El pasado lunes por la noche, en vísperas de las elecciones, tuve la oportunidad de asistir al rally del Partido Demócrata en el Museo de Arte. The Roots, Fat Joe, Ricky Martin, will.i.am, la alcaldesa Cherelle Parker y Lady Gaga estuvieron allí para apoyar y actuar en favor de la vicepresidenta Harris y el gobernador Tim Walz. Alrededor de las 11:30 p.m., la vicepresidenta Harris subió al escenario. “Toda mi carrera ha sido impulsada por un único propósito: luchar en nombre del pueblo”, dijo. “Les hago esta promesa: si me dan la oportunidad de luchar en su nombre como presidenta, no habrá nada que se interponga en mi camino. No busco ganar puntos políticos, busco hacer progresos”.
Han pasado unos días y despertamos dándonos cuenta de que no hemos avanzado mucho. Si acaso, estamos más divididos que nunca. Los hombres latinos, para mi sorpresa, parecen estar particularmente divididos. Esto no podría haber llegado en un peor momento para el Partido Demócrata.
He votado en las últimas 12 elecciones. En las últimas 8, voté como padre de familia. En todas estas elecciones vimos lo habitual: ganamos algunas, perdimos otras. Por lo general, la vida no cambió mucho después de los comicios. La comunidad latina casi siempre se benefició y sentimos que estábamos avanzando. Los latinos hemos estado más bien unidos en temas clave como la inmigración, la desigualdad económica, la educación, el acceso a la salud, la discriminación racial y étnica, y la representación política. Por lo tanto, la mayoría de nosotros, de manera natural, nos inclinamos hacia el Partido Demócrata, en especial, cuando se trata de derechos familiares y sociales. La familia es un pilar central en la cultura latina, y temas como la separación familiar—ya sea por deportación o por las políticas de «detención familiar»—nos afectan profundamente.
Como padre de cuatro hijos, incluyendo dos mujeres jóvenes, y con dos nietos, pensé que estaba haciendo lo correcto al votar por su futuro. Es desalentador, entonces, ver que muchos de nosotros—en particular, los hombres latinos—consideraron que la inmigración y la supuesta “recesión económica” eran temas de mayor relevancia.
En los últimos días, hablé con algunos amigos que piensan de esta manera. Uno de ellos me dijo: “Dios no lo quiera, que uno de estos inmigrantes ilegales le haga daño a alguna de tus hijas”. Ese comentario dolió, pero debo aceptar la realidad de que algunos latinos han sido manipulados para creer que los inmigrantes vienen a hacernos daño.
Sin embargo, algo es seguro: esto refuerza la importancia de mantenernos bien informados y comprometidos. Debemos perseverar en nuestra lucha por los derechos de las mujeres, la decencia humana y la libertad frente al discurso de odio. Este viaje no tiene un destino final, es una lucha continua. Pero la diferencia ahora es que pensábamos que estábamos luchando junto a personas que se parecían a nosotros, venían de los mismos países y hablaban el mismo idioma.
Si hay algo positivo en esta locura, es que podemos decir: “No seremos como ellos”. Cederemos en algunos puntos, pero como dijo la vicepresidenta Harris en su discurso, “no cederemos en la lucha por la libertad, la oportunidad, la equidad y la dignidad de todas las personas. Esa es una lucha que nunca abandonaré”. Yo tampoco lo haré, mi vicepresidenta. Como dijo Rubén Blades: “Te estoy buscando América. Te han secuestrado y amordazado tu boca, y a nosotros nos toca ponerte en libertad”.
On Monday night, I had the chance to attend the Vote for Freedom rally at the Art Museum. The Roots, Fat Joe, Ricky Martin, will.i.am, Mayor Cherelle Parker and Lady Gaga were all there to support and perform for Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz. Around 11:30 p.m., Vice President Harris took the stage. “My entire career has been driven by a singular purpose: to fight on behalf of the people,” she said. “It’s my pledge to you that if you give me a chance to fight on your behalf as president, there is nothing that will stand in my way. I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress.”
