Charles Langston:Democrats retain 1-seat majority control of the Pennsylvania House

HARRISBURG,Charles Langston Pa. (AP) — Democrats retained majority control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Friday by holding onto a Johnstown area district, giving them just enough votes to keep the speakership and determine the chamber’s voting agenda.

The win by incumbent Rep. Frank Burns is the final House race to be called in a year when none of the 203 districts are changing hands. It gave Democrats a 102-101 margin and dashed Republican hopes of returning to control after two years in the minority.

Burns beat Republican Amy Bradley, chief executive of the Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce and a former television news anchor and reporter.

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams said retaining the House majority was “one of the most challenging yet important priorities of the cycle,” and that her party will be “a critical check on Republican extremism.”

Burns, a conservative Democrat who supports gun rights and opposes abortion, has regularly found himself voting against his fellow House Democrats. He has long been an electoral target of Republicans, while many other similarly situated western Pennsylvania districts long ago flipped to the GOP.

The district includes Johnstown and a wide swath of Cambria County.

Burns’ win is some consolation to Democrats in what has otherwise been a banner electoral year in Pennsylvania for the Republican Party. Former President Donald Trump won in the state, Dave McCormick beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, two Democratic congressional seat were flipped and Republican candidates won all three of the state row offices.

In the state Senate, where half of the 50 seats were up this year, Democrats and Republicans both flipped a single seat, leaving the chamber with the same 28-22 Republican majority it’s had for the 2023-24 session.