Three Pennsylvania Democrat Supreme Court justices are projected to be retained and will maintain a Democrat majority on the state Supreme Court.
NBC News and Decision Desk HQ projected Pennsylvanians voted to retain Justices Christine Donahue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht on the Supreme Court to continue another ten-year term on the state’s highest court, except for Donahue, who will retire in 2027, where she will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 for justices.
Judges and justices in the Keystone State must stand for “retention” every decade, when voters can vote to keep them on their respective benches. Although very few justices in the state have lost their jobs through retention, this election became more contentious as voters could have potentially removed the Democrat majority from the state Supreme Court.
Democrats aggressively spent in the final part of the race, pouring more than $13 million into television ads since October, while Republicans spent only $2.8 million on the GOP side.
One television ad touted that the judges “protected access to abortion. And your right to vote. Even when the powerful came after it.”
On Sunday night, Trump urged voters to vote against retention, saying in a Truth Social post:
Attention Pennsylvania: On November 4th, you can bring back the Rule of Law, and stand up for the Constitution. There are three Radical Democrat Supreme Court Justices on the Ballot for a 10 year retention. Vote “NO, NO, NO” on Liberal Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht. These activist Judges unlawfully gerrymandered your Congressional maps, which led to my corrupt Impeachment(s), and locked you up during COVID by closing your small businesses, schools, and churches. They let sex offenders out of prison, and ruled for Sleepy Joe Biden over and over, and interfered in the 2020 Election. It is time for Justice. Vote “NO, NO, NO” on retention of these woke Judges.
Democrat National Chair Ken Martin said in a written statement, cheering the victory:
Tonight, Pennsylvania delivered a message on behalf of the entire country: No matter how rich you are, and no matter how much power you think you might have, our courts are not for sale. Make no mistake: Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht’s victories are a major win for fair elections, reproductive rights, voting rights, and democracy. As much as it must piss off right-wing billionaires like Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania families deserve to know that their Supreme Court is independent, not in someone’s pocket.
Martin added, “Tonight has proved that, at every level of government, Democrats are competing, winning, and building power on behalf of the American people.”