A few days passed, and we woke up to find that we hadn’t progressed much. If anything, we’re more divided than ever. Latino men, surprisingly, seem mainly divided. This couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Democratic Party.
I’ve voted in the last 12 elections. The last eight, I voted as a parent. Through these elections, we saw the usual ups and downs—winning some and losing others. Generally, life didn’t change much afterward. The Latino community almost always benefited, and we felt we were progressing. Latinos have typically united on crucial issues: immigration, economic inequality, education, healthcare access, discrimination, and political representation. Naturally, many of us leaned toward the Democratic Party, especially regarding family and social rights. Family is central in Latino culture, and issues like family separation—through deportation or “family detention” policies—hit us particularly hard.
As a parent of four, including two young women and two grandchildren, I thought I was doing the right thing by voting for them for their future. It’s disheartening, then, to see that many of us—Latino men, in particular—felt immigration and the supposed “economic downturn” were more important.
Over the last few days, I spoke with friends who feel this way. One said, “God forbid one of these illegal immigrants hurts one of your daughters.” That comment stung, but I have to accept the reality that some Latinos have been convinced that immigrants are a threat to us.
However, one thing is certain: this only reinforces the importance of staying well-informed and engaged. We must persevere in our fight for women’s rights, human decency, and freedom from hate speech. This journey has no final destination—it’s a struggle that began in the 60s. The difference now is that we thought we were fighting this battle alongside people who looked like us, came from the same countries, and spoke the same language.
If there’s a silver lining in this chaos, it’s that we can say, “We won’t be like them.” We’ll compromise on some issues, but as Vice President Harris said, we “will not concede the fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness, and dignity of all people. That is a fight I will never give up.” I won’t either, my vicepresidenta. Let’s make America kind again.
El candidato vicepresidencial demócrata y gobernador de Minesota, Tim Walz, ofreció el viernes su discurso de aceptación de la derrota, en el que llamó a los demócratas a recuperar fuerzas para poder retomar «la lucha» ante el nuevo mandato del republicano Donald Trump.
El ‘número dos’ de Kamala Harris compareció ante sus seguidores en la ciudad de Eagan, en Minesota, donde admitió que «es duro perder» y es «difícil prever cómo será el camino en los próximos cuatro años».
«Así que si hoy se sienten desanimados, lo entiendo. Tómense un tiempo. Cuídense. Regresen a esta lucha cuando estén listos y sepan que cuando estén preparados para volver a esa lucha estaré aquí, listo para luchar con ustedes», declaró.
Walz agradeció públicamente a Harris por haberle escogido a él como aspirante a vicepresidente, pero sobre todo por «la poderosa y alegre campaña que llevó a cabo» desde que tomó el relevo al presidente, Joe Biden, como candidata demócrata.
El gobernador hizo gala de su sentido del humor al bromear sobre la cantidad de dónuts que ha pedido durante la campaña electoral y al pedir perdón por la avalancha de mensajes sms que los demócratas han enviado a la gente.
Pero también se puso serio al prometer que Minesota será un bastión de las políticas progresistas cuando la nueva Administración de Trump intente introducir «una agenda de odio».
«Mientras sea gobernador de Minesota acogeremos con gratitud a los inmigrantes por sus contribuciones a nuestra comunidad», afirmó.
Walz, de 60 años y gobernador desde 2019, era un político apenas conocido a nivel nacional hasta que se hizo viral en el verano pasado por sus críticas a Trump y Harris lo acabó nombrando como su compañero de fórmula.
Considerado un político progresista pero que ganó el voto republicano en su estado, fue tachado como «izquierdoso radical» por la campaña de Trump.
Walz proyecta la imagen de hombre familiar y sencillo del Medio Oeste del país, una región que Harris necesitaba conquistar para ganar la presidencia.
Antes de ser gobernador, Walz fue militar, maestro, entrenador de fútbol americano de su instituto y congresista, representando un terrirorio mayoritariamente republicano.
Harris reconoció el miércoles la victoria de Trump en un emotivo discurso en la Universidad de Howard, de Washington, donde prometió que volverá la «luz» tras los próximos cuatro años de gobierno MAGA.
