U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-7) dropped her re-election bid on Tuesday, while her GOP challenger, state Republican Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh), appeared poised to win the race by a 50.7 margin. % to 49.3%. The Associated Press has not yet called the race as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.
“There is no point in sugarcoating: this is a bitterly disappointing result,” Wild said in a statement Wednesday morning. “In a moment I will talk about how our fight – for reproductive rights, for affordable health care, for equality and for a tidy and sheltered planet – can and must continue.
But first, it is extremely significant to first state what should be obvious: I lost this election and my opponent won. I congratulate my opponent on winning this seat and I will do everything to ensure a silky transition because the people of this district deserve nothing less.”
Wild outperformed Mackenzie by a wide margin throughout the entire campaign, and its best quarter in history was three months. Wild raised four times as much as Mackenzie in the third quarter, according to campaign financial results.
The Lehigh Valley-based congressional district is widely considered to have the best leadership among the 17 seats in the state delegation.
In the 8th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright, who faced a challenge from businessman Rob Bresnahan, conceded Wednesday afternoon. The AP hasn’t called the race yet for Wednesday’s 1 p.m., but Bresnahan had a 2% lead, with over 95% of the votes counted according to unofficial tallies.
“I am very proud of the campaign we ran and proud that we made our voices heard on the issues most significant to the people of northeastern Pennsylvania. In this close race, our volunteers and supporters gave their all to make their voices heard,” Cartwright said in a statement.
“I am very proud of all we have been able to deliver for Northeastern Pennsylvania,” he added. “Thank you for your support and congratulations to Rob on his victory. I wish him all the best as he leads Northeastern Pennsylvania through the challenges it faces.”
In other Pennsylvania House races, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick (R-1st District) defeated Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz, who was making her second attempt to unseat a fifth-term incumbent in a suburban Philadelphia district. Fitzpatrick was the only Republican member of the state’s congressional delegation to represent the district won by Democrat Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020.
The race between Republican incumbent Scott Perry and Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District was still too close to call on Wednesday.
According to unofficial results, incumbent Democrat Chris Deluzio (D-17th District) defeated state Rep. Rob Mercuri (R-Allegheny) to retain his seat in southwestern Pennsylvania. Also in the southwest, incumbents Summer Lee easily won re-election over Republican Party challenger James Hayes from District 12 after a thrilling April primary election that was one of the most watched in the country.
There were a few other surprises in Pennsylvania’s remaining House races, which included Democratic incumbents Brendan Boyle (2nd District); Dwight Evans (3rd District); Madeleine Dean (4th District); Mary Gay Scanlon (5th District); Chrissy Houlahan (6th District) and Republican incumbent Dan Meuser (9th District); Lloyd Smucker (11th District); John Joyce (13th District); Guy Reschenthaler (14th district); Glenn “GT” Thompson (District 15) and Mike Kelly (District 16) everyone predicted they would win re-election.
This article was updated at 1:40 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, with news of the Cartwright concession.
John Cole of the Capital-Star staff contributed
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