ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Pennsylvania Democrats hold the state House after a pair of wins in Tuesday’s special elections, including Lehigh County’s 22nd District.

There have been 47 special elections in Pennsylvania since 2017, the most in the country. From Texas to Louisiana and in Pennsylvania, Democrats have dominated recently, but will that matter come November?

“A lot of our bills die in the Senate, but a lot of them, you know, we have some leverage with,” said Tarah Probst.

The state representative from Stroudsburg commented on the legislative leverage Pennsylvania House Democrats continue to hold after the party won a pair of special elections Tuesday.  

“It’s happening throughout the country, even in districts where we never thought was possible,” she added.  

PA Democrats kept their razor-thin House majority as Democrat Ana Tiburcio won in the Allentown area’s 22nd Legislative District.

Democrat Ana Tiburcio wins Pa. 22nd District seat in special election

In the heavy blue district, Tiburcio beat Republican Robert Smith Jr. by 35 points. It was an open seat stemming from Democrat Josh Siegel leaving to become the Lehigh County executive.  

In western Pennsylvania, Democrat Jennifer Mazzocco won by 63 points. It was a race where the loser had more votes than total votes cast in the 22nd District, as turnout was under 7%.  

“It’s cold and snowy out, and so in terms of actually getting people to the polls,” said Ted Masthay.  

The DeSales University assistant professor of political science calls low voter turnout a caveat of special elections. Nationwide, Masthay says Democratic voters have recently been more engaged in special elections.  

“It’s important to note that special elections and general elections that happened in November are very different environments, right? Lots more people will vote in November,” he said.  

Discounting the 2024 presidential results, which are always higher, turnout in Lehigh County in 2022 was 32%. Tiburcio will have to run again this year. She faces a May challenger: Democrat and current Allentown City Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach.  

We reached out to Robert Smith, who is expected to run again this year, but did not hear back.