Capitol Beat

Retention roundup: Your last-minute guide to Pennsylvania’s 2025 judicial elections

City & State examines the state of play in Pennsylvanians’ judicial contests.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Pittsburgh in January 2023.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Pittsburgh in January 2023. Commonwealth Media Services

By Justin Sweitzer

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Managing editor, City & State Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania voters will shape the state’s judiciary for years to come on Election Day as they decide on whether to retain three state Supreme Court Justices – Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht – for additional 10-year terms on the state’s highest court. 

Other retention races for terms on the Commonwealth and Superior Courts will be taking place, as will races for various municipal offices. Below, City & State walks through what you need to know about Pennsylvania’s judicial retention races.

The basics

In the judicial retention elections, Pennsylvania voters will have the opportunity to vote “yes” or “no” on whether to retain judges and justices for a new 10-year term on their respective courts. 

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention elections are the most high-profile judicial contests, attracting attention from national organizations – and even President Donald Trump. 

Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht were elected as Democrats in 2015; however, retention races are nonpartisan, and no party affiliation will be listed on the ballot this year. The Pennsylvania Bar Association has recommended each of the three justices for retention.

Trump and Shapiro spar over SCOPA retention races

Pennsylvania’s judicial retention races are receiving outsized national attention this election cycle. Over the weekend, Trump offered his thoughts on the race, urging Pennsylvania voters to vote “no” on retaining the three Supreme Court justices. 

“These activist Judges unlawfully gerrymandered your Congressional maps, which led to my corrupt Impeachment(s), and locked you up during COVID by closing your small businesses, schools, and churches,” Trump said Sunday in a post on his Truth Social platform. “It is time for Justice. Vote “NO, NO, NO” on retention of these woke Judges.”

Trump’s post prompted Gov. Josh Shapiro to respond, with the Democratic governor saying in a post on X that Trump has “zero credibility when it comes to the rule of law.”

“On Tuesday, vote YES to retain our Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices and send a message that here in the birthplace of freedom, we respect the rule of law and an independent judiciary,” Shapiro said.

Independent expenditures top $8 million 

Less than 24 hours from Election Day, political forces seeking to influence how Pennsylvanians vote on the judicial retention races have spent more than $8.8 million on independent expenditures, including on mailers, TV ads, digital ads, emails and text messaging. 

According to independent expenditure data from the Pennsylvania Department of State, Commonwealth Partners – an organization connected to conservative donor and Pennsylvania’s richest man, Jeffrey Yass – has spent more than $3 million on independent expenditures urging Pennsylvanians to vote “no” on the Supreme Court retention questions. Similarly, the Harrisburg-based Citizens For Term Limits has spent $1.8 million to encourage Pennsylvanians to vote no. 

On the flip side, some of the biggest spenders urging voters to retain Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht include 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. Groups advocating for abortion access and reproductive rights, including Planned Parenthood Votes and Reproductive Freedom For All, spent $348,858.84 and $127,517.20 in support of retention efforts, respectively.

More coverage from City & State

For more information on Pennsylvania’s judicial races, City & State’s coverage can be found below: 

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