Biden hizo lo propio el jueves, con un mensaje para reasegurar la transición pacifica de poder.
Preston Mattingly, manager of scouting for the San Diego Padres, stands on the field before a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
PHILADELPHIA— Preston Mattingly, a son of former star first baseman and manager Don Mattingly, was promoted to general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
Sam Fuld, the GM since December 2020, will share the GM duties with Mattingly. But Fuld is studying for his Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and will become the team’s president of business operations when he receives his degree in May 2026.
“Sam and Preston are two of the best young people in the game,” Dombrowski said. “They’re outstanding in every respect. We have a good relationship between all of us and really, you kind of look towards the future and say, ‘Well, how will this all work out?’”
Dombrowski, 68, is under contract with the Phillies through 2027, which means he will get to have Mattingly learn the trade under his tutelage for three seasons, and then if Dombrowski decides to retire, the Phillies would have his heir apparent already in place.
“I think he has the ability to be the general manager and the head of baseball operations for years to come,” Dombrowski said.
Mattingly, 37, played in the minor leagues from 2006-11, and then went to Lamar University, where he captained the basketball team and received a bachelor’s degree in 2016. He worked for the San Diego Padres from 2017-21, rising to coordinator of major league advance scouting and game planning.
He joined the Phillies as director of player development in September 2021 and was promoted to assistant general manager of player development last November.
“I’m very excited about the role,” Mattingly said. “Honestly, I just love baseball. It means so much to me. It’s been my life since I was born. … I was very excited to get to work with the people we have in the organization. They challenge you every single day and we all share the same vision of helping the Philadelphia Phillies achieve their ultimate goal, which is to win the World Series.»
Fuld will oversee business operations departments after his graduation. The current president of business operations, Dave Buck, is retiring in December. Fuld said that several people — including himself — will take on the responsibilities of the role for the 18 months until his graduation.
“I’ve always been interested in the business side of baseball,” Fuld said. “It’s always been compelling to me. This came out of a conversation I had with Dave and (managing partner John Middleton) in the spring and we talked about the short-term, the mid-term and the long-term implications of this opportunity. It wasn’t something I had given a ton of thought to at the time, but after I digested it and wrapped my head around it, it felt like a really compelling opportunity both professionally and personally.”
The Phillies also announced two other promotions in the baseball operations department. Luke Murton was promoted to director of player development and Edwar Gonzalez to director of hitting development.
Don Mattingly was a six-time All-Star for the New York Yankees from 1982-95, then managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Miami Marlins from 2016-22.
El secretario de Estado Mike Pompeo, a la izquierda, y el secretario de Defensa Jim Mattis, a la derecha, escuchan mientras el presidente Donald Trump habla durante una reunión del gabinete en la Casa Blanca, el 21 de junio de 2018.
El presidente electo de EE. UU., Donald Trump, se mueve rápidamente para formar una nueva administración a poco más de dos meses de asumir su segundo mandato en enero. Varios nombres ya conocidos y otros nuevos resuenan para los principales puestos.
Cuando se contaron los votos y se declaró a Donald Trump como candidato presidencial ganador a primera hora de la mañana del miércoles, comenzó inmediatamente otra carrera: el sprint de 11 semanas para formar una nueva administración que deberá estar lista para asumir la gestión del país el 20 de enero.
La administración de un presidente incluye miles de personas designadas, pero en las primeras semanas posteriores a la elección, el enfoque será identificar a las personas que conformarán el Gabinete gubernamental.
El Gabinete tradicionalmente incluye al vicepresidente y a los líderes de los 15 departamentos del Poder Ejecutivo, entre ellos Estado, Tesoro y Defensa. También incluye a unos 10 funcionarios que sirven en puestos de alto nivel, como el representante comercial de Estados Unidos, el director de inteligencia nacional y el jefe de gabinete de la Casa Blanca. A excepción del vicepresidente y el jefe de gabinete, todos los designados a nivel de Gabinete requieren la confirmación del Senado.
