The 2020 elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 3, 2020, with 25 of 50 districts being contested. Primary elections were held on June 2, 2020.[ 1] The term of office for those elected in 2020 began when the Senate convened in January 2021. Pennsylvania State Senators are elected for four-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every two years.[ 2] The election coincided with the 2020 United States presidential election , United States House of Representatives elections , and the entirety of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives .
Republicans had controlled the chamber since the 1994 election (26 years).
48th senatorial district [ edit ]
A special election for the 48th senatorial district was held on January 14 following Republican State Senator Mike Folmer 's resignation after being arrested for possession of child pornography .[ 3] Democrats selected Lebanon Valley College associate professor Michael Schroeder as their nominee, while Republicans nominated Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold .[ 4]
General election overview [ edit ]
Statewide results[ 6]
Affiliation
Candidates
Votes
%
Seats before
Seats up
Seats won
Seats after
Republican
20
1,636,593
50.87
28
15
15 ( )
28
Democratic
24
1,580,922
49.13
21
10
10 ( )
21
Independent
0
0
0
1
0
0 ( )
1
Total
TBD
3,217,515
100
50
25
25
50
Popular vote for 25 Senate seats
Republican
50.87%
Democratic
49.13%
Percentage of 25 Senate seats won
Republican
60%
Democratic
40%
Six district races had winning margins of less than 15%:
District
Winner
Margin
District 9
Democratic (flip)
3.9%
District 13
Republican
11.26%
District 15
Republican
3.46%
District 19
Democratic
14.90%
District 37
Republican (flip)
4.14%
District 45
Democratic
0.06%
Results by district [ edit ]
District
Party
Incumbent
Status
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
1
Democratic
Larry Farnese
Lost in primary
Democratic
Nikil Saval
121,855
100.00%
3
Democratic
Sharif Street
Unopposed
Democratic
Sharif Street
87,162
100.00%
5
Democratic
John Sabatina
Unopposed
Democratic
John Sabatina
67,365
100.00%
7
Democratic
Vincent Hughes
Unopposed
Democratic
Vincent Hughes
112,759
100.00%
9
Republican
Tom Killion
Defeated
Democratic
John I. Kane
80,083
51.95%
Republican
Tom Killion
74,078
48.05%
11
Democratic
Judy Schwank
Re-elected
Democratic
Judy Schwank
64,011
58.61%
Republican
Annette Baker
45,205
41.39%
13
Republican
Scott Martin
Re-elected
Republican
Scott Martin
73,046
55.63%
Democratic
Janet Diaz
58,267
44.37%
15
Republican
John DiSanto
Re-elected
Republican
John DiSanto
70,041
51.73%
Democratic
George Scott
65,366
48.27%
17
Democratic
Daylin Leach
Lost in primary
Democratic
Amanda Cappelletti
104,273
65.85%
Republican
Ellen Fisher
54,066
34.15%
19
Democratic
Andy Dinniman
Retired[ 7]
Democratic
Carolyn Comitta
87,636
57.45%
Republican
Kevin Runey
64,907
42.55%
21
Republican
Scott Hutchinson
Re-elected
Republican
Scott Hutchinson
96,811
70.93%
Democratic
Shelbie Stromyer
39,677
29.07%
23
Republican
Eugene Yaw
Re-elected
Republican
Eugene Yaw
86,655
73.10%
Democratic
Jaclyn Baker
31,888
26.90%
25
Republican
Joe Scarnati
Retired[ 8]
Republican
Cris Dush
88,688
74.43%
Democratic
Margaret S. Brown
30,457
25.57%
27
Republican
John Gordner
Re-elected
Republican
John Gordner
83,166
72.28%
Democratic
Michelle Siegel
31,891
27.72%
29
Republican
Dave Argall
Unopposed
Republican
Dave Argall
104,193
100.00%
31
Republican
Mike Regan
Re-elected
Republican
Mike Regan
94,459
60.48%
Democratic
Shanna Danielson
61,714
39.52%
33
Republican
Doug Mastriano
Re-elected
Republican
Doug Mastriano
95,682
68.65%
Democratic
Richard Sterner
43,678
31.35%
35
Republican
Wayne Langerholc
Re-elected
Republican
Wayne Langerholc
91,457
73.64%
Democratic
Shaun Dougherty
32,742
26.36%
37
Democratic
Pam Iovino
Defeated
Republican
Devlin Robinson
91,092
52.07%
Democratic
Pam Iovino
83,845
47.93%
39
Republican
Kim Ward
Re-elected
Republican
Kim Ward
91,938
67.65%
Democratic
Tay Waltenbaugh
43,970
32.35%
41
Republican
Joe Pittman
Re-elected
Republican
Joe Pittman
91,754
72.83%
Democratic
Anthony Deloreto
34,223
27.17%
43
Democratic
Jay Costa
Unopposed
Democratic
Jay Costa
117,255
100.00%
45
Democratic
Jim Brewster
Re-elected
Democratic
Jim Brewster
66,261
50.03%
Republican
Nicole Ziccarelli
66,192
49.97%
47
Republican
Elder Vogel
Re-elected
Republican
Elder Vogel
87,423
66.50%
Democratic
Stephen Krizan
44,051
33.50%
49
Republican
Dan Laughlin
Re-elected
Republican
Dan Laughlin
69,813
59.82%
Democratic
Julie Slomski
46,900
40.18%
^ "Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2020" . Ballotpedia . Retrieved October 9, 2019 .
^ Center, Legislativate Data Processing. "Members of the Senate" . The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly . Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
^ Nguyen, Tin (January 21, 2020). "Pennsylvania state senator Mike Folmer arrested for child pornography" . WTAJ - www.wearecentralpa.com . Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021 .
^ Cole, John (October 21, 2019). "SD48: Arnold, Schroeder Nominated in Special Election" . PoliticsPA . Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021 .
^ "October Overview: Handicapping the 2020 State Legislature Races" . The Cook Political Report . Retrieved November 1, 2020 .
^ "Pennsylvania Elections – Official Results" . Pennsylvania Department of State . Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021 .
^ Fernandez, Cynthia (February 10, 2020). "Longtime Pennsylvania State Senator Andy Dinniman is retiring" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021 .
^ Micek, John (February 12, 2020). "Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati is not seeking re-election" . Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved March 5, 2020 .
Electionreturns.pa.gov , Pennsylvania Department of State
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
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