Despite Pennsylvania turning red for Donald Trump and will likely go for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick the Democrats were retained in the 2024 elections majority control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Friday by the smallest possible margin: one vote.
Democrats retained control of Chamber 102-101 by holding on to a district in western Pennsylvania, giving them just enough votes to retain the presidency and set the chamber’s voting agenda. Republicans’ hopes of returning to control of the House were dashed after two years in the minority.
Incumbent Rep. Frank Burns’ victory in the 72nd District was the final House race in a year in which none of the 203 districts change hands.
Burns defeated Republican Amy Bradley, CEO of the Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce and former television news anchor and reporter.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Chair Heather Williams said that maintaining the majority in the House of Representatives was “one of the most challenging yet important priorities of the cycle,” and that her party “will be a critical check on Republican extremism.”
Burns, a conservative Democrat who supports gun rights and opposes abortion, has regularly voted against his fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives. He has long been an electoral target for Republicans, while many other similarly situated districts in western Pennsylvania long ago switched to Republicans.
The district includes Johnstown and much of Cambria County.
Burns’ victory is some consolation for Democrats in what has otherwise been a key election year in Pennsylvania for the Republican Party. In addition to the favorable outcome for Trump, two seats in the Democratic Congress were flipped and Republican candidates won all three state offices.
In the Senate, where half of the 50 seats increased this year, Democrats and Republicans each flipped one seat, leaving the House with the same 28-22 Republican majority as during the 2023-2024 session.
