The Opportunity

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 State 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, a seat that was decided by just 32 voters.

But just this past February, 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.

Protecting the current pro-democracy House majority that we helped elect could be crucial to upholding the integrity of the presidential election in 2024.

 

 

The Stakes

• In 2020, Pennsylvania was one of the states with a fraudulent slate of “alternate” electors that did not represent the will of voters as part of a plot to help Donald Trump steal the presidency through rightwing state legislative majorities.
• The state legislative majorities elected in the 2024 elections will determine Pennsylvania’s electors to the electoral college. A radical majority could follow the rightwing blueprint to a coup by ignoring what voters want and selecting electors for their choice of president.
• A majority of lawmakers committed to upholding the will of voters in selecting electors in just one of Pennsylvania’s state legislative chambers, could be the difference in safeguarding our democracy.
• Securing Pennsylvania’s narrow House majority is how we prevent 19 crucial electoral votes from being stolen in 2024.

The Landscape

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 purple districts.

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 1000.

In preparation for a tough race in 2024, we’re starting our work in the state earlier than ever to uphold this majority that could play a pivotal role in defending our democracy.

Special Election

In May, 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.

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.

• We worked with our in-state partners to support a full program in Pennsylvania, layering effective messages through tactics that reinforced each other as they met voters across a variety of platforms — candidate doorknocking, earned media, broadcast advertising including message testing.
• After every ballot was counted, we helped gain 12 new seats for a new majority in the Pennsylvania House.
  • Three House candidates won their tossup seats, outperforming both President Biden’s 2020 results, and two outperforming Senator-elect John Fetterman. They were all also top performers in The States Project’s Door Knocking Challenge!
• Our investment —and the momentum we had built in the state since 2020 — paid off with new governing power in the House.

• In The States Project’s first cycle in Pennsylvania, we helped hold the ground gained by the minority since 2016, with +5 seats in the State Senate and +8 in the State House.
• We helped gain a new House district which had been held by Republicans ever since it was created in 1969.
• We also helped to gain a new seat in the Senate.