Pennsylvania Judicial Center located in the Harrisburg Historic Capital Complex. (Getty Images)
Three state Supreme Court justices were elected to second terms on Tuesday despite efforts by conservative groups to persuade voters to remove them, unofficial election results show.
Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, first elected as Democrats in 2015, will continue to serve on the commonwealth’s highest court, which hears appeals on cases ranging from murder cases to congressional redistricting.
Keeping them at 10-year terms preserves the court’s 5-2 Democratic majority, although Donohue, 72, will only be able to serve three years before the mandatory retirement age for state judges.
Democratic leaders called the results a victory for judicial independence and a further rejection of efforts by billionaire political donors to buy court seats.
“Tonight, citizens across our Commonwealth sent a resounding message by voting to retain all three Supreme Court Justices who will continue to defend the rule of law, protect our elections, and protect our constitutional rights,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Here in the cradle of democracy, the good people of Pennsylvania will always stand for freedom.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin, who campaigned statewide for the judges, said the election was a major victory for fair elections, reproductive rights, voting rights and democracy.
“Tonight, Pennsylvania delivered a message on behalf of the entire country: No matter how wealthy you are and no matter how much power you think you may have, our courts are not for sale,” Martin said.
After about half of the votes were counted, the vote for each judge was about 63% to 37% in favor of retention. Retained vote margins historically range from 60% to 75%.
In other statewide judicial elections, Democrat Brandon Neuman led Republican Maria Batista 56% to 41% in the race for a Supreme Court seat, and Democrat Stella Tsai led Republican Matt Wolford 57% to 43%. Supreme Court Justice Alice Beck Debow and Commonwealth Court Justice Michael Wojcik argued in favor of detention.
Since 1968, Pennsylvania has used a system to elect judges initially in contested partisan races and require them to run for consecutive terms. The judges are unopposed in the retention race, and voters are asked to decide whether the judge should be rehired for another 10-year term.
The election to retain three members of the court gave Republicans a chance to break up the Democratic majority. Failure to retain votes for either would result in a contested 2027 election.
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Groups linked to billionaire donor Jeffrey Yass launched a campaign behind schedule last summer to mobilize voters to “term limit the Pennsylvania Supreme Court” and link Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht to unpopular decisions such as overturning comedian Bill Cosby’s 2018 conviction for aggravated indecent assault.
Another ad said the court was responsible for redrawing congressional districts to support Democrats while showing a Republican-preferred gerrymandered map that it actually rejected as unconstitutional.
It’s unclear until final campaign finance reports are filed how much outside groups have spent, but judges and the committees supporting them have raised at least $14 million.
Nydea Graves, chief democracy coordinator for One Pennsylvania, which promotes progressive, multiracial, working-class political power, said the vote was a rejection of Yass and the MAGA agenda.
“Voters understood that Pennsylvania needs a court that will be true to the Constitution’s promise to treat us all equally. From voting rights to educational equality to health care to workers’ rights, Pennsylvanians expect the law to be applied fairly, not just to the benefit of a privileged few,” Graves said.
Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht were originally elected in an unprecedented three-way race. It followed the scandal-driven resignations of two judges and the mandatory retirement of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Castille.
Justice Joan Orie Melvin resigned in 2013 after she was convicted of using court staff and her sister’s state Senate staff for campaign work. Judge Seamus McCaffery he resigned in 2014 after it was revealed that he had sent pornographic emails to an agent in the attorney general’s office while former Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office was investigating her predecessor’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case.
Only once, in 2005, was a Supreme Court justice not hired, when Justice Russell Nigro was voted off the bench amid a backlash after state lawmakers voted overnight for raises for himself and the judges.
