Leader Joanna McClinton and the PA House Democratic leadership hold a press conference following the November 2022 elections.
ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Many predicted that November 8th, 2022 would be a bloodbath for Democrats. Emboldened by expectations of major impending gains, Republicans continued embracing extremist rhetoric from conspiracy theories and out-of-touch policy proposals from radical candidates. The Republican Party treated this midterm election as a foregone conclusion, and the question often repeated by pundits was, “just how many seats will Republicans win?”
Even with these reassurances of an almost certain victory, high-profile Republicans continued to promote and perpetuate the same conspiracy theories about 2022 as they had in 2020. The Republican Party began priming its base once again to believe completely unfounded and unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud that would undermine our electoral process. At this rate, the only way Republicans could accept the results was as if they had won. Otherwise, it was another fraudulent election conducted by Democrats, despite the bevy of evidence to the contrary and the not-so-stunning lack of evidence to support it.
Even in the face of all this, Republicans did not see a way they could lose.
However, as the results trickled in, it became apparent that the foregone conclusion of a landslide “red wave” was anything but. Voters saw through the conspiracies of Republicans and voted for stability, sanity, and safety. For the first time since 1934 — FDR’s first term — every incumbent senator from the president’s party secured reelection.
And Pennsylvania was no different.
Pennsylvania voters elected Attorney General Josh Shapiro to serve as our next governor in landslide fashion, and John Fetterman was comfortably elected to be our next U.S. Senator. Still, these resounding victories statewide should not overshadow the historic victories in the General Assembly. In particular, Pennsylvania Democrats secured historic wins on the way to taking the majority in the state House by one seat.
Democrats securing the majority in the state House represents a monumental moment for the Commonwealth for a number of reasons. Until now, Pennsylvania Democrats have been locked out of the House majority for over a decade. Republican gerrymandering effectively made it impossible for Democrats to pick up enough seats to win control of the chamber, even in years where more voters statewide cast ballots for Democratic House candidates. Now, with newly-drawn maps that accurately represent the people of Pennsylvania, Democrats were able to secure a majority as the voters spoke through the ballot box. This newly-elected majority will give Democrats the leverage to put forth an agenda that bolsters our economy, fights political extremism, empowers workers, and protects the rights of all Pennsylvanians, no matter who they are, where they come from, who they love, or what they look like.
This Democratic majority represents another pivotal moment in our Commonwealth’s history, namely in terms of its diversity. The state House is poised to eventually elect Rep. Joanna McClinton as Speaker of the House. Speaker McClinton will not only be the first Black woman, but the first woman ever to serve as Speaker of the House in Pennsylvania.
The election of the first Black woman to the Pennsylvania Speakership is emblematic of the demographics of the incoming class of House members. In 2022, Pennsylvania voters elected the most demographically representative House in the history of the Commonwealth.
The House Republican leaders are not making the transition to the new majority easy, as they delay, obfuscate, and throw temper tantrums on the way to minority status, but the result of the November elections is clear. The voters of Pennsylvania have elected a people-first, truly representative majority under the leadership of Speaker Joanna McClinton. They rejected extremist ideology and voted in favor of a brighter path forward for Pennsylvania.
Angela Valvano is the Executive Director of Better PA.
Even with these reassurances of an almost certain victory, high-profile Republicans continued to promote and perpetuate the same conspiracy theories about 2022 as they had in 2020. The Republican Party began priming its base once again to believe completely unfounded and unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud that would undermine our electoral process. At this rate, the only way Republicans could accept the results was as if they had won. Otherwise, it was another fraudulent election conducted by Democrats, despite the bevy of evidence to the contrary and the not-so-stunning lack of evidence to support it.
Even in the face of all this, Republicans did not see a way they could lose.
However, as the results trickled in, it became apparent that the foregone conclusion of a landslide “red wave” was anything but. Voters saw through the conspiracies of Republicans and voted for stability, sanity, and safety. For the first time since 1934 — FDR’s first term — every incumbent senator from the president’s party secured reelection.
And Pennsylvania was no different.
Pennsylvania voters elected Attorney General Josh Shapiro to serve as our next governor in landslide fashion, and John Fetterman was comfortably elected to be our next U.S. Senator. Still, these resounding victories statewide should not overshadow the historic victories in the General Assembly. In particular, Pennsylvania Democrats secured historic wins on the way to taking the majority in the state House by one seat.
Democrats securing the majority in the state House represents a monumental moment for the Commonwealth for a number of reasons. Until now, Pennsylvania Democrats have been locked out of the House majority for over a decade. Republican gerrymandering effectively made it impossible for Democrats to pick up enough seats to win control of the chamber, even in years where more voters statewide cast ballots for Democratic House candidates. Now, with newly-drawn maps that accurately represent the people of Pennsylvania, Democrats were able to secure a majority as the voters spoke through the ballot box. This newly-elected majority will give Democrats the leverage to put forth an agenda that bolsters our economy, fights political extremism, empowers workers, and protects the rights of all Pennsylvanians, no matter who they are, where they come from, who they love, or what they look like.
This Democratic majority represents another pivotal moment in our Commonwealth’s history, namely in terms of its diversity. The state House is poised to eventually elect Rep. Joanna McClinton as Speaker of the House. Speaker McClinton will not only be the first Black woman, but the first woman ever to serve as Speaker of the House in Pennsylvania.
The election of the first Black woman to the Pennsylvania Speakership is emblematic of the demographics of the incoming class of House members. In 2022, Pennsylvania voters elected the most demographically representative House in the history of the Commonwealth.
The House Republican leaders are not making the transition to the new majority easy, as they delay, obfuscate, and throw temper tantrums on the way to minority status, but the result of the November elections is clear. The voters of Pennsylvania have elected a people-first, truly representative majority under the leadership of Speaker Joanna McClinton. They rejected extremist ideology and voted in favor of a brighter path forward for Pennsylvania.
Angela Valvano is the Executive Director of Better PA.