Lower Bucks special election could shift power
Winner will determine whether state House is held by Dems or GOP
A special election to select a state representative for parts of Lower Bucks will be held Tuesday, and has statewide implications in who controls the Pennsylvania Legislature.
The election was called when former Rep. John Galloway resigned after winning a seat as a district judge, replacing retiring Judge Jan Vislosky. The winner will represent Lower Bucks County’s 140th Legislative District.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who is running?
The election is between Republican Candace Cabanas, a Falls native, and Democrat Jim Prokopiak, a Pennsbury School Board member and former township supervisor.
Prokopiak was a Falls Township supervisor from 2002 to 2009 and now serves on the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority.
“We need an experienced fighter who is willing to fight for the people of Lower Bucks County,” he said in a campaign announcement in December. “With over a decade of experience in local government, I have a proven record on issues that matter in Lower Bucks County. That is why I am running.”
Prokopiak wants to see more funding for education — not just K-12, but vocational and skillsbased learning, he said, to make sure the workforce is competitive. Affordable housing is also essential, he said, and with that comes raising the minimum wage.
Cabanas describes herself as a working-class mom on her website.
“It’s an interesting thing to be thrown into this because I’m not a politician, and I’m really just running to support working class families in lower Bucks County,”
Cabanas said to the AP. “I’m not necessarily here to tip a majority, you know, and create like some kind of hoopla in the state House.”
She said high gas prices and rising cost of living are among her top priorities, along with education. She said there remains concerns after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools.
Each was picked by the county executive committee of their respective political party.
Why does it matter to Pennsylvania?
Democrats controlled the House by one vote until Galloway resigned in December to become a magisterial district judge, leaving the chamber split at 101-101.
The district has long been reliably Democratic and shares a county with longtime Republican areas where the GOP has been losing power over two decades. Democratic presidential candidates
have won the county since the 1990s and President Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by 10 percentage points in 2020 in Galloway’s district, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-to-2.
Democrats have the governor’s office. Republicans hold the Senate. A Republican win in next week’s special election would give the GOP a majority that could advance school vouchers and constitutional amendments on issues such as abortion, voter identification and curbing the governor’s regulatory authority.
It is the Republicans’ fourth chance in a year to flip the majority back to their favor. Elections last year in February, May and September broke in Democrats’ favor, in largely Democratic areas.
The district is 56% Democratic, but Galloway won by more in his last election than that because of his cross-party appeal and name recognition. He served nine terms in what was always considered a solidly Democratic district.
What happens after the special election?
The winner takes the seat until the 2024 spring primary. If they want to keep the job, they must choose to run in the primary and, if successful, will run in the fall general election for a full term.