Josh Shapiro is reelected; four Pa. swing districts key in battle for U.S. House; Dems flip N.C. Senate seat

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, chair of the Bucks County Democratic Committee, told The Inquirer Tuesday night at the party’s election night event that he’s “cautiously optimistic” about Democrat Bob Harvie and other down-ballot candidates’ chances — specifically pointing to the early party breakdown of mail ballots being counted and the vibe that he felt at the polls today.

“I think the numbers look really good,” Santarsiero said. “I’d much rather be where we are at this moment in the evening than where they are.”

Harvie, who is projected to be in a tight race against Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, is expected to arrive later.

In the Englewood Hershey Hotel Tuesday night, Janelle Stelson supporters gathered in a rustic ballroom decorated in a kind of raw barn chic. 

They sipped on Blue Moon on tap and caramel apple sangria. The vibe was positive in the early going, with no returns known and hope very much alive in the darkened room. 

Stelson’s staff was mum and supporters declined to talk to reporters, as though a wrong word could ruin the mood. There were intermittent cheers as a giant TV screen showed Democrats doing well in other states in early results. 

Sue Altman, who lost to Tom Kean Jr. in the 7th District race in New Jersey two years ago, said she was out on the trail for Rebecca Bennett over the weekend and was impressed with the "positive energy."

"I have no doubt we are going to win tonight," said Altman in the ballroom at the Bridgewater Manor in Bridgewater, where hundreds of Bennett's supporters gathered to watch the results.

When asked if she wished she was running this year, Altman said she was "totally happy with her life choices" and "Rebecca will be great. I have no regrets."

U.S. Rep. Herb Conaway is locked in for a second term with his win in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District.

Conaway, who was first elected in 2024, beat out Republican challenger Michael McGuire to retain his seat. The move keeps the 3rd District under Democrat control.

Republicans faced an uphill battle for the seat, with about 36% of registered voters in the district affiliated with the Democratic Party. Roughly 27% of 3rd District voters were registered Republican, according to state data.

State Rep. Chris Rabb officially won the 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans and become the first democratic socialist to represent Philadelphia in Congress.

Rabb, 56, of East Mount Airy, is a progressive who emerged from a tightly contested primary that challenged the city’s longstanding Democratic establishment.

In one of the bluest congressional districts in the country, he did not face a Republican in Tuesday’s election. Dennis Mahoney, a humanitarian aid worker from South Philadelphia, appeared on the ballot as an independent candidate.

U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross is in for another term in New Jersey's 1st Congressional District, which includes Camden County and parts of Gloucester and Burlington Counties.

Norcross beat out Republican candidate Damon Galdo, keeping the seat for Garden State Democrats. Both candidates won their parties' primaries unopposed in June.

The brother of South Jersey power broker George Norcross, the incumbent Norcross has served as the 1st District's representative since 2014. Galdo, meanwhile, described himself in campaign materials as "not a career politician," and said he worked in construction and the trades.

The Pennsylvania governor's race was called just a minute after polls closed at 8 p.m. But at an election night watch party for the Republican candidate, Stacy Garrity, many of her supporters were unaware. Guests were chatting while music plays.

A reporter broke the news to several guests, who had said they were hopeful even after the results began to come in.

Doug Thomas, who said he is good friends with Garrity and knows her through politics, said "I don't trust the AP anyway."

Gov. Josh Shapiro cruised to reelection on Tuesday, trouncing his Republican opponent Stacy Garrity in a decisive victory that strengthens the Democrat’s prospects for a 2028 presidential run.

The Associated Press called the race for Shapiro shortly after polls closed across the state. The resounding win for Shapiro, 53, of Abington Township, cements his dominance in the critical battleground state that voted for President Donald Trump just two years ago.

But a more substantial test of Shapiro’s strength is still to come in the following hours and days, as he’s staked his reputation on helping Democrats win up and down the ballot. The move could bolster his national standing at a time when the Democratic Party searches for a new leader to carry it into the post-Trump era. Shapiro invested $10 million of his campaign war chest to flip four congressional seats and to win a Democratic trifecta of control in Harrisburg for the first time since 1993, in races that had yet to be called on Tuesday evening.

Gov. Josh Shapiro cruised to reelection on Tuesday, trouncing his Republican opponent Stacy Garrity in a decisive victory that strengthens the Democrat’s prospects for a 2028 presidential run.

The Associated Press called the race for Shapiro shortly after polls closed across the state. The win for Shapiro, 53, of Abington Township, cements his strength in the critical battleground state that voted for President Donald Trump just two years ago.

But a more substantial test of Shapiro’s strength is still to come in the following hours and days, as he staked his reputation on helping Democrats win up and down the ballot to bolster his national standing, at a time when the Democratic Party searches for a new leader to carry it into the post-Trump era. Shapiro invested $10 million of his campaign war chest to flip four congressional seats and to win a Democratic trifecta of control in Harrisburg for the first time since 1993, in races that had yet to be called on Tuesday evening.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker won reelection in New Jersey, warding off a challenge from Justin Murphy, a longshot candidate from Burlington County, the Associated Press projected.

Booker was first elected to the Senate in a 2013 special election before he was reelected in 2014 and 2020 for full six-year terms. He previously served as Newark Mayor starting in 2006 at the age of 37.

He is among the most successful fundraisers in Congress, and donations surged after he delivered a record-breaking speech on the Senate floor last year that lasted 25 hours. That performance followed by a national book tour earlier this year heightened speculation about a potential 2028 presidential run, which he has not ruled out.

At the historic Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May, owned by the family of Democratic congressional candidate Mayor Zack Mullock, supporters mingled over drinks at the wooden bar and high tops and on the iconic porch with its green and white awnings.

A big screen played election results in the Henry Sawyer Room, known to locals as "The Playroom," where in June, the homespun, tractor-driving Mullock, his wife and three children, one barefoot, had declared a surprise victory in the primary.

"Are we fired up?" called out one supporter from the porch. "We're fired up."

In the closing hour of Election Day in Pennsylvania, the last few voters at a polling site in Tunkhannock all cast their ballot for Democrats down the line.

“I want a change,” said Sherika Sanders, 50.

Sanders works as a caregiver for seniors and said she wanted to see better medical care and support for elders.

Delaware County voters on Tuesday were deciding whether to authorize the county to borrow up to $120 million for land conservation that supporters say would help to preserve open space and protect natural resources.

If the land conservation referendum is approved and the full $120 million figure is borrowed, county estimates put the average household cost at about $24 per year. Opponents have raised concerns about the cost to taxpayers and the effect that such land-preservation efforts could have on housing development.

On Tuesday night, Joy Schwartz, 70, stood outside Upper Darby High School on North Lansdowne Avenue beside a table where she had posted a sign urging voters to reject the referendum.

Inside the halls of West Philadelphia High School, State Rep. Chris Rabb streamed a live interview with Hasan Piker on the streamer’s Twitch channel in a late election push. 

As he left to visit more polling places, Rabb took selfies with Philadelphians excited for the Democratic Socialist’s almost certain win tonight.

Rabb said he was excited to see the broader level of enthusiasm among young people for this election, and how they have organized to get out the vote for races all over, not just his own.

Outside the Cape May Kiwanis Club on Beach Avenue after nightfall, Mary Pat Myers, corresponding secretary with the Cape May County Democrