Elections in Pennsylvania
| Elections in Pennsylvania |
|---|
 |
 Government |
Elections in Pennsylvania elect the five state-level offices, the Pennsylvania General Assembly, including the senate and house of representatives, as well as the state's congressional delegation for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Presidential elections are held every four years in Pennsylvania. The state is one of the most competitive nationally, with narrow victories that alternate between the parties across all major offices. On the presidential level, the state has been considered a swing state throughout its entire history as it only voted for the nationwide loser on only 10 occasions (1824, 1884, 1892, 1912, 1916, 1932, 1948, 1968, 2000, and 2004). Meaning it has voted for the national winner 83% of the time, as of 2020.
In a 2020 study, Pennsylvania was ranked by the Election Law Journal as the 19th hardest state for citizens to vote in, based on registration and identification requirements, and convenience provisions.[1]
House of Representatives
[edit]Pennsylvania's congressional delegation is composed of nine Democrats and eight Republicans, since the 2022 elections.
The five most recent House elections:
- 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania
- 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania
- 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania
- 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania
- 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania
Presidential elections
[edit]Below is a table of the last eleven presidential elections in Pennsylvania, as well as national electoral college results. On the presidential level, the state has been considered a swing state throughout its entire history as it only voted for the nationwide loser on only 10 occasions (1824, 1884, 1892, 1912, 1916, 1932, 1948, 1968, 2000, and 2004). Meaning it has voted for the national winner 83% of the time, as of 2020. However, since the 1992 election, the state has leaned Democratic, voting that way in seven of the eight elections since then, although mostly by margins under 10 points.
| Vote in Pennsylvania | National vote | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidate | Year | Candidate |
| 1980 | Ronald Reagan | 1980 | Ronald Reagan |
| 1984 | Ronald Reagan | 1984 | Ronald Reagan |
| 1988 | George H. W. Bush | 1988 | George H. W. Bush |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton | 1992 | Bill Clinton |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton | 1996 | Bill Clinton |
| 2000 | Al Gore | 2000 | George W. Bush |
| 2004 | John Kerry | 2004 | George W. Bush |
| 2008 | Barack Obama | 2008 | Barack Obama |
| 2012 | Barack Obama | 2012 | Barack Obama |
| 2016 | Donald Trump | 2016 | Donald Trump |
| 2020 | Joe Biden | 2020 | Joe Biden |
| 2024 | Donald Trump | 2024 | Donald Trump |
United States Senate elections
[edit]Class I Senate elections
[edit]The five most recent elections:
- 2018 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 2012 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 2006 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 1994 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
Class III Senate elections
[edit]The five most recent elections:
- 2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 2016 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 2004 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
- 1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
Senator Bob Casey Jr. (serving since 2007) is the first Democrat to be popularly elected as a senator by Pennsylvania voters to more than two terms. Democratic senator John Fetterman entered office in January 2023, succeeding Republican Pat Toomey who retired after two terms.
