Democrats soared to victory in races across Pennsylvania and across the nation on Election Day, with NBC News calling the results a “rout.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro led the way for his fellow Democrats on Tuesday, overwhelmingly defeating his Republican challenger, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, within minutes of polls closing. In the eyes of many political observers, a Shapiro win was expected, given his broad popularity throughout the commonwealth.

What was less certain is whether his party would regain control of the state Senate. Republicans have controlled the Senate since 1993, and going into Election Day, it seemed like a tall task for Democrats to flip the chamber blue. However, the party ended up flipping four Republican held seats, taking the majority.

Flipping the state Senate gives Democrats full control of Harrisburg, as they are also projected to also hold control of the state House of Representatives. With the state House and state Senate on his side, Shapiro would have a much easier time passing his legislative priorities. In his first four years of office, Republicans in the state Senate blocked much of his agenda, which forced cooperation and compromise among the parties. Now, the need for compromise is greatly reduced.

Shapiro has said that with a Democratic trifecta of control, he intends to increase the state minimum wage to $15 an hour, invest in mass public transit, codifying the right to abortion in the state constitution and more.

Despite the Democratic victories, the districts representing Elizabethtown were won by Republicans. In the state Senate’s 36th district, Republican Tom Jones defeated incumbent Democrat state Sen. James Malone, the sole GOP pickup. In the state House’s 98th district, Republican Nicky Woods defeated Democrat Hugh Darlington and Independent Josh Deering.

The same is true for the U.S. House. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, who represents Lancaster County, including Elizabethtown, won reelection against Democrat Nancy Mannion. The Democratic domination continued in other federal House districts, however.

There were four U.S. House districts in particular that Democrats were targeting in 2026. They won all four. 

In Bucks County, Bob Harvie defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who by most accounts is the most moderate member of Congress from the most moderate district in the nation. Democrats tried for years to defeat Fitzpatrick, and failed election after election until 2026.

In Northeast PA and the Lehigh Valley, first-term Republicans Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie were defeated by Paige Cognetti and Bob Brooks, respectively. Both Bresnahan and Mackenzie ousted tenured Democratic incumbents in 2024, and Democrats invested a great deal of time and money in defeating them in the next election cycle.

Finally, Democrat Janelle Stelson prevailed over Republican firebrand Rep. Scott Perry in a district covering parts of Dauphin, Cumberland and York counties. Each of those wins was a flipped seat, meaning with those four races, Democrats gained seats in the House. Going into the night, Democrats only needed to gain three seats to take back control of the House. They have gained far more than that, with NBC News projecting they will end up with more than 250 seats. In the 435-seat House, this would constitute a more than 80-seat majority.

Every other incumbent Representative, Democrats and Republicans, won reelection in Pennsylvania, with the exception of Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, where Democrat Chris Rabb won the open seat to replace the retiring Rep. Dwight Evans. Neither of Pennsylvania’s senators were up for reelection this year.

Outside of a Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg and four flipped U.S. House seats, Democrats nationwide are celebrating taking back control of the U.S. House and Senate. Dozens of incumbent Republicans lost reelection bids, most notably Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Roger Marshall (Kansas) and Darline Graham (South Carolina). Democrats also secured upset wins in Texas and Iowa, both heavily Republican states, and were much more competitive than expected in other red-leaning states like Florida and Louisiana.