El jueves por la noche, Trump dijo que Susie Wiles, una veterana agente republicana que fue una de las dos principales gestoras de su exitosa campaña, sería su jefa de gabinete en la Casa Blanca. Será la primera mujer en ocupar ese puesto.
Una mezcla de trayectorias
Más allá de nombrar a Wiles, Trump ha ofrecido pocos detalles sobre quién quiere que ocupe puestos clave en su segunda administración.
Muchos de los que ocuparon puestos en el gabinete y subgabinete en su primera administración han roto desde entonces con el presidente electo. Algunos incluso llegaron a apoyar a su oponente, la vicepresidenta demócrata Kamala Harris. Sin embargo, un número considerable de exintegrantes del equipo de Trump han mantenido buenas relaciones con él, y podrían reaparecer en puestos importantes en la próxima administración.
Más allá de eso, entre quienes podría elegir para puestos clave se encuentran miembros actuales y anteriores del Congreso, así como figuras importantes del mundo empresarial que apoyaron su campaña, como el fundador de SpaceX, Elon Musk.
Equipo de transición
Los candidatos presidenciales suelen establecer equipos de transición mucho antes del final de las elecciones para empezar con ventaja el proceso.
Jo-Anne Sears, investigadora no residente del Centro para el Estudio de la Presidencia y el Congreso, formó parte de los equipos de transición del expresidente George W. Bush y del candidato presidencial republicano de 2012 Mitt Romney. Le dijo a la Voz de América que ha estado en contacto con los miembros del equipo de transición de Trump y espera que amplíen su red cuando consideren a los posibles candidatos.
«Me han dicho que la gente que está en el equipo de transición quiere traer a Washington a los mejores y más brillantes», dijo Sears. «Y eso significa que vendrán de todas partes del país, no solo de Nueva York o la capital».
«Creo que va a intentar traer a personas que sean verdaderos expertos en sus campos, ya sea seguridad nacional, seguridad interior o en soluciones tecnológicas para agilizar el gobierno, que creo que será uno de sus objetivos», agregó Sears.
Exintegrantes del gabinete de Trump
Algunas de las opciones más obvias para puestos de alto nivel en la segunda administración de Trump son las personas que ocuparon esas mismas posiciones y fueron confirmados por el Senado en el primer mandato.
Robert Lighthizer se desempeñó como representante comercial de Estados Unidos durante la mayor parte del primer mandato de Trump. Puede reaparecer en la nueva administración en un puesto más alto, como secretario del Tesoro.
Mike Pompeo, quien se desempeñó como director de la CIA y secretario de Estado en momentos separados en la primera administración de Trump, podría regresar a uno de esos roles o asumir el manto de secretario de Defensa.
John Ratcliffe se desempeñó como director de inteligencia nacional de Trump durante el último año de su primer mandato, podría ocupar varios puestos: desde un alto cargo de inteligencia hasta la oficina del fiscal general.
Linda McMahon, exdirectora ejecutiva de World Wrestling Entertainment, una promotora de lucha libre profesional, se desempeñó como directora de la Administración de Pequeñas Empresas durante el primer mandato de Trump. Actualmente es una de las líderes del equipo de transición de Trump y se dice que está siendo considerada para secretaria de Comercio.
Líderes empresariales
Aunque Musk desempeñó un papel importante en la financiación de la campaña de Trump y ha mostrado su disposición a participar en algún tipo de comisión destinada a hacer más eficiente al gobierno federal, parece poco probable que ocupe un puesto oficial en el gabinete. Musk ya se desempeña como director ejecutivo de varias empresas que tienen contratos por miles de millones de dólares con el gobierno federal, incluida la empresa de cohetes SpaceX. Esto crea una red de posibles conflictos de intereses que dificultaría la confirmación del Senado.
Se dice que también hay varias figuras del mundo de las inversiones y las finanzas en la lista. John Paulson, un multimillonario gestor de fondos de cobertura que ha apoyado a Trump desde la primera campaña del presidente electo en 2016, está siendo considerado para el cargo de secretario del Tesoro.
También se dice que se considera para ese mismo puesto a Scott Bessent, gestor de fondos de cobertura y asesor de la campaña de Trump.