Gubernatorial elections
[edit]| Year | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 48.3% 1,710,355 | 50.7% 1,796,119 |
| 1954 | 53.7% 1,996,266 | 46.2% 1,717,070 |
| 1958 | 50.8% 2,024,852 | 48.9% 1,948,769 |
| 1962 | 44.3% 1,938,627 | 55.3% 2,424,918 |
| 1966 | 46.1% 1,868,719 | 52.1% 2,110,349 |
| 1970 | 55.2% 2,043,029 | 41.7% 1,542,854 |
| 1974 | 53.7% 1,878,252 | 45.1% 1,578,917 |
| 1978 | 46.4% 1,737,888 | 52.5% 1,996,042 |
| 1982 | 48.1% 1,772,353 | 50.8% 1,872,784 |
| 1986 | 50.4% 1,717,484 | 48.4% 1,638,268 |
| 1990 | 67.7% 2,065,244 | 32.4% 987,516 |
| 1994 | 39.9% 1,430,099 | 45.4% 1,627,976 |
| 1998 | 31.0% 938,745 | 57.4% 1,736,844 |
| 2002 | 53.4% 1,913,235 | 44.4% 1,589,408 |
| 2006 | 60.3% 2,470,517 | 39.6% 1,622,135 |
| 2010 | 45.5% 1,814,788 | 54.5% 2,172,763 |
| 2014 | 54.9% 1,920,355 | 45.1% 1,575,511 |
| 2018 | 57.8% 2,850,210 | 40.7% 2,015,266 |
| 2022 | 56.5% 3,031,137 | 41.7% 2,238,477 |
The ten most recent elections:
- 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 2018 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 2014 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 2010 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 2006 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 2002 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 1994 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 1990 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
- 1986 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
Democrats and Republicans have alternated in the governorship of Pennsylvania every eight years from 1950 to 2010.[3] This has been referred to as "the cycle",[4][5] but it was broken with a Democratic Party win in 2014. Pennsylvania has also voted against the party of the sitting president in 19 of the last 21 gubernatorial contests dating back to 1938; Democrats lost 16 of the previous 18 Pennsylvania gubernatorial races with a Democratic president in the White House, a pattern begun in 1860.[6]
Pennsylvania General Assembly elections
[edit]The Pennsylvania General Assembly is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Pennsylvania State Senate (the upper house) and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (lower house). Members of the state house serve for 2 year terms, while the term for the state senate is 4 years. There are no limits on the amount of terms that members of the state legislature can serve. Republicans controlled the state House for all but four years from 1995 until 2023, and they have controlled the state Senate uninterrupted since 1993.
Senate
[edit]The five most recent elections:
- 2022 Pennsylvania Senate election
- 2020 Pennsylvania Senate election
- 2018 Pennsylvania Senate election
- 2016 Pennsylvania Senate election
- 2014 Pennsylvania Senate election
House of Representatives
[edit]The five most recent elections:
- 2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election
- 2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election
- 2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election
- 2016 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election
- 2014 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election
See also
[edit]- Electoral reform in Pennsylvania
- Political party strength in Pennsylvania
- Politics of Pennsylvania
- 2024 Pennsylvania elections
- Women's suffrage in Pennsylvania
References
[edit]- ^ Schraufnagel, Scot; Pomante II, Michael J.; Li, Quan (15 Dec 2020). "Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020". Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy. 19 (4): 503–509. doi:10.1089/elj.2020.0666. S2CID 225139517. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ Leip, David. "General Election Results – Pennsylvania". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ Barone, Michael (2014). The Almanac of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 1398. ISBN 9780226105444.
- ^ Madonna, Terry. "The Eight-Year Cycle - Believe It!". Franklin & Marshall College. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ Baer, John M. (2012). On the Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics. Charleston: The History Press. p. 71. ISBN 9781609497156.
- ^ Ostermeier, Eric (August 26, 2013). "Pennsylvania Democrats Hope to Reverse History in 2014 Gubernatorial Race". Smart Politics.
External links
[edit]- Voting and Elections at the Pennsylvania Department of State official website
- Pennsylvania at Ballotpedia
- Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Pennsylvania", Voting & Elections Toolkits
- "Pennsylvania: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
- "League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
- National Institute on Money in Politics; Campaign Finance Institute, "Pennsylvania 2019 & 2020 Elections", OpenSecrets. (Also: 1995 & 1996, 1997 & 1998, 1999 & 2000, 2001 & 2002, 2003 & 2004, 2005 & 2006, 2007 & 2008, 2009 & 2010, 2011 & 2012, 2013 & 2014, 2015 & 2016, 2017 & 2018).
- Digital Public Library of America. Assorted materials related to Pennsylvania elections
- "Pennsylvania", A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825, Massachusetts: American Antiquarian Society and Tufts Archival Research Center
- "State Elections Legislation Database", Ncsl.org, Washington, D.C.: National Conference of State Legislatures,
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020
