As the United States approaches the midterm elections this November, Penn students can expect to see political flyers, on-campus tabling efforts, and community members campaigning on Locust Walk.<\/p>\n
Between the election this fall and a presidential race in two years, Pennsylvanians will have the power to influence the country\u2019s political landscape. As candidates look to court voters, here\u2019s what Penn students can expect when casting their ballots at school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This November, State Rep. Chris Rabb (D-200) is the Democratic nominee to represent Pennsylvania\u2019s third congressional district, while Gov. Josh Shapiro is seeking re-election to the state\u2019s highest office. The outcomes of both upcoming elections will help set the stage for the 2028 presidential election \u2014 where Pennsylvania is likely to \u00a0be a key battleground state again.<\/p>\n
Rabb secured the Democratic nomination to represent Penn\u2019s district this May, after handily defeating the opposition in a three-way<\/a> race against Penn professor Ala Stanford and 1999 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School graduate State Sen. Sharif Street (D-3). Because Rabb is running uncontested, he is almost certain to take the House seat this November.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly think that it was surprising both that Rabb won and particularly the magnitude of his victory,\u201d political science professor Daniel Hopkins told<\/a> The Daily Pennsylvanian in May after the progressive candidate\u2019s decisive primary win.<\/p>\n Get the DP delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n Rabb,\u00a0who graduated from Penn in 2006 with a master\u2019s in organizational dynamics,\u00a0is a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. Following the election, a Penn Democrats spokesperson wrote<\/a> to the DP that the race was a \u201csignificant indicator of the political mood\u201d within the Democratic Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Shapiro is aiming to fend off Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the Republican challenger in the state\u2019s gubernatorial election.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shapiro\u2019s re-election bid, which he launched<\/a> in January, comes as he is widely rumored to run for president in 2028.<\/p>\n This January, Shapiro said that his policy goals for a second term in office included raising the minimum wage, protecting reproductive freedom, and increasing clean energy production.<\/p>\n Over the last few years, Shapiro\u2019s administration has increased its influence on Penn\u2019s campus \u2014 including through helping shape<\/a> the University\u2019s response to incidents of campus antisemitism.<\/p>\n In fall 2023, Shapiro invoked a long-unused University statute that allows the governor of Pennsylvania to appoint a nonvoting observer to the University Board of Trustees. He chose 1982 College graduate Robert Fox, whom he also appointed as a nonvoting member on the University Task Force on Antisemitism.<\/p>\n Documents showed<\/a> that Shapiro and Fox pushed for the firing of one University professor and the public condemnation of another. The two embraced an expansive definition of \u201cantisemitic speech,\u201d and intervened in Penn\u2019s 2024 election for the chair of the Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania was also a decisive factor <\/a>in the last general election. 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump\u2019s victory in Pennsylvania came after his campaign and former Vice President Kamala Harris made concerted efforts to campaign across the state.<\/p>\n At the time, the Brookings Institution described Pennsylvania as \u201cthe presidential election\u2019s most important state.\u201d The state led Trump to his victory in 2016 and former Penn professor and President Joe Biden to his win four years later.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both of Penn\u2019s largest student partisan political organizations \u2014 Penn Democrats and College Republicans \u2014 noted increased participation and membership as the 2024 election approached. Both groups hosted various events throughout the election cycle, including debate watch parties<\/a>, tabling sessions, and discussions with political figures.<\/p>\n On election day, Penn\u2019s four primary polling locations saw a 450% increase<\/a> in in-person voting relative to the 2020 election. The Penn community voted overwhelmingly for Harris, who won 81.6% of the in-person votes cast at on-campus polling locations.<\/p>\n Since then, Penn students have continued to display high levels of political engagement. Despite being an off-year election, turnout last year approached<\/a> a record high and amounted to nearly half of the votes cast in 2024.<\/p>\n In this past year, a slew of conservative pundits have visited Penn\u2019s campus. In April, Ben Shapiro appeared<\/a> before a sold-out crowd for a talk organized by Wharton School\u2019s chapter of the Adam Smith Society, an association for MBA students and professionals at Penn. Right-wing blogger and computer scientist Curtis Yarvin also held a sit-down<\/a> on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n That same month, conservative political commentator Steven Crowder was scheduled to debate Penn professor Jonathan Zimmerman. Although the event was ultimately cancelled<\/a> over safety concerns, Crowder\u2019s producer offered Zimmerman the opportunity to hold the debate elsewhere at the time.<\/p>\n Senior reporter Arti Jain covers state and local politics and can be reached at jain@thedp.com<\/a>. At Penn, she studies economics and political science. 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