Pennsylvania Democrats take Supreme Court seat, defeat several Moms for Liberty-backed school board candidates

Democrats saw significant wins across the country on Tuesday, including in Pennsylvania. In the Keystone State, voters elected a liberal Supreme Court Justice as well as several local school board candidates throughout the state.

The liberals on the state Supreme Court kept their 5-2 majority after Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Daniel McCaffery (D) defeated conservative opponent Carolyn Carluccio (R) by 155,205 votes, or six percentage points. The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation  endorsed Carluccio. McCaffery will fill a vacancy created after Chief Justice Max Baer (D) died at the age of 74 last September, just months before he was set to retire from the court. McCaffery will serve a 10-year term expiring in 2034.

At the local level, liberal candidates pulled off somewhat of a hat trick in three different school board districts. Southern Lehigh School District (in Lehigh County), Pennridge School District (in Bucks County) and Perkiomen Valley School District (in Montgomery County) each saw Democrats win the five open seats available in each of the three elections.

Along with winning the Board of Commissioners, Democrats also swept the Central Bucks County School Board, where culture war policies from the Republican incumbents like banning pride flags and books have been center stage and made national news. These controversial policies created a hotly contested race which saw ballooned fundraising numbers that reached well into the six-figures. This changed the board’s control from a 6-3 Republican majority to a 5-4 Democratic majority.

For the past year, my mom has been a regular at Central Bucks school board meetings speaking out against book bans, anti-LGBTQ policies, and Moms for Liberty nonsense.

Last night, decency won big #HateWontWin pic.twitter.com/rNtsiECosZ

— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) November 8, 2023

These Democratic wins seem to have been supplemented by young voters, whose absentee ballot numbers reportedly more than doubled compared to 2021.

In addition to Pennsylvania, Ohio voters approved two ballot measures on Tuesday which will uphold reproductive rights in the state constitution and legalize recreational marijuana. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) won reelection after defeating Donald Trump ally Daniel Cameron (R) with 53% of the vote, while Virginia Democrats secured both chambers of the state Legislature despite the efforts of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).