Uno de los líderes del equipo de transición de Trump, Howard Lutnick, el director ejecutivo de la firma de servicios financieros Cantor Fitzgerald, es un posible candidato para un puesto de política económica.
Desde hace tiempo se rumorea que Jamie Dimon, presidente y director ejecutivo de JPMorgan Chase, puede ser un posible secretario del Tesoro. Sin embargo, informes de prensa recientes han sugerido que no está interesado en el puesto.
El factor RFK Jr.
Durante la campaña, el excandidato independiente a la presidencia Robert F. Kennedy Jr., sobrino del expresidente John F. Kennedy e hijo del ex fiscal general Robert F. Kennedy, dio su apoyo a Trump.
A cambio, Trump le ha ofrecido a Kennedy un papel en la formulación de políticas de salud pública. En una llamada de Zoom con partidarios al final de la campaña, Kennedy dijo que Trump le había «prometido» el control del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos -que incluye los Centros para el Control de Enfermedades, la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos y los Institutos Nacionales de Salud- y el Departamento de Agricultura.
Sin embargo, existen dudas de que Kennedy pueda sobrevivir a una votación de confirmación del Senado para cualquier puesto a nivel de gabinete. Exabogado ambientalista, en las últimas décadas se ha convertido en un destacado escéptico de las vacunas y teórico de la conspiración, y los legisladores podrían ser reacios a ponerlo a cargo de la infraestructura de salud pública del país.
Figuras de campaña
Por último, dos figuras que surgieron durante la última campaña presidencial de Trump podrían llegar a la Casa Blanca en enero.
Doug Burgum, exgobernador de Dakota del Norte y ahora partidario de Trump, y Vivek Ramaswamy, un hombre de negocios que surgió como contendiente en las primarias presidenciales republicanos, también podrían estar en la lista.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens holds a press conference Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, to discusses three people who were shot and killed in two Pennsylvania counties. (Zahriah Balentine/The Patriot-News via AP)
Three people were killed and two others wounded on Friday when a suspect opened fire in an apartment in central Pennsylvania, then led police on a 40-mile high-speed chase through two counties that ended with an exchange of gunfire with state troopers, police said.
Troopers shot and killed Ricky Shannon, 22, after he opened fire on them from his pickup truck, Lt. Col. George Bivens of Pennsylvania State Police said at a news conference. Troopers then found a 19-year-old woman, who had also been fatally shot, he said.
Earlier, Shannon had gone to an apartment in Mount Joy, Lancaster County, and shot three of the woman’s family members, killing one, before leaving with the 19-year-old, police said.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the 19-year-old in the truck was shot, and by whom. Police said that is part of the investigation. Bivens said it’s possible she was shot in the residence.
Shannon had taken out a protection-from-abuse order against the woman on Tuesday, and she, in turn, obtained a protection-from-abuse order against him on Thursday. Shannon was served with the order around 1 a.m. on Friday, then drove more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) from his home in Altoona to the house in Mount Joy.
Bivens said Shannon opened fire as soon as he got to the house.
“Clearly there was some kind of a domestic disagreement between both. The shooting occurred almost immediately upon his arrival there. So it appears that there was likely some thought given and the whole thing transpired very quickly once he arrived,” Bivens said.
The initial emergency call came in at 4:15 a.m. Mount Joy police spotted Shannon’s red pickup truck within minutes, and began a chase that lasted for more than 30 minutes and reached speeds of 100 mph, Bivens said. At times, the truck traveled the wrong way, and was involved in several crashes during the pursuit. The other motorists were not seriously hurt, according to Bivens.
Police eventually forced the truck to stop in Reed Township, Dauphin County, north of the state capital of Harrisburg. Shannon immediately opened fire, striking patrol cars.
“He left them really no option but to return fire,” Bivens said.
Troopers did not know the 19-year-old was in the truck until they came to render aid to Shannon and found her, their vision hindered by darkness and the truck’s tinted windows and deployed airbags, he said.
Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said investigators are reviewing dashboard and body camera video from the second shooting scene. He said he expected the investigation to take some time.
Un juez federal del estado de Texas anuló un programa del presidente Joe Biden que buscaba regularizar la situación de cerca de medio millón de indocumentados, cónyuges o hijastros de ciudadanos estadounidenses.
Según el fallo, emitido anoche, el juez J. Campbell Barker encontró que el programa Keeping Families Together (Mantener unidas a las familias) viola la ley de inmigración de EE. UU. y se pone del lado de Texas y más de una docena de otros estados liderados por republicanos, que interpusieron una demanda contra la norma.
La decisión del magistrado, nombrado por Donald Trump (2017-2021), representa una derrota para la Administración Biden y para los grupos proinmigrantes que habían alentado a los favorecidos a acogerse a la medida.
El plan se apoya en el llamado ‘Parole in place’, que otorga un permiso temporal para permanecer en EE. UU., ofreciendo protección frente a la deportación, así como la posibilidad de obtener un permiso de trabajo.
Pero lo más importante es que permite a los beneficiados realizar el proceso para obtener una residencia permanente en EE. UU. por estar casado o ser hijastro de un ciudadano estadounidense sin tener que salir del país y exponerse a la sanción de 10 años.
La medida, que había sido anunciada en junio pasado y puesta en marcha a mediados de agosto, apenas estuvo en vigor una semana cuando Baker, juez del Tribunal de Distrito de los Estados Unidos para el Distrito Este de Texas, emitió una suspensión y se puso del lado de los demandantes, encabezados por el fiscal general de Texas, el republicano Ken Paxton.
Desde que fue anunciado, los sectores ultraconservadores habían amenazado con retarlo en los tribunales y habían acusado a la Administración demócrata de utilizarlo como parte de la campaña para retener la Presidencia.
Baker le permitió al Servicio de Inmigración y Ciudadanía (USCIS, en inglés) recibir las solicitudes, pero no procesarlas.
Para poder adherirse al programa, el solicitante debía haber vivido en el país un mínimo de 10 años y estar casado antes del 17 de junio pasado.
La Administración Biden estimó que aproximadamente 500.000 cónyuges de ciudadanos estadounidenses y unos 50.000 hijastros son elegibles.
Texas ha liderado varias batallas legales contra el Gobierno Biden por temas de inmigración, entre ellas una que solicita poner fin al programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA), que favorece a miles de jóvenes «soñadores» desde 2012.
La Corte de Apelaciones del Quinto Circuito de EE. UU. está pendiente de entregar su fallo sobre la legalidad de DACA, un programa que está en el punto de mira de Trump desde su anterior gobierno (2017-2021).
Pedestrians walk past the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Nov. 19, 2019. (Photo: AP/Matt Rourke/File)
HARRISBURG, Pa.— Democrats retained majority control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Friday by holding onto a Johnstown area district, giving them just enough votes to keep the speakership and determine the chamber’s voting agenda.
The win by incumbent Rep. Frank Burns is the final House race to be called in a year when none of the 203 districts are changing hands. It gave Democrats a 102-101 margin and dashed Republican hopes of returning to control after two years in the minority.
Burns beat Republican Amy Bradley, chief executive of the Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce and a former television news anchor and reporter.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams said retaining the House majority was “one of the most challenging yet important priorities of the cycle,” and that her party will be “a critical check on Republican extremism.”
From left, Darleen Christy, state Rep. Frank Burns and state Sen. John Wozniak attend a press conference in Johnstown, Pa., Dec. 26, 2013. (Photo: AP/John Rucosky/The Tribune-Democrat/File)
Burns, a conservative Democrat who supports gun rights and opposes abortion, has regularly found himself voting against his fellow House Democrats. He has long been an electoral target of Republicans, while many other similarly situated western Pennsylvania districts long ago flipped to the GOP.
The district includes Johnstown and a wide swath of Cambria County.
Burns’ win is some consolation to Democrats in what has otherwise been a banner electoral year in Pennsylvania for the Republican Party. Former President Donald Trump won in the state, Dave McCormick beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, two Democratic congressional seat were flipped and Republican candidates won all three of the state row offices.
In the state Senate, where half of the 50 seats were up this year, Democrats and Republicans both flipped a single seat, leaving the chamber with the same 28-22 Republican majority it’s had for the 2023-24 session.
Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick arrives to speak during an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Photo: AP/Gene J. Puskar)
HARRISBURG, Pa.— Republicans landed historic victories in Pennsylvania this week, winning the battleground state’s valuable presidential electoral votes, posting a two-seat gain in its U.S. House delegation and sweeping all four statewide offices on the ballot, including a U.S. Senate seat.
The strong performance means Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania in two out of three tries, after Republicans had lost six straight presidential elections there.
Something similar happened in the other “blue wall” states of Michigan and Wisconsin, Rust Belt states where Trump prevailed again after losing in 2020. Still, Democrats held on in key Senate races in Wisconsin and Michigan, if just barely, and the results played out differently in each state.
Republican victories were most pronounced in Pennsylvania, a state flagged early on as this year’s preeminent swing state, where deep dissatisfaction surfaced with the status quo, more often than not to Republicans’ benefit.
Voters had the economy on their minds.
Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick, left, waves to the crowd while on stage with his wife, Dina Powell, during an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Photo: AP/Gene J. Puskar)
Voters were in a bad mood
About a third of voters nationwide, including in the blue wall states, said they felt their families were “falling behind” financially, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. That was an increase from 2020, when about 2 in 10 felt that way. In 2020, a majority of those financially strapped voters voted for President Joe Biden, but this year, about two-thirds supported Trump.
Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania, said Democrats had a lot working against them among swing voters: their deteriorating personal finances, fueled by inflation, and the sense that many blamed Biden.
Yost said Vice President Kamala Harris ran a strong campaign but was unable to overcome those headwinds.
“The mood of the electorate was so negative, they took it out on the incumbent party,» Yost said.
Some voters’ memories of Trump’s presidency improved with the passage of time. VoteCast shows just 40% of Pennsylvania voters said they approve of Biden’s job performance, while 54% said they approved of Trump when he was president. Four years ago, Trump approval in Pennsylvania was 49%.
In his victory over Harris, Trump won Pennsylvania by about 2%, with votes still being counted. That was about three times the margin of his 2016 victory. He lost Pennsylvania by just over 1% in 2020 to Biden.
Trump carried Wisconsin by less than a point, as he did in 2016, after losing it by about a half percentage point in 2020.
In Michigan, Trump won by about 80,000 — many times his nearly 11,000-vote win in 2016 and about half the margin of his loss to Biden in 2020.
In Pennsylvania, Trump gained ground in Democratic-friendly counties statewide, including the Democratic bastion of Philadelphia and heavily populated suburbs that swung hard against Trump in 2016 and 2020.
In Trump-friendly exurbs and rural areas, his margins grew across the board.
His strength also helped David McCormick beat three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, Republicans say, allowing them to reclaim the Senate seat the GOP lost in 2022 when Democrat John Fetterman replaced retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
In addition, a two-seat pickup shifted the state’s congressional delegation from 9-8 in favor of Democrats to a 10-7 Republicans majority, giving the GOP a valuable boost in its fight to keep House control.
And for the first time since the state attorney general’s office became an elected position in 1980, Republicans will hold all three statewide row offices.
That includes treasurer, auditor general and attorney general, a position thrust into the national spotlight four years ago when Trump sued to overturn his 2020 defeat.
Legislative majorities were unchanged: Republicans held their six-seat state Senate majority while Democrats held their one-seat state House majority.
With more Republicans at the Capitol, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — who made Harris’ list of finalists for vice president — could be under more pressure to work across the aisle.
Trump visited Pennsylvania more than any other state and often brought downballot Republicans on stage.
Trump survived an assassination attempt in western Pennsylvania over the summer — then returned there for a second rally — and drew a crowd to a McDonald’s in a politically divided Philadelphia suburb where he donned an apron and tried his hand at the French fry station.
Trump campaigned in conservative white areas, in heavily Black Philadelphia and in a fast-growing belt of cities from Lancaster to Reading to Allentown where Latinos are settling, and AP VoteCast showed that he benefited from modest swings among traditionally Democratic voters.
Across the country, and in Pennsylvania, clear majorities of Black and Latino voters supported Harris, but slightly more of them backed Trump this year compared with four years ago.
“I told Donald Trump in 2015 when he asked ‘what do I have to do to win Pennsylvania,’ I said, ‘come here a lot, Pennsylvanians like to know their candidates,’” said Rob Gleason, who was state GOP chairman at the time.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Latrobe, Pa. (Photo: AP/Evan Vucci)
In Wisconsin and Michigan, Republicans gained but not as much
Democrats had a much better night in Wisconsin than in the other “blue wall” states, despite Trump’s victory.
Trump cut into Democratic margins in the counties around Milwaukee and Madison, and held or boosted his margins in rural areas, suburbs and other conservative areas.
“There were a lot of people who didn’t think we could do this,” Wisconsin Republican Party chair Brian Schimming said. “That blue brick in that blue wall is now red in Wisconsin.”
Still, Democrats were buoyed by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin ’s narrow victory, and newly enacted legislative maps drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers helped his party.
They made gains in both the state Senate and Assembly, shrinking the Republican Senate supermajority to a simple majority.
In Michigan, Harris carried Wayne County, which includes Detroit and suburbs with heavy Arab American populations, but by a far slimmer margin — about 90,000 votes — than Biden’s. Meanwhile, Trump boosted his margins by more than 55,000 votes in two other big suburban counties, Macomb and Oakland.
Democrat Elissa Slotkin narrowly won Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, but Democrats lost the House seat she vacated to run for the higher chamber.
Meanwhile, they lost their state House majority, ending a two-year run in which a Democratic-controlled statehouse enacted new laws on gun safety, abortion rights and other top priorities.
Republicans say Trump’s embrace of early voting and emphasis on inflation and immigration was effective.
In Pennsylvania, some Democrats said Harris should have picked Shapiro to be her running mate. Others suggested Biden, who grew up in Pennsylvania and made it his presidential campaign base, would have done better.
Former Gov. Ed Rendell questioned whether Harris’ campaign effectively responded to attacks in the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state that she would ban fracking. Two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters support expanding fracking, according to VoteCast.
Larry Maggi, a Democratic county commissioner in blue-collar Washington County, just outside Pittsburgh, said Harris didn’t connect with people — particularly men, and especially young white men — the way Trump did.
“That bravado talk, that tough talk, people like that,” Maggi said. “It resonated.”
A Marine Corps veteran, Maggi recalled a conversation over a beer in a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall with a friend who was wearing a red MAGA hat.
Maggi asked him why he likes Trump.
“Because he tells it how it is,” the friend replied.
A Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus (SEPTA) is driven on Market Street in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. (Photo: AP/Matt Rourke/File)
PHILADELPHIA.— The union that represents thousands of Philadelphia mass transit system workers has agreed to delay a strike that could have started Friday, saying progress was being made in ongoing contract talks.
Transport Workers Union Local 234 members had voted last week to authorize a strike once their one-year contract with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority expired at 12:01 a.m. Friday. But the two sides agreed late Thursday to continue talks on Friday afternoon.
“We have not reached an agreement, but there has been sufficient movement for us to continue talking and we are not yet calling a strike at this time,” union President Brian Pollitt said. “We are by no means taking the possibility of a strike off the table as we continue to fight for the best possible agreement addressing our safety and economic concerns.”
The transportation authority, which has repeatedly said its financial health is uncertain, said it remains hopeful that a fair deal can be reached. The agency has declined to comment in detail on the talks.
Local 234 has about 5,000 members, including bus, subway, and trolley operators, mechanics, cashiers, maintenance workers and custodians.
Pollitt has said the transportation authority has not moved off its opening proposal, which he said included no wage increase and offered a $1,000 signing bonus in exchange for concessions on costs for health care coverage. The union’s top demand is additional steps to improve personal safety for frontline workers — many of whom face violence and harassment — and a wage increase.
