On Tuesday, Pennsylvania voters cast their ballots in high-stakes judicial retention elections, opting to keep Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for the next decade.
The justices, elected as Democrats in 2015 and seeking additional 10-year terms on the state’s highest court, will remain on the bench, preserving Democrats’ 5-2 majority despite multimillion-dollar efforts to oust the trio from the state Supreme Court. All three races were called by the Associated Press by 10 p.m.
In the lead-up to Election Day, Democrats framed the retention elections as must-win contests, citing the court’s wide-ranging rulings on everything from election law to reproductive rights to the constitutionality of congressional maps.
Republicans, meanwhile, mounted a full-court press opposing the justices’ retention, citing their decisions on COVID-19 lockdown measures while also touting the election as a chance to “term-limit” the justices.
Donohue said in a statement that the election “confirms that Pennsylvanians have trust in the independence of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and, additionally, appreciate the importance of a stable Pennsylvania Supreme Court.”
“I’m grateful for the confidence of the voters of Pennsylvania and their decision to allow me to continue to serve as a Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court,” she added. “I look forward to serving with my colleagues on the court to uphold the law and the Constitution of this Commonwealth.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro, who had publicly supported retaining the justices and sparred with President Donald Trump over the race, said the wins sent a “resounding message.”
Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale said that the win represented “a major step in building a Pennsylvania Democratic Party that can win back voters that have been left behind and who are ready to elect leaders who will work every day to get stuff done for them.”
“With the leadership of Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, the party is committed to building on this momentum and winning all across Pennsylvania in 2026,” DePasquale added.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, who barnstormed the state in the runup to the retention elections, said the results demonstrated that “our courts are not for sale.”
“Make no mistake: Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht’s victories are a major win for fair elections, reproductive rights, voting rights, and democracy,” Martin said in a statement. “As much as it must piss off right-wing billionaires like Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania families deserve to know that their Supreme Court is independent, not in someone’s pocket.”
National reproductive rights organizations also celebrated Tuesday night’s results as a win for abortion access and reproductive healthcare.
In the days before the election, the races received attention from national political leaders, including President Donald Trump, who urged Pennsylvania voters to vote against retaining O’Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht.
The race also drew considerable spending from both liberal and conservative groups. Political organizations looking to sway voters spent more than $8.8 million on independent expenditures, including on mailers, TV ads, digital ads, emails and text messaging in the weeks and months leading up to Election Day.
Top spenders included Commonwealth Partners, an organization connected to conservative donor and Pennsylvania’s richest man, Jeffrey Yass, which spent more than $3 million on independent expenditures urging a “no” vote.
Other big spenders urging voters to retain Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht included the American Civil Liberties Union, which spent more than $917,000 in support of retention, as well as Pennsylvanians For Judicial Fairness, which spent upwards of $732,000 on ads, production and mailers. Planned Parenthood Votes and Reproductive Freedom For All also supported efforts to retain the three justices.