Pennsylvania, a perpetual swing state, is home to two of the most closely watched races in the country’s midterm elections.
The contest to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf pits GOP state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his election loss, against second-term state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who played a prominent role in fighting Trump’s litigation over the 2020 contest.
In the U.S. Senate, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is retiring after two terms. In the close contest to replace him, television celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz is running against Wolf’s lieutenant governor, Democrat John Fetterman.
The state’s congressional delegation, which has been evenly divided in recent years, lost a seat because of redistricting. The most competitive races for the U.S. House are for seats in Scranton and Allentown, where incumbent Democratic Reps. Matt Cartwright and Susan Wild are in rematches with Republican opponents who came close to beating them two years ago, and in suburban Pittsburgh, where an open seat consists in great part of the remnants of the district held by retiring Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat.
Redistricting also made wholesale changes to the district maps in the state Legislature, where Republicans are hoping their solid majorities in both chambers will survive and keep them in control of the legislative branch.
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