Pennsylvania primary elections 2018: Democrats eye key House pickups

Two days ago, John Fetterman was the mayor of a 2,000-person western Pennsylvania Rust Belt town, running in a hotly contested primary for statewide office. Today he’s the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

Fetterman, 48, is unmistakable: 6-foot-8, with a goatee and tattoos. And he dealt incumbent Democrat Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, an established name in Pennsylvania Democratic Party politics, a major upset Tuesday night. He also happens to have the backing of Bernie Sanders.

Pennsylvania’s all-male congressional delegation will likely soon be no more: After Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary elections, multiple women are likely to win their House races in November. The state’s recent redistricting has made its congressional map fairer and, in turn, leveled the playing field for women, who are likelier to run as Democrats.

Three Democratic women won their primaries in districts that Hillary Clinton won by big margins — and a fourth woman is running in a district Clinton won by 1 point for an open seat in a year that’s shaping up to be favorable to Democrats. But that’s not all: Three more women won in districts that Donald Trump won, but given that Democrats captured a seat earlier this year that Trump won by 20 points, things could look very good for women’s representation in the Pennsylvania delegation next year.

George Scott eked out a victory in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District Democratic primary election on Tuesday after making an attention-grabbing ad that featured him touting his military record and gun knowhow — and then tossing an assault rifle into a fire.

Scott, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Lutheran pastor, narrowly defeated Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson and two other contenders for the Democratic nomination to face off against incumbent Republican Rep. Scott Perry, an Iraq War veteran, in November.

Pennsylvania is a tremendously important state for Democrats in their quest to retake the House of Representatives — it may have more competitive races than any other single state except California.

So Democrats’ selection of their slate of House nominees in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primaries — with a new congressional map to replace the old gerrymandered one — was hugely consequential.

Tuesday’s primaries featured the crucial state of Pennsylvania plus a smattering of contests in the not-so-crucial states of Nebraska, Idaho, and Oregon.

The realities of a complex array of races with their own local dynamics defy the construction of pat narratives. Left-wing Democrats won some races and lost others, while in other cases, former insurgents have not been entirely embraced (or co-opted) by the establishment.

Four states chose their nominees for key midterm election races Tuesday: Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Idaho, and Oregon.

The stakes were by far the highest for national Democrats in Pennsylvania, where some of their best House pickup opportunities in the country will be on the ballot this fall, along with a US Senate seat and a governorship they’ll have to defend.

Republican state Sen. Scott Wagner, the party establishment’s pick, prevailed in the Pennsylvania GOP governor primary election on Tuesday, and he will now face Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in one of 2018’s most important gubernatorial races.

Wagner bested attorney Laura Ellsworth and former paratrooper Paul Mango in the Republican primary. He had earned the support of most top Republicans in the state during the campaign.

Rep. Lou Barletta won the Republican primary in the 2018 Pennsylvania Senate race on Tuesday night, setting up a November showdown with Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.

Barletta topped state Rep. Jim Christiana in the primary election. He will enter the general election as the underdog to Casey, who was first elected in 2006.

The second big primary day of May 2018 will send four states to the polls: Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Idaho, and Oregon.

For national Democrats, the stakes are by far the highest in Pennsylvania — where some of Democrats’ best House pickup opportunities in the country will be on the ballot this fall, along with a governorship and US Senate seat they’ll have to defend.

The next big slate of primaries is up Tuesday, May 15. Voters in four states — Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, and Pennsylvania — will head to the polls to select candidates for key congressional, Senate, and governor’s races.

Pennsylvania is the election headliner of the evening. The state is crucial for Democrats to have a shot at retaking the House of Representatives in November, and Tuesday will set up matchups for the midterms. There’s also a heated GOP gubernatorial race in Idaho, and whoever wins the Republican primary will likely become the state’s next governor.