Republican Stronghold Flips Blue as Democrat Credits Trump for Surprise Victory in Pennsylvania

Democrats flipped a state Senate seat in heavily Republican Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, during a special election Tuesday, and the Democrat senator-elect is crediting President Donald Trump for the victory. 

Democrat James Andrew Malone, the mayor of East Petersburg, won the seat for the 36th District by less than 500 votes, receiving 50% of the total votes counted. Republican candidate and Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons received 49.11% of the vote, and Libertarian candidate Zach Moore received the remaining 0.89%. 

“Having reviewed the numbers from last night, including the fact that there are not enough provisional or other outstanding ballots to change the overall result, I have called Mayor Malone to congratulate him and wish him the best,” Parsons said on X Wednesday.   

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The seat went to a special election when incumbent Republican Ryan Aument resigned to take a position with U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa. The election saw a 29% voter turnout with nearly 54,000 people voting in person and by mail. 

Malone’s win is an upset because the majority of registered voters in District 36, 53%, are registered Republican, according to the Lancaster County Board of Elections. Only about 30% are registered Democrat, and 17% are registered as other. 

Malone is the first Democrat Lancaster County has elected to the state Senate since 1889. He said Trump’s performance so far during his second term helped him gain an edge. 

“If President Trump were trying to accomplish his agenda in a very methodical and cohesive and by-the-book way, we wouldn’t have as much vitriol as we do right now,” Malone told The Associated Press. “But he’s chosen to do it the way he does everything, right? Throw a brick in the basket and see what comes out.” 

Republican political activist Scott Presler from Lancaster County said the Republicans lost because the Democrats went into Election Day with almost 9,000 early or mail-in votes, while the Republicans started the day with less than 4,000 votes. 

“In a special election and in an off-year, the early votes—alone—lost us the election,” Presler said in an X post Wednesday. “If Republicans don’t continue to engage in early voting, we will continue losing. The fact remains that this is a red, Republican district and Republicans did not turn out on Election Day.” 

Presler previously gained attention for spearheading an effort to register Pennsylvanians to vote for Trump during the 2020 and 2024 elections. 

Republicans retain control of the state Senate with a 27-23 seat advantage after Malone’s victory. 

Republicans will face another challenge at the state level next week with the Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. Liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford is running against conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel on April 1 for the vacant seat left by Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s retirement. The election will determine the court’s ideological balance and serve as a barometer of how Wisconsin voters feel about Trump’s second term, according to The Associated Press.