Democrat wins special state Senate election in Pennsylvania in major upset
Source: The Hill
Democrat James Malone has won an open Pennsylvania state Senate seat in a major upset in a district that comfortably voted for President Trump in November, Decision Desk HQ projects.
Malone, the mayor of East Petersburg, is projected to defeat Republican Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons to represent Senate District 36 for the remainder of former state Sen. Ryan Aument’s (R) term. Aument resigned from his office in December to become the state director for McCormick, who took office in January.
Parsons was considered likely to win in the conservative-leaning district, which President Trump carried in November with 57 percent of the vote and McCormick won with 56 percent. Aument had even been unopposed in his last election in 2022.
But Malone was able to overcome the odds, and the Democratic Party continued its strong performance in under-the-radar elections since Trump took office. Democrats notched another major upset in a strongly conservative Iowa state Senate district in January, also winning a county executive seat in New York, among other more low-key successes.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin celebrated Malone’s victory, calling it a “shockwave” to the system and the way Republicans have run the government.
“In a district that went to Trump by 15 in 2024 and has a 23-point Republican voter registration advantage, Malone’s victory is a loud and clear rebuke to Republicans’ threats to the programs Pennsylvania families rely on – from Social Security and Medicaid to our public schools,” Martin said.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5214236-democrat-james-malone-wins-pennsylvania-senate/
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During the 2022 election, Democrats were actually able to pick up a 2nd state House seat (associated with Lancaster city) and that helped us to flip the chamber to (D) for the first time in a dozen years. The redistricting certainly helped -
(2022 PA state House redistricting)
(2022 PA state Senate redistricting)
(Democrats picked up the PA-36 seat in Lancaster County)
I.e., there is a spillover from neighboring (to the east) Chester County, which itself has slowly gone from purple to light blue and is now helping to make Lancaster County pinkish (of course Lancaster County is still very rural). That trend may have really factored into the pick up of a state Senate seat there (and obviously proximity to Lancaster City).
And let me just add that the guy who is being replaced - Ryan Aument (who resigned to work with carpet-bagger McCormick) - was a nasty FUCKING LOON.
when one of my nieces had a HS graduation at Millersville University. At least that stretch (out Rt. 30) is still pretty rural.
The last time I was way west was driving back from a work conference about 30 years ago that was in Berkeley Springs, WV, where there was a little convoy of us from Philly/NJ/NY that hit I-70 to the PA Turnpike, and then headed east. Definitely very hilly and rural along the way!!!! Before that, I did the regional jet flights to Pittsburgh and back. 
(before one of my sisters had moved there and lived there for about 10 years before coming back to the Philly area) was taking a Greyhound bus from Cincinnati to Indianapolis. TALK ABOUT FLAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Just miles and miles of open corn fields. It was like "the movies".
Over McCormick who has voted with Trump 100% of the time? Or any of the PA Congressional Reps who have all voted with Trump at least 95% of the time? You have a warped sense of priorities.
Fetterman in his time in the Senate has not made one single vote that made the difference in Republican legislation being passed. Not one single time. But you go ahead an keep pretending that he is a bigger problem than all the Republicans in Congress. 
