Philadelphia: A Republican Win, Electoral Gains and a Path Forward

Republicans doing well on Election Day – very well – in Philadelphia! It’s something that happens less often than sports championships, less often than a traffic-free drive on the Schuylkill. In an election that showed us national trends, shifting party bases, changing demographics, and surprising gains for Republicans, Philadelphia played a role – as predicted.

A Republican represents Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Senate!?

Republican State Sen.-elect Joe Picozzi was the biggest story, beyond the national stories. For the first time since Bill Clinton was president, Republicans have elected a state senator. And for the first time since Ronald Reagan was reelected, a Republican defeated an incumbent Democrat. Picozzi is only 29, so he offers the GOP and his community a fresh, energetic voice.

In winning, Picozzi overcame the incumbent Democrat, the city and state Democratic parties, and the political efforts of many unions. Moreover, the upstart Picozzi won with some in the local GOP establishment not helping him much.

Picozzi ran on kitchen-table issues. His community suffered through the national problems of inflation and violent crime. In addition, the public schools are failing, and the Philadelphia School District caps enrollment on charter schools – it hasn’t approved a new charter school since 2017. Picozzi is proudly for school choice, especially to rescue students trapped in failing schools. He also wants to bring education-tax fairness to working and middle-class families.

He talked about what his family, neighbors, and community cared about. His district is home to thousands of first- and second-generation Americans from India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Russia, China, and more. Add to that blue-collar families of every race and religion, from Catholic to Jewish. And the largest contingency of police and firemen of any community in the City of Brotherly Love.

The New Trump Republican Party

His district exemplifies America, and his volunteers and voting base look like the new Trump Republican Party. Driving through and stopping at polling places on Election Day, Picozzi’s volunteers spanned generations, races, and ethnicities. His sister, Marissa, spent the day at the polls repeating: “Please vote for my brother. We live here and he really cares about our neighborhood.”

Hard work. Perfect platform. A broad, diverse coalition – and sweat equity. If Joe Picozzi works as hard at his new job as he did at his campaign, he will do well, and his neighborhood will do well. And a new generation of leaders will come forward.

The Picozzi story is a Philadelphia, Rocky Balboa story. It’s also a part of a bigger shift. From 2016 to 2024, President Trump’s support in Philly grew from 15% to almost 21%. That may seem insignificant; it’s not. It’s “huge.”

Trump made serious inroads in Philadelphia

In 2020, Trump lost Philadelphia by almost 472,000 votes. Leading up to the 2024 election, Democratic Party chair Bob Brady, a former congressman, stated that the party hoped to carry Philadelphia by 500,000 votes. Kamala Harris’s eventual margin: 411,000 votes, well below that target, and well below the Democratic margin in 2020 and 2016, too.

Trump carried five of Philly’s 66 wards. The GOP candidate for attorney general, Dave Sunday, carried seven wards, on his way to becoming the first elected Republican attorney general since 2008.

Those numbers indicate shifts in voters’ party preferences. More Philadelphians voted for Republicans.

Next year, Philadelphia voters will have the opportunity to decide if notorious “George Soros DA” Larry Krasner gets another term. Is there a candidate that the GOP could run to oust him? Maybe Philadelphians can adopt a model from their friends in Pittsburgh. Last year in Allegheny County, old school Democrats partnered with Republicans to protect a traditional Democrat DA from a challenge from the Soros-progressive Democrats.

How Republicans can gain even more

In 2025, 2026, and beyond, Republican elected officials and party leaders have an opportunity to provide solutions for Philadelphians, to build on these newly opened doors and goodwill. They must seize the chance – as many have been arguing for years.

If they focus on kitchen-table issues – groceries, gas, crime, schools – and if President Trump can make progress on these and his other signature issues, like securing the border and bringing stability and peace to the situations in Europe and the Middle East, there’s a real opportunity.

Philadelphians are looking for change – for answers and solutions.

Joe Picozzi ran through the open door. So did U.S. Sen.-elect Dave McCormick and Dave Sunday and their running mates, Tim DeFoor (auditor general) and Stacy Garrity (state treasurer).

They can build credibility through public service and leadership. And the Philadelphia model can be taken to Reading, Allentown, Harrisburg, and beyond, where more voters are looking to be heard and respected. The GOP can grow and build – becoming a larger, more ethnically and socio- and-economically diverse party that is a true, permanent majority beyond Trump.

As surprising as it may seem to some analysts, the near-term future of the GOP is in neighborhoods like Mayfair, not suburban Malvern – not yet. Many Philadelphians opened the door to Trump and Republicans this cycle. The next move is up to the GOP.

This article was originally published by RealClearPennsylvania and made available via RealClearWire.