In 2022, The States Project was by far the largest funder — 80 times the next largest supporter to candidates and caucuses — in the successful effort to shift the balance of power in the Pennsylvania House for the first time in 12 years. After flipping 12 districts, the new House majority was able to gain governing power by just one seat, which was decided by just 32 voters.
The new majority immediately made history by electing House Speaker Joanna McClinton to become the first woman to serve as Speaker in the House’s more than 300-year history.
In February 2023, the new House majority was in jeopardy with three vacancies in majority-held seats. The States Project helped to hold these seats, successfully defending the balance of power in three special elections. In May, this community rallied once again to help successfully win yet another special election, protecting the new House majority once again.
While the House has been able to advance critical policies in the legislature, because the rightwing controls the Senate, these policies were not enacted in the 2023 session.
In 2024 The States Project sees the opportunity to protect the current House majority, and work towards shifting the balance of power in the Senate by 2026. With just half the Senate seats up for election this year, our goal in the Senate is to flip three seats to achieve a tie in 2024, in order to win a majority in 2026. New power in the Senate would ensure that all Pennsylvanians could benefit from policies that defend democracy, protect their personal freedoms, and improve lives.
Even with a divided legislature, Speaker McClinton and the House majority worked to deliver impactful results, including these policies which were signed into law in 2023:
Pennsylvania House lawmakers have also passed these policies but have not been able to get them through the rightwing Senate majority.
Ultimately, the rightwing-controlled Senate blocked these policies — and more — from becoming law. If we are able to flip three additional seats with new governing power in the chamber unlocked, policies like these would have a better chance of being enacted.
Our work to flip the Pennsylvania House started in 2021 — before a single line on new maps was drawn — with a Giving Circles-fueled deep canvassing of the areas most likely to become potential tipping point seats
Even with this early start and sustained effort and investment in building a House majority, two races were decided by fewer than 100 votes — three others by fewer than 1,000.
In preparation for a high-stakes state legislative election in 2024, we’ve already started our work in both chambers to fuel majorities that will prioritize meeting the needs of the people they are elected to serve.
Holding the House and tying the Senate would create the potential for a new trifecta in 2026.
In May of 2023, there was a special election for HD-163, which would determine if Pennsylvania would continue to have a House majority committed to safeguarding democracy, protecting personal freedoms, and improving lives. Because we knew that losing this one seat would shift power in the chamber back to the rightwing, we invested to protect this seat. We’re proud to say we helped power a victory that secured the Pennsylvania House majority.
Power our ability to select and invest in majority-making districts that can help build and defend governing power for state lawmakers committed to safeguarding our democracy, protecting personal freedoms, and improving lives across the country.
In 2022, The States Project bet big in Pennsylvania — investing 80 times more than the next largest contributor to caucuses and candidates in the Pennsylvania House. All of the State House seats were up for election in 2022, and with fairer maps after redistricting, The States Project’s electoral work focused on ending rightwing control of the Pennsylvania legislature.
We helped to flip the Pennsylvania House, netting the 12 seats we needed for a new House majority for the first time since 2010.