Speaker Mike Turzai, the most powerful Republican in the legislature, just announced he won't run for re-election. Good riddance.
Turzai isn't riding off into the sunset. He is running away from a tough re-election campaign that he fears will end in a Democratic majority. He's also leaving PA House Republicans leaderless, on the defensive, and without their best fundraiser.
Democrats are tantalizingly close to flipping the legislature in time to draw fair electoral maps, raise the minimum wage, and fully fund our schools in 2021.
Turzai is the ninth Republican representative to announce that he won't run for re-election. With only nine seats needed to flip the PA House, we can now take the majority without even beating a single GOP incumbent.
Also, we have some big special elections coming up:
There are four vacant seats in the PA House of Representatives right now, and we intend to fill every one with a Democrat in upcoming special elections!
The open seats are all over Pennsylvania: in bright blue cities, deep in GOP territory, and in some of the “swingiest” counties of America. Every race is winnable, though, and PA Democrats will fight for every vote in every ZIP code.
A lot will go into winning these races: organizing, ad buys, voter mail, and tons of elbow grease. Like in most special elections, funds will be tight, and candidates may be forced to cut back in key areas.
P.S. Visit Special Election Central on PADems.com for a deep dive into each race. We'll announce the candidates for March special elections there soon.
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