The upset win of a Democrat in a Pennsylvania state Senate district considered solid "Trump country" was big news Tuesday throughout the Keystone State — not to mention much of the national media.
Following another special election in January in which a Democrat captured an Iowa state Senate seat formerly considered safe Republican, the upset victory of Democrat James Malone in the historically Republican 36th District (Lancaster County) has fueled talk of a revolt at the local level against the president who has been in office just over two months.
But a careful scrutiny of the Pennsylvania outcome shows it to be neither as dramatic as some in the press make it out to be, nor a harbinger of a coming national trend.
East Petersburg Mayor Malone won by a whisker over Lancaster County Commission Chair Josh Parsons, his 482-vote victory finally confirming him the victory on Wednesday morning.
Eschewing left-of-center stands on social issues embraced by many fellow Democrats, Malone campaigned on bread-and-butter issues such as support for public education; helping first-time homebuyers; and as his campaign website put it, "lowering the cost of everyday essentials."
In contrast, the outspoken Parsons focused on his stormy record as commissioner and such causes as opposing mail-in voting, fighting COVID-19 lockdowns, and condemning the local libraries for drag queen visits.
"This was more a Josh Parsons-centered problem rather than a Republican-at-large problem," Christopher Nicholas, editor of the much-read PA Political Digest, told Newsmax.
Moreover, Malone's campaign team worked tirelessly on getting a big turnout of early voters. Lowman Henry, head of the conservative Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, noted that "Parsons got only 28.5% of the early mail-in vote. Thus, the election was lost before the polls even opened."
"This special election proves that if we do not CONSTANTLY fight the Dems at mail-in votes, we will lose," emailed Cliff Maloney of the conservative Citizens Alliance, which launched a campaign known as The Pennsylvania Chase that helped Donald Trump go toe-to-toe with Kamala Harris in early voting and win Pennsylvania's electoral votes.
In the campaign's twilight, popular Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro was featured in robocalls to voters, and Malone's win no doubt burnished his reputation as a political powerhouse and potential 2028 presidential candidate.
But as to whether there is some national trend to the results in Pennsylvania's 36th District, Christopher Nicholas said: "So in the past four months, Philadelphia elected a Republican state senator and Democrats elected one in Lancaster. There you have it."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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