A Democratic Party primary took place on May 17, 2022, in Pennsylvania to determine which candidate would earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial election on November 8, 2022.

Josh Shapiro advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Pennsylvania.

This page focuses on Pennsylvania's Democratic Party gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Pennsylvania's Republican gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary for Governor of Pennsylvania

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Shapiro	100.0	1,227,151

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,227,151
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Tega Swann (D)

Election competitiveness

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[1]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Race ratings: Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Campaign data

Campaign finance

State profile

Demographic data for Pennsylvania
	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Total population:	12,791,904	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	44,743	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	81.6%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11%	12.6%
Asian:	3.1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	89.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	28.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,599	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Pennsylvania. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Pennsylvania, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.^[5]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Pennsylvania had one Retained Pivot County and two Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 0.55 and 8.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Pennsylvania coverage on Ballotpedia

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	2026 → ← 2018
Governor of Pennsylvania
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 15, 2022
	Primary: May 17, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Gov. Tom Wolf (Democratic)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Voting in Pennsylvania
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Likely Democratic; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic; Inside Elections: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Pennsylvania; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor

See also: Presidential voting trends in Pennsylvania and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Pennsylvania, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Pennsylvania's 1st	Brian Fitzpatrick	Republican	Even
Pennsylvania's 2nd	Brendan Boyle	Democratic	D+20
Pennsylvania's 3rd	Dwight Evans	Democratic	D+39
Pennsylvania's 4th	Madeleine Dean	Democratic	D+7
Pennsylvania's 5th	Mary Gay Scanlon	Democratic	D+14
Pennsylvania's 6th	Chrissy Houlahan	Democratic	D+5
Pennsylvania's 7th	Susan Wild	Democratic	R+2
Pennsylvania's 8th	Matt Cartwright	Democratic	R+4
Pennsylvania's 9th	Dan Meuser	Republican	R+21
Pennsylvania's 10th	Scott Perry	Republican	R+5
Pennsylvania's 11th	Lloyd Smucker	Republican	R+13
Pennsylvania's 12th	Open	Democratic	D+8
Pennsylvania's 13th	John Joyce	Republican	R+25
Pennsylvania's 14th	Guy Reschenthaler	Republican	R+18
Pennsylvania's 15th	Glenn Thompson	Republican	R+21
Pennsylvania's 16th	Mike Kelly	Republican	R+13
Pennsylvania's 17th	Open	Democratic	Even

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Pennsylvania^[6]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Pennsylvania's 1st	51.8%	47.2%
Pennsylvania's 2nd	71.0%	28.3%
Pennsylvania's 3rd	90.2%	9.3%
Pennsylvania's 4th	58.9%	40.0%
Pennsylvania's 5th	65.7%	33.4%
Pennsylvania's 6th	56.8%	42.0%
Pennsylvania's 7th	49.7%	49.1%
Pennsylvania's 8th	48.0%	50.9%
Pennsylvania's 9th	31.0%	67.5%
Pennsylvania's 10th	47.2%	51.3%
Pennsylvania's 11th	38.6%	59.9%
Pennsylvania's 12th	59.4%	39.5%
Pennsylvania's 13th	26.8%	72.0%
Pennsylvania's 14th	33.7%	65.2%
Pennsylvania's 15th	30.8%	67.8%
Pennsylvania's 16th	39.0%	59.7%
Pennsylvania's 17th	52.3%	46.5%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 47.2% of Pennsylvanians lived in one of the state's 10 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 41.7% lived in one of 53 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Pennsylvania was Battleground Democratic, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Pennsylvania following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Pennsylvania county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Democratic	10	47.2%
Solid Republican	53	41.7%
Battleground Democratic	2	4.5%
Trending Democratic	1	4.1%
Trending Republican	1	2.5%
Total voted Democratic	13	55.8%
Total voted Republican	54	44.2%

Historical voting trends

Pennsylvania presidential election results (1900-2020)

14 Democratic wins
16 Republican wins
1 other win

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	P^[7]	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Pennsylvania.

U.S. Senate election results in Pennsylvania
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	55.7%	42.6%
2016	48.9%	47.2%
2012	53.7%	44.6%
2010	51.0%	49.0%
2006	58.7%	41.3%
Average	53.6	44.9

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Pennsylvania

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Pennsylvania.

Gubernatorial election results in Pennsylvania
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	57.8%	40.7%
2014	54.9%	45.1%
2010	54.5%	45.5%
2006	60.3%	39.6%
2002	53.4%	44.4%
Average	56.2	43.1

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Pennsylvania, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	1	9	10
Republican	1	9	10
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	18	20

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Pennsylvania's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Pennsylvania, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Tom Wolf
Lieutenant Governor	John Fetterman
Secretary of State	Leigh Chapman
Attorney General	Josh Shapiro

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Pennsylvania General Assembly as of November 2022.

Pennsylvania State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	21
	Republican Party	28
	Independent	1
	Vacancies	0
Total		50

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	88
	Republican Party	113
	Vacancies	2
Total		203

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Pennsylvania was a divided government, with Democrats controlling the governorship and Republican majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Pennsylvania Party Control: 1992-2022
One year of a Democratic trifecta • Twelve years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Pennsylvania and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Pennsylvania
	Pennsylvania	United States
Population	13,002,700	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	44,741	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	79.4%	70.4%
Black/African American	11.1%	12.6%
Asian	3.5%	5.6%
Native American	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.2%
Other (single race)	2.4%	5.1%
Multiple	3.4%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	7.6%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	91%	88.5%
College graduation rate	32.3%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$63,627	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	12%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
↑ Progressive Party

[1] Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.

[2] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018

[3] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018

[4] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018

[5] The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

[6] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[7] Progressive Party

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[6]

[7]

Pennsylvania	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

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Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2022 (May 17 Democratic primary)

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election