PA Bolsters Republican’s Campaign for Majority

Kieran Hogan, Reporter

Although the main focus on Tuesday was the presidential race, each of the states had their own races with equally important results.

In the United States Senate election, Pat Toomey took the win against Katie McGinty in Pennsylvania by a margin of 1,100,165 votes – 48 to 47 percent, according to Politico.

All of the House of Representatives seats in Pennsylvania were up for grabs as well. In District 15, according to Ballotpedia, Republican Charlie Dent beat out Democratic challenger Rick Daugherty, by a margin of 35,934 votes – 56 to 39 percent. District 15 stretches from Harrisburg suburbs west through Dauphin, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, and Northampton countries.

There are a total of 18 congressional districts in PA, and just five went blue on Tuesday night.

Republicans secured 51 seats in the Senate, compared to 48 by the Democrats (Louisiana remains in a runoff). As for the House, Republicans won majority with 239 representatives. Democrats took 192, and the districts in Louisiana have not been decided.

So what does this mean? The Republicans took both the House and the Senate this year, meaning we will be seeing many conservative values being pushed through our legislative branch the next several years.

Pat Toomey’s ideas tend to follow the conservative mold. According to OnTheIssues.org, Toomey has stood against abortion and same-sex marriage. Voting records show he has supported international trade agreements and harsher penalties for juvenile convicts. He has also established an A rating by the National Rifle Association.

Charlie Dent has expressed more liberal views than traditional Republicans. Dent did follow party lines by voting in support of a fence running along the Mexican border and in deploying troops in Iraq. Where he goes against party lines is how he is a supporter of abortion rights and increasing the minimum wage.

Despite owning the majority in both chambers, the Republicans still may face challenges. Richard Hanna, Mark Kirk, Susan Collins, Ben Sasse, and Lindsey Graham are all on a list of many Republican congressmen and women who announced they would not be voting for Trump, according to a list compiled by NBC News.

This presents a challenge for the party. Since many Republicans in congress refused to vote for Trump, does this mean they will refuse to work for him? Recently, Trump has said he supports the ruling made by the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage. After his meeting with President Barack Obama, Trump even said he plans to keep some parts of Obamacare.

Newly elected representatives Toomey and Dent will both have a challenge working with not only the Democrats in congress but also with Trump.

According to Politico, Democrats plan to use the division between Republicans for Trump and Republicans against Trump. There will be large disagreements based on taxes, infrastructure, and social issues.

Because of this, the term will have many issues that are opposed by multiple sides, and that could perhaps lead to limited progress in Congress.