After crushing defeats last year for Pennsylvania Democrats that saw Republicans win every statewide election and pick up two congressional seats, the party is celebrating a successful batch of off-year elections.

The highlight of the Democrats’ night was the successful retention elections of three state Supreme Court justices who were originally elected in 2015.

Justices Kevin Dougherty and Devid Wecht won additional ten-year terms on the bench. Justice Christina Donhue also won an additional term but will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2027, requiring an open election to fill her seat.

Around 60% of voters voted “yes” to keep the justices in office, leaving the 5-2 Democratic majority on the Supreme Court intact.

Off-year retention elections are typically a sleepy affair with little campaigning or media focus, but this year proved to be an exception.

Pennsylvania Republicans sought to build on their 2024 gains by telling voters to “Vote No.” Voting no would have removed the justices from office and set open partisan elections in motion for 2027 where Republicans would have the chance to elect their candidates to the court. Republicans tried to invigorate their base to oust the justices but were sullied by massive ad buys from Democrats and allied groups who outspent the “Vote No” effort by a 4-1 margin.

Two statewide lower court judges were also retained—Judge Alice Dubow of the Superior Court and Judge Michael Wojcik of the Commonwealth Court.

Democratic candidates for open seats on the Superior and Commonwealth Courts also won. For Superior Court, Democrat Brandon Neuman defeated the Republican candidate Maria Batista with 55% of the vote. Democrat Stella Tsai defeated Republican Matthew Wolford for a seat on the Commonwealth Court by a similar margin.

Democrats’ electoral success has been termed a “blue wave” that coincided with gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia that also saw Democrats prevail by significant margins.

If the results of the retention elections are viewed as partisan choices this year, then Democrats have produced gains in areas that were won by President Donald Trump and Republicans in 2024.

Many Pennsylvania counties also saw higher than normal turnout for elections that are usually ignored by most voters. The support for statewide candidates also appears to have buoyed Democrats running in local elections. In Luzerne County, a swing county that has started leaning Republican, Democrats flipped control of the county council and defeated the Republican county controller. Across the state in Erie County—another bellwether county in most statewide elections—the Democratic candidate for county executive defeated the Republican incumbent that won in 2021 with 51% of the vote. This year he lost with 37%. Similar Democratic landslides also were seen in executive elections in Northampton and Lehigh Counties.

Democrats also won big by sweeping several contested school board elections in the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia. 

National politics surrounding the Trump administration are also being credited with energizing Democrats to go out a vote against Republicans this year. In Bucks County the national political landscape was most evident in the race for county sheriff. A “purple county” that went for Trump in 2024, Bucks County this year saw concerns over the president’s strict immigration enforcement imbed itself into local politics.

The incumbent sheriff sparked controversy when he announced that his office would partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His Democratic opponent, who has pledged to end the agreement, defeated him by 12 points.

Democrats also won every row office on the ballot, including district attorney, the first Democratic win for that office since 1891.

After dismal results last year, Democrats are hoping that successes in typically sleepy off-year elections bode well for the party in next year’s midterms.

On defense, Democrats are hoping to see Gov. Josh Shapiro reelected to a second term. Republicans have currently coalesced around two-term Treasurer Stacy Garrity to unseat the unusually popular governor. Offensively, Pennsylvania Democrats are targeting four potentially vulnerable Republican congressmen whose districts include many of the areas where Democrats saw success locally.

What will determine the outcomes of these elections depends on Democrats maintaining these margins or if these elections end up being a one-off and Republicans regain their footing.