The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) announced Wednesday that it plans to make a “six-figure investment” in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court race, calling it an election that will have “long-term consequences not only for the court but for the state.” So does the legislature.”
Republican candidate Caroline Carlucciojudge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, is running against the Democrats Daniel McCafferyAND Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. They both compete with each other for a vacant seat on the state Supreme Court when Judge Max Baer died last year.
In the not-too-distant past, judicial races typically went unnoticed, resulting in low voter turnout and inconspicuous spending. But in 2015, when Democrats won a majority on the state supreme court, it was a quota expenses exceeded $15.8 millionbreaking the then-national record for state Supreme Court elections (a record that was broken earlier this year by Wisconsin Supreme Court elections with spending topping $45 million).
This year’s competition also attracted attention from beyond the borders of the Commonwealth of Nations. Just last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided several very critical cases: electing a fresh state congressional redistricting mapand maintaining the state no-excuse postal voting law. The court is expected to take up cases involving voting rights and reproductive rights in the near future.
Democrats want to prepare for the long haul, said DLCC spokesman Abhi Rahman, something he acknowledged the party has difficulty doing. “In mid-2010, we lost everything” as Republicans built a forceful field of candidates, he said. Recognizing that most legislation occurs at the state level, “after 2016 we did a 180.”
Democrats currently have a 4-2 majority on the state’s highest court, and justices have 10-year terms. Three of the four democratic judges — Christina Donohue, David N. WechtAND Kevin M. Dougherty — will run for re-election when their term ends in 2026.
Investing in a state Supreme Court race will involve paid media campaign supporting McCaffery, Rahman said.
The DLCC, which works to elect Democrats to state legislatures, has helped the party hold the Pennsylvania House five times this year, Rahman added, most recently when Lindsay Powell, one of its “candidates in the spotlight,” won the vacant 21st District seat after resigning Sara Innamorato. Powell took the oath of office on Monday.
Rahman believes this good streak bodes well for November.
“One race never tells the full story, but the trend does and we want to keep it that way,” he said. “We have a feeling voters will align with Democratic candidates by protecting their fundamental freedoms.”
The DLCC is not the only group spending significant resources to support McCaffery. Voices on Planned ParenthoodThe political arm of the reproductive rights organization Planned Parenthood has poured money into the state’s advertising campaign, the largest investment ever made in a state Supreme Court race. The ads criticized Carluccio’s stance on reproductive rights, saying she had removed references to her previous stance against abortion from her website.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/planned-parenthoods-political-arm-ramps-up-ad-campaign-focused-on-pa-supreme-court-race/
Carluccio received the endorsement of the Republican Party in the primary and continues to do so approved by PA Pro-Life Federation and Pennsylvania Pro-Life Coalition, which oppose abortion.
A spokesman for her campaign told the Capital-Star that Carluccio was not an activist judge and that the website had been redesigned, but Carluccio would not attempt to legislate from his perch.
“States are increasingly making decisions on the policies that have the greatest impact on our lives,” said DLCC interim president Heather Williams. “In addition to state legislatures, we believe that state supreme courts from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin play an incredibly important role in determining the future of our democracy. As we pursue our long-term strategy of building Democratic power in the states, we are investing accordingly.”
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