Democrats seize control of both Pennsylvania legislative chambers
Gov. Josh Shapiro holds a new trifecta as voters reject President Trump nationwide in what experts call a historic midterm shift.
By Harper Collins ·
Democrats took control of both chambers of the Pennsylvania state legislature on Tuesday, securing their first trifecta in the state since 1993. Governor Josh Shapiro easily won reelection, completing a sweep that political scientists are describing as a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump. The results mark a departure from typical midterm patterns, where the president’s party usually loses ground but rarely by such wide margins.
Daniel Hopkins, a political science professor, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the election was unlike any seen in more than 50 years. He noted that the shift was not limited to traditional Democratic strongholds. In Kansas, voters chose a Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1932. In South Carolina, Annie Andrews defeated the Republican candidate in a state that Trump had carried by 18 percentage points in 2024. In Iowa, Josh Turek unseated incumbent Ashley Hinson. In Texas, James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton by 12 percentage points.
Hopkins said nearly every demographic group moved left compared to the 2024 presidential race. This included Latino voters and younger men, groups that had favored Trump just two years earlier. He attributed the backlash to immigration enforcement, the war in Iran, and rising living costs. Diana Mutz, a professor of political science and communication, warned against isolating a single cause. She said the election reflected more than economic distress, citing declines in Trump’s standing related to trade and foreign policy.
Melissa Lee, another political science professor, argued that voters were reacting to poor economic conditions. She stated that Trump had broken his central campaign promise by raising tariffs and starting a war of choice against Iran. Lee wrote that voters voiced their displeasure at the ballot box. While experts debated the drivers, they agreed the results signaled a broad rejection of the current administration.
Progressive candidates also won attention on election night. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, won Michigan’s U.S. Senate race by seven percentage points. In New York, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez won their respective U.S. House races after surviving contested primaries. In Philadelphia, Chris Rabb, a self-described democratic socialist, won the seat for Penn and University City. Parrish Bergquist, an assistant professor of political science, noted that this widening ideological range could make it harder for Democrats to pass laws.
Turnout at the University of Pennsylvania increased by nearly 40 percent from the 2022 midterm cycle, with over 3,000 ballots cast across four on-campus locations. Shapiro received 94.7 percent of those votes, well above the 81.6 percent that Kamala Harris drew at the campus two years earlier. Bergquist said the heightened engagement likely stemmed from anxiety among young voters facing a difficult job market and increased scrutiny of universities by the Trump administration.
The new trifecta positions Shapiro as a strong contender for a 2028 presidential run. David Eisenhower, a lecturer at the Annenberg School for Communication, said the control of the governor’s office and legislature elevates Shapiro into a solid national prospect. He noted that while senators like Talarico and Jon Ossoff of Georgia would have national visibility, governors hold power on a different order. Hopkins cautioned that Shapiro would still need to build a national constituency in what he predicts will be a crowded primary field.
