Control of Pennsylvania House of Representatives Swings to Democrats

More than a week after Election Day, final results show that Democrats have won control of the Pennsylvania state House for the first time in more than a decade. Three of the General Assembly’s caucuses – Senate GOP and Democrats and the House Democrats – announced their leadership teams for the 2022-23 legislative session on Tuesday. The House Democratic Caucus unanimously re-elected its current leadership team to serve in the 2023-24 legislative session: Rep. Joanna E. McClinton, D- Phila/Delaware, Democratic Leader; Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Phila, Democratic Whip; Rep. Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery, Democratic Chairman, House Appropriations Committee; Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie, Chairman, House Democratic Policy Committee; Rep. Tina Davis, D-Bucks, -Democratic Caucus Secretary; Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, Democratic Caucus Administrator; Rep. Dan Miller, D-Allegheny, Democratic Caucus Chairman. There will be a significant turnover of committee chairs and the impact remains to be seen. Committee chairs play a vital role in the legislative process, and they bring to the job their own styles, policy positions and decisions on whether to move or bottle up bills. On the Senate side, Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, was elected Senate President Pro Tem, becoming the first woman in the state’s history to hold the top spot in the chamber. With Ward’s move, and the departure of Senate Appropriations Committee chair Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, the Senate GOP leadership team was the only one with substantial changes. Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, will succeed Ward as Senate Majority Leader, while Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster, will replace Browne as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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