Three cheers for James Andrew Malone, who beat the odds and was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Americans are good people. Americans reject fear and ignorance. We reject fear of ignorance, too. From The Hill:
Democrat wins special state Senate election in Pennsylvania in major upset
Democrat James Malone has won an open Pennsylvania state Senate seat in a major upset in a district that comfortably voted for President Trump in November, according to a Decision Desk HQ projection.
Malone, the mayor of East Petersburg, narrowly defeated Republican Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons to represent Senate District 36 for the remainder of former state Sen. Ryan Aument’s (R) term. Aument resigned from his office in December to become the state director for Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), who took office in January.
Malone leads Parsons by about 500 votes as of Wednesday morning.
Parsons was considered likely to win in the conservative-leaning district, which Trump carried in November with 57 percent of the vote, and McCormick won with 56 percent. Aument had even been unopposed in his last election in 2022.
But Malone was able to overcome the odds, and the Democratic Party continued its strong performance in under-the-radar elections since Trump took office. Democrats notched another major upset in a strongly conservative Iowa state Senate district in January, also holding the Westchester County executive seat in New York, among other more low-key successes.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin celebrated Malone’s victory, calling it a “shockwave” to the system and the way Republicans have run the government.
“In a district that went to Trump by 15 in 2024 and has a 23-point Republican voter registration advantage, Malone’s victory is a loud and clear rebuke to Republicans’ threats to the programs Pennsylvania families rely on – from Social Security and Medicaid to our public schools,” Martin said.
“To protect working Americans, Democrats like Senator-elect Malone are competing everywhere, and in special elections throughout the country, we continue to overperform as voters join us in fighting back against the Trump-Musk agenda,” he continued.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which works to elect Democrats to the state legislatures, praised Malone’s win in a statement, saying it adds to Democratic overperformance in legislative elections in 2025. It also said state legislative elections are more important than ever to check Trump’s agenda.
“It’s only March, and Democrats have defied the odds again with another upset victory in Republican territory,” said the group’s president, Heather Williams. “Democrats are on a roll in state legislative races in 2025, from flipping red seats to defending one-seat majorities, which should put Republicans on edge.”
Malone’s victory will narrow the GOP majority in the state Senate to 27-23.
Updated March 26 at 9:12 a.m. EDT
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