The Associated Press has called the Northeast Philadelphia Senate election for 29-year-old Republican Joe Picozzi, marking an unlikely victory over an incumbent from a district controlled by Democrats since 2001.
On Friday around 2:00 p.m. unofficial results from the Pennsylvania Department of State showed Picozzi ahead by over 900 votes, an advantage of just under 1%.
“I never really thought it was impossible,” Picozzi said. “Looking back, it was probably a little crazy. I had no money. I started with a very petite savings that I saved from my bitcoin stash and sold a few Pokemon cards.
Picozzi’s opponent, Sen. Jimmy Dillon (R-Philadelphia), isn’t giving up yet.
“The election will not be over until all votes are counted,” said Brittany Crampsie, spokeswoman for the Dillon campaign.
The 5th District was the last state Senate race called by the Associated Press. Picozzi’s victory means Republicans will maintain a 28-22 majority in the chamber. In Dauphin County, Democratic Rep. Patty Kim managed to flip an open seat from Republican to Democrat.
“Voters spoke raucous and clear to send a sturdy Republican team to the state Senate,” Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (D-Indiana) said in a statement. “For the first time in over twenty years, we will welcome a new senator from Philadelphia to our caucus, a significant way to further close the rural, urban and suburban divide.”
Dillon, Picozzi’s opponent, runs basketball academies across the city and holds the 5th District seat as of the 2022 special election. During the current campaign, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee (SRCC) accused him of posting racist and homophobic messages on the academy’s social media site roughly a decade earlier. Dillon said the posts were likely written by players with access to the account and that he was unaware of them.
Picozzi never had the support of the Republican Party in Philadelphia. But the SRCC took notice and spent more than $700,000 to facilitate Picozzi, according to campaign finance records.
Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) said Republicans knew they would have to pick up the seat after redistricting made it more likely that the Harrisburg-area seat Kim won would vote for Democrats. Republicans noted that in 2023, the 5th District in Northeast Philadelphia voted for a Republican mayor.
But it was Picozzi who first contacted Ward, saying he wanted to run. She said Ward quickly realized he was the right person for the job.
“I think he was working 24/7. He really gave it his all,” Ward said. “It was a complex place to win. It’s in Philadelphia. And I don’t know if you’ll win this position only with a candidate who won’t work like that.
Picozzi credits his signature campaign with making the first impression on Ward and other state Republicans. He collected over 1,500 signatures, which is three times as many as needed for the candidate to be on the ballot.
“Me and my friends and family basically went there and hustled,” Picozzi said. “I think it really impressed them.”
Picozzi attributes his victory to an exceptionally ambitious campaign. He says his team has knocked on more than 70,000 doors.
“I think it was youth, energy and dynamism,” Picozzi told the Capital-Star on Friday. “The average age of my campaign was probably around 20… I think it also shows what young people can do.”
He said his most essential issue is public safety and that he wants to engage with Philadelphia’s city government leaders, who are mostly Democrats.
“We are seeing violent crime in places where it was unthinkable not so long ago,” Picozzi said. “Northeast Philadelphia was where you moved to when you got here. Now this is a place people really want to get out of.”
Picozzi grew up in the area and recently returned after graduating from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. There, he worked on Capitol Hill and was a staffer for former House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
During the interview, Picozzi received a text message from one of his classmates, who he said was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.
“We need more ambitious young people to step up,” Picozzi said. “I hope this campaign can serve as a model and motivation for other young people who are considering pursuing a career in public service.”
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This article was updated on November 8, 2024 at 3:25 p.m. with a comment from Ward
