican Tom Killion Defeated Democratic John I. Kane 80,083 51.95%
Republican Tom Killion 74,078 48.05%
11 Democratic Judy Schwank Re-elected Democratic Judy Schwank 64,011 58.61%
Republican Annette Baker 45,205 41.39%
13 Republican Scott Martin Re-elected Republican Scott Martin 73,046 55.63%
Democratic Janet Diaz 58,267 44.37%
15 Republican John DiSanto Re-elected Republican John DiSanto 70,041 51.73%
Democratic George Scott 65,366 48.27%
17 Democratic Daylin Leach Lost in primary Democratic Amanda Cappelletti 104,273 65.85%
Republican Ellen Fisher 54,066 34.15%
19 Democratic Andy Dinniman Retired[7] Democratic Carolyn Comitta 87,636 57.45%
Republican Kevin Runey 64,907 42.55%
21 Republican Scott Hutchinson Re-elected Republican Scott Hutchinson 96,811 70.93%
Democratic Shelbie Stromyer 39,677 29.07%
23 Republican Eugene Yaw Re-elected Republican Eugene Yaw 86,655 73.10%
Democratic Jaclyn Baker 31,888 26.90%
25 Republican Joe Scarnati Retired[8] Republican Cris Dush 88,688 74.43%
Democratic Margaret S. Brown 30,457 25.57%
27 Republican John Gordner Re-elected Republican John Gordner 83,166 72.28%
Democratic Michelle Siegel 31,891 27.72%
29 Republican Dave Argall Unopposed Republican Dave Argall 104,193 100.00%
31 Republican Mike Regan Re-elected Republican Mike Regan 94,459 60.48%
Democratic Shanna Danielson 61,714 39.52%
33 Republican Doug Mastriano Re-elected Republican Doug Mastriano 95,682 68.65%
Democratic Richard Sterner 43,678 31.35%
35 Republican Wayne Langerholc Re-elected Republican Wayne Langerholc 91,457 73.64%
Democratic Shaun Dougherty 32,742 26.36%
37 Democratic Pam Iovino Defeated Republican Devlin Robinson 91,092 52.07%
Democratic Pam Iovino 83,845 47.93%
39 Republican Kim Ward Re-elected Republican Kim Ward 91,938 67.65%
Democratic Tay Waltenbaugh 43,970 32.35%
41 Republican Joe Pittman Re-elected Republican Joe Pittman 91,754 72.83%
Democratic Anthony Deloreto 34,223 27.17%
43 Democratic Jay Costa Unopposed Democratic Jay Costa 117,255 100.00%
45 Democratic Jim Brewster Re-elected Democratic Jim Brewster 66,261 50.03%
Republican Nicole Ziccarelli 66,192 49.97%
47 Republican Elder Vogel Re-elected Republican Elder Vogel 87,423 66.50%
Democratic Stephen Krizan 44,051 33.50%
49 Republican Dan Laughlin Re-elected Republican Dan Laughlin 69,813 59.82%
Democratic Julie Slomski 46,900 40.18%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Center, Legislativate Data Processing. "Members of the Senate". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Nguyen, Tin (January 21, 2020). "Pennsylvania state senator Mike Folmer arrested for child pornography". WTAJ - www.wearecentralpa.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Cole, John (October 21, 2019). "SD48: Arnold, Schroeder Nominated in Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "October Overview: Handicapping the 2020 State Legislature Races". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  6. ^ "Pennsylvania Elections – Official Results". Pennsylvania Department of State. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ Fernandez, Cynthia (February 10, 2020). "Longtime Pennsylvania State Senator Andy Dinniman is retiring". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Micek, John (February 12, 2020). "Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati is not seeking re-election". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
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