What will Pennsylvania Democrats do with a trifecta in Harrisburg?

Roughly 12 hours after winning 26 seats in the Pennsylvania Senate, thus clinching a Democratic trifecta in state government, a crowd of party members stood on the Capitol steps to celebrate “a very good day” following a successful midterm election. 

“It is now the obligation of all of my colleagues to recognize that with this honor comes tremendous responsibility to govern well, to govern thoughtfully, to govern pragmatically,” said House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery). “This is an opportunity that we will not fail. We cannot fail.”

The atmosphere was joyous as leaders detailed their plans for a unified General Assembly where both chambers have a Democratic majority for the first time since 1993. In an unproductive legislative session, speakers pinned the blame squarely on the current GOP majority in the Senate.

“Far too often, hundreds of our bills got stuck in a drawer over in the Senate,” said House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia). “Voters in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania have decided that we should go in a different direction … and we can’t wait to deliver.”

Her caucus holds 111 seats out of 203, according to The Associated Press, “a mandate to respond to the needs of this hour,” McClinton continued. The Senate will now have 26 Democrats, a one-seat majority. 

Increasing the minimum wage — currently at the federal minimum of $7.25/hour — to $15 is a top priority, alongside codifying access to reproductive healthcare. Various leaders mentioned increasing pay for home health workers, continued investments in public education, establishing paid family leave, healthcare affordability and guardrails around data centers.

“We’re going to get them to the governor’s desk because there’s so much that’s been bottled up for so many years that we’re going to do,” Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said. 

Looming agenda items in 2027

In campaign messaging, Senate Republicans painted themselves as a bulwark against Democrat’s uncontrolled spending, consistently pushing to spend less in the commonwealth’s annual budget. 

”Elections bring both victories and setbacks, but our responsibility to the people of Pennsylvania doesn’t change. We have work to do, and we will take the time to analyze these results, strengthen our organization, and ensure we are prepared for the challenges ahead,” said Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Greg Rothman in a statement.

Rothman is also a state senator from Cumberland County.

But Costa said lawmakers would be “thoughtful” about the budget, even if Democrats no longer had to compromise “in places where we really didn’t want to.” 

“We are going to be fiscally responsible, fiscally conscious,” Costa said. “We recognize that we have limited resources in the commonwealth, and we have to be thoughtful in what we do. And we’re going to make sure that we’re being thoughtful going forward because you know we don’t want to just have a majority for two years — we want to stick around a little while.”

Also on the radar: drafting a sentencing structure for felony murder and tackling skill games. 

In two separate decisions, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state’s mandatory life sentence for felony murder was unconstitutional and that skill games fell under the state’s gambling laws. 

Justices gave legislators 120 days to draft new laws to comply with the rulings, but the General Assembly missed both deadlines. 

County judges currently have no minimum or maximum guidance for sentencing those convicted of felony murder, a charge levied when someone dies — intentionally or not — during the commission of another felony. 

And state police confiscated tens of thousands of skill games machines, working with small business owners to remove the unauthorized gaming terminals from gas stations, grocery stores and fraternal clubs around the state. 

Bradford previously said that lawmakers’ last-minute deal on skill games fell through when Senate Republicans failed to muster enough support.

“The House has shown a way forward. The Senate has not,” Bradford said Wednesday. “Obviously, there’s new leadership and we are very excited for the new management in the Senate.”

Costa said that neither topic was a partisan issue, though a sticking point in prior negotiations was whether taxes on skill games would go toward transit or stay in the state’s general fund. He vowed that mass transit would be “a conversation we’re going to have early on,” as the state’s largest system in Philadelphia faces a looming deficit. 

“The felony murder ruling, I think, is something we just got to come together on,” Costa added. “It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s something we have to work together on to get something done, and I think we will.” 

The current legislative session ends on Nov. 30.

Newly elected members of the House and Senate will be sworn in on Jan. 5.