It’s been more than 30 years since Democrats held a legislative trifecta in Harrisburg. Thanks in part to Bucks County Democrats, that changes in January.
As Democratic watch parties and candidate rallies celebrated deep into the early morning hours, a Blue sweep of Harrisburg led to expanding its majority in the state House, flipping the state Senate and Gov. Josh Shapiro cruising to re-election after handily defeating Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity by 60.2% to 38.5%.
“For the first time in decades, Pennsylvanians used their power tonight to flip the state Senate so that we can deliver even more results for our communities,” said Shapiro. “Now, with a Democratic trifecta, we’ll be able to get even more stuff done — from raising the minimum wage and lowering costs, to giving survivors their day in court, to building more housing and codifying abortion rights.”
Two state Senate seats were flipped locally, with Democrat Eileen Hartnett Albillar defeating Republican incumbent Frank Farry in SD-6 and Democrat Democrat Mark Pinsley defeating incumbent Jarrett Coleman in SD-16, which consists of parts of Bucks and Lehigh counties. Democrats now control the chamber 26-24, taking control of the legislative body for the first time in almost five decades.
Democratic legislative priorities will include hiking the state’s minimum wage, stubbornly stuck at $7.25 since 2009; lowering costs overall, providing abuse survivors “their day in court,” increasing access to affordable housing and codifying abortion rights.
At last night’s rally in Harrisburg, Shapiro addressed supporters to thank them. He said in an Instagram post the election results were a mandate by Pennsylvanians, who were tired of the Trump Administration’s policies and “ready for an end of this ruthless chaos and cruelty and rampant corruption that raises our costs and rattles our conscience.”
“The Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC) is elated to announce a resounding 11 seats and counting flipped from Republican to Democratic control statewide,” said Bucks County state Rep. Tina Davis, chairperson of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee in a press release. “This, plus a firewall of support for Democratic incumbents means that members will return to Harrisburg with at least a 113 to 90 majority in the State House.”
READ: Bucks County 2026 Election Results Hub
Three of those seats flipped from Red to Blue were in Bucks County, where Democrats Bryan Allen, Kristin Egan, and Tim Hayes defeated Republican incumbents KC Tomlinson, Joe Hogan, and Shelby Labs respectively.
“This blue tsunami represents a clear mandate for Democratic priorities and an outright rejection of Republican extremism and division,” Davis said. “From Allegheny to Bensalem, the voters have spoken and they overwhelmingly support the platform of House Democrats built on respect and dignity for working families so that people don’t just get by – but have a real shot at the American dream.”
Democrats won all but two House races in Bucks County; incumbent Republican Craig Staats held onto HD-145, beating Independent Rebecca Prendergast; and incumbent GOP Kristin Marcell retained her seat to represent HD-178.
“We have an opportunity to finally make progress on so many critical issues that have been overlooked for far too long.” – Bucks County State Senator Steve Santarsiero
“I’m pleasantly surprised, I didn’t expect us to win this big,” said Connor O’Hanlon, Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee member. O’Hanlon is also a Doylestown Borough Council member.
He noted the trifecta puts Democrats in a position to address some “stretch goals,” such as lay the foundations for a “universal health care plan” as proposed by state Sen. Nikil Saval.
“We have the freedom now to push for bigger things and even lead the nation heading into the next presidential election cycle,” O’Hanlon explained.
HDCC “battleground” races in formerly solid Republican strongholds included: Bryan Allen (HD-18), who defeated incumbent Republican K.C. Tomlinson; Kristin Egan who beat Republican incumbent Joe Hogan in (HD-142) and Tim Hayes, who defeated incumbent Republican Shelby Labs and Independent candidate Chris Gambino to represent (HD-143).
Bucks County Democratic Committee Chair state Senator Steve Santarsiero crushed his Republican challenger in SD-10 by 28.4%. He’s looking forward to not seeing legislation consistently be blocked in his chamber.
“We have an opportunity to finally make progress on so many critical issues that have been overlooked for far too long,” Santarsiero said.
He supports increasing the minimum wage, “putting guardrails on data centers and regulating AI,” a route to justice for child sex abuse survivors, better funding for SEPTA and public transportation, among others.
As the nation wraps up its semiquincentennial, Doylestown Democrat O’Hanlon noted Pennsylvania, once again, sits at the center of it.
“All roads lead back to Pennsylvania,” O’Hanlon said.
That includes the road to the White House in 2028.
For a detailed look at how Bucks County voters cast their ballots visit this interactive data map.
