Winners and losers of the 2020 election

by Sen. Art Haywood (D-4)
Posted 12/10/20

Now that the dust has settled, the results of the 2020 election are clear. High voter engagement and increased mail-in voting led to massive turnout nationwide. While record numbers of Pennsylvanians …

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Winners and losers of the 2020 election

Posted

Now that the dust has settled, the results of the 2020 election are clear. High voter engagement and increased mail-in voting led to massive turnout nationwide. While record numbers of Pennsylvanians made their voices heard, their message was less clear. The results contain mixed news for Democrats and Republicans, with plenty of positives and negatives on both sides.

Winner: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the rule of law

Joe Biden will be the 46th President of the United States. The Biden-Harris ticket defeated President Trump and Vice-President Pence with a projected 306 of 270 required electoral votes. The Electoral College will finalize this result in December.

President-elect Biden won Pennsylvania by 80,000 votes. The Department of State certified this result on Tuesday, November 24.

Kamala Harris will make history as the first woman to serve as Vice-President, the first Indian American Vice-President, and the first African American Vice-President.

With this outcome, the rule of law prevailed in America. I strongly supported the impeachment of President Trump for his illegal and reprehensible conduct. While I was disappointed the U.S. Senate did not remove him as President, I am very pleased that voters did.

Winner: Pennsylvania Republicans

Despite the national outcome, November 3 was a good night for Pennsylvania Republicans.

Republicans kept control of both chambers of the legislature and expanded their majority in the State Senate by unseating incumbent Senator Pam Iovino (D-Allegheny).

Republicans also flipped state offices for State Treasurer and Auditor General. However, Democrat Josh Shapiro successfully fought off a challenge in the race for Attorney General.

History was also made in Pennsylvania. Senator Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) will be the first female Majority Leader in the General Assembly. Democratic Representative Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) will be the first Black woman to serve as House Minority Leader.

Winner: Mail-in Voting

Mail-in voting was a stunning success. According to the New York Times, 92.1 million mail-in or absentee ballots were requested by voters nationwide. In Pennsylvania, about 38% of all votes in the presidential race were cast by mail, around 2.6 million voters (of nearly 7 million cast).

Turnout surged across Pennsylvania, with voters casting 13% more ballots in the presidential race compared to four years ago. This is a win for participatory democracy. Even with a pandemic around us, Americans came out to vote.

Others

Winner: Turn PA Blue. Massive Democratic turnout in the collar counties.  

Loser: State advocates for fair redistricting, environmental protections, fair school funding, gun violence prevention, and raising the minimum wage. These goals will be much harder to accomplish in Harrisburg with at least two more years of Republican control of the legislature.

Loser: State Representative Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny), Leader of the House Democratic Caucus, lost his re-election campaign in the 33rd District to Republican Carrie DelRosso.

Loser: Pennsylvania Democrats in state elections. Due to strong showing by Pennsylvania Republicans, GOP control of the state legislature will likely result in policy losses. Democrats might consider looking to Washington, D.C. for progressive action in the next two years.