Today, Daily Kos Political Editor and Senior Communications Advisor Carolyn Fiddler congratulated Helen Tai on her victory in the special election for Pennsylvania House District 178. Daily Kos was pleased to endorse Tai in this Bucks County seat and in just two weeks raised over $14,000 for her campaign from over 1,200 individual, small-dollar grassroots donations.
“Daily Kos is thrilled that Tai flipped this key seat from red to blue—the first time a Democrat’s been elected in this district since 1983,” said Fiddler. “This pickup in a crucial swing region not only adds a woman of color to the legislature, but it’s also a powerful indication that Democrats can expect more successes in November in bellwether regions all across the country.”
HD-178 is exactly the sort of seat Republicans are most worried about, and with good reason. While this suburban Philadelphia district voted 56-43 for Mitt Romney, it gave Donald Trump only a narrow 50-47 win. This trend toward Democrats continued tonight with Tai’s victory, which represents a four-point swing from the 2016 presidential results, in a district where the Republican ran unopposed in two of his past three elections.
This pickup is a continuation of Democrats’ long and durable string of special election over-performances, during which they’ve done an average of 12 points better than Hillary Clinton in 2016 and seven points better than Barack Obama in 2012. It’s also a strong indication that there will be more Democratic pickups to come. If Democrats can win seats like HD-178 in special elections, it’s not unreasonable to consider that even the Pennsylvania House could change hands in November.
Daily Kos has led the way in supporting Democrats across the country this cycle, raising over $5.3 million for candidates in 2017-2018. We will continue to analyze and invest in key races nationwide.