Congressional races dominate the headlines, but more than 6,100 state legislative seats are also on the ballot in just over a week, and Democrats see openings to shift power in several statehouses. Pennsylvania, where control of the legislature is split, is one of their top targets, NPR reported.
Nationally, Republicans hold both chambers in 28 states, Democrats control 18 legislatures and a few, including Pennsylvania's, are divided. John Kennedy, a political science professor at Westchester University, told member station WHYY that the GOP's advantage traces back to its sweep of statehouses in the 2010 midterms, which gave Republicans the power to lock in their gains through redistricting. State governments, he argued, shape everyday life more than Washington does.
What's at stake in Pennsylvania
Democrats have not controlled Pennsylvania's legislature in more than 30 years. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat seeking reelection, has said what a Democratic majority would mean. "We're going to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the commonwealth," he said, adding that Democrats would build more affordable housing and take on utility companies over rising rates.
His Republican challenger, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, argues Shapiro has used the divided legislature as an excuse and that real leadership means bringing leaders to the table to negotiate. Some Republicans told WHYY they hope that even if Garrity loses, she will run strong enough to protect their candidates further down the ballot.
Those down-ballot races are drawing big money but little attention. In one hotly contested state Senate district in Bucks County, spending has topped $7 million, much of it on attack ads over data centers. It is one of perhaps four toss-up districts, three of them in the Philadelphia suburbs. Yet an independent voter there told WHYY he did not know the candidates, and others said they would simply vote along party lines.
A wider push
Beyond Pennsylvania, Democrats are spending heavily to flip chambers in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona and New Hampshire, NPR reported. In North Carolina and Kansas, the goal is to break Republican supermajorities that let lawmakers override Democratic governors' vetoes.
The national Republican group focused on legislative races did not respond to WHYY but has highlighted democratic socialists running in some states and has acknowledged it is mostly on defense this year. For voters, the stakes are concrete: state legislatures write most of the rules on education, taxes, reproductive rights, crime and social media access.
Reporting sources: NPR Topics: Politics, “Democrats see an opportunity to tilt Pennsylvania's state legislature their way”.