Why Pennsylvania's congressional primaries are so important for Democrats in 2018
The road to a Democratic House majority goes through the Keystone State.
By Andrew Prokopandrew@vox.com May 14, 2018, 7:00am EDT
The road to a Democratic House of Representatives goes straight through Pennsylvania — which means this Tuesday’s primary is remarkably important for the party’s chances of retaking the chamber.
A serious chunk of the 23 net pickups Democrats need to retake the House could be found in Pennsylvania alone. The Cook Political Report deems seven Republican-held districts in the state as potentially competitive, with five of those either toss-ups or favoring Democrats already.
Democrats are likely to lose one seat they currently hold because Rep. Conor Lamb is switching to run in a different district. Still, if the party runs the table, it could get a quarter of the way toward winning the House through the Keystone State alone.
The stakes are so high in Pennsylvania because this year, it’s using a new congressional map — one imposed by the state Supreme Court, which threw out the map used for the 2012 through 2016 elections on the grounds that it was a pro-Republican partisan gerrymander. (For most of the decade, Republicans held a 13-5 House seat advantage in the swing state.)
https://www.vox.com/2018/5/14/17339378/pennsylvania-primary-elections-2018-results
