DNC, PDP chairs: PA Supreme Court retention races have national implications

With less than two weeks until Election Day, Democrats across the country are underscoring the importance of three retention elections for justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court – elections that could dramatically reshape the ideological balance of the seven-member court for years to come.

In a call with reporters 11 days ahead of the election, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin stressed that the retention races – in which voters will be asked whether to retain each justice for an additional 10-year term on the bench – will have sweeping national ramifications, especially if the three justices fail to secure new terms. 

Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices Christine Donohue, David Wecht and Kevin Dougherty are all running in retention elections this year after winning their respective elections as Democrats in 2015. If any of the justices are not retained, their terms will end on Dec. 31, 2025. 

DePasquale told reporters that if the three justices fail to win their retention elections, the court, which hears cases related to election law and voting rights, could be thrown “into chaos” if asked to hear election-related cases in the 2026 election cycle. 

“This court has specifically stood up to make sure that every single vote gets counted,” DePasquale said. He added that the court has made major rulings related to the constitutionality of congressional maps, including in 2018, when it determined that the state’s existing map was gerrymandered in violation of the state constitution.

Martin made a similar point about the court and its potential to rule on future election-related cases. 

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention races are among the most important elections in the nation this year,” he said. “What happens on Nov. 4 can make all the difference in the 2028 presidential election.”

Martin said the DNC has made “significant six-figure investments” to support the justices’ retention campaigns. DePasquale added that he will be traveling across the state – including to Erie, Lancaster, the Lehigh Valley and other parts of the commonwealth – over the next week and a half to encourage Pennsylvanians to retain Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht.

Republicans and conservatives have also invested in efforts to encourage voters to vote “no” on retention. A political committee linked to Pennsylvania’s richest man, Jeffrey Yass, has circulated mailers and funded digital efforts urging Pennsylvanians to “term limit” the justices, per WITF.

Mini Timmaraju, the president and CEO of the reproductive rights group Reproductive Freedom for All, added on Friday that the retention elections could have a lasting impact on access to abortion and reproductive care in the state. 

“A single loss in this election could completely shift the balance of the court and put reproductive freedom in jeopardy from further attacks from state Republicans and Donald Trump,” Timmaraju said. “So this is why it matters to us. This election will not just have immediate impact; it's going to determine the future of access in Pennsylvania.”