In races held this week, Democrats saw a victory in a special election held to represent the 163rd state House district in Pennsylvania, meaning the party will retain its slim majority in that chamber.
Such also means that Democrats will be able to continue blocking most any action by Republicans to undo abortion access across the state as jurisdictions around the country grapple with the open-ended legal landscape left by the U.S. Supreme Court deciding to overturn Roe v. Wade. This district was previously represented by a Democratic legislator named Mike Zabel, who resigned. Zabel’s replacement will be Heather Boyd, who had some 60 percent of the vote in results. Zabel had won in years past over a Republican incumbent, but the routine process of redistricting evidently made the jurisdiction lean further towards the Democrats. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the district’s registered voters are now just over half Democratic, which is still, of course, below the level of support Boyd received in the high-profile race.
Boyd evidently made reproductive rights a key issue in her campaign. Republicans in the chamber where she will now be a part previously approved an amendment to the state Constitution that, if fully implemented, would formally declare the overall document provided no general abortion rights. As in other states, it appears the measure would need additional approval from legislators before it could be put in place, meaning Democrats, in their new majority, have been able to put a stop to that march towards rolling back those rights to reproductive healthcare. Democrats spent big on the race, pouring over $1 million into the contest, the Inquirer added.
Democrats were also victorious in key races held this week in major cities including Jacksonville, Florida, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, although in the latter contest it was an independent generally aligned with the party rather than a registered Democrat. Jacksonville had been the largest city in the country by population where the GOP held the mayoralty. Now, Donna Deegan, a former journalist, is taking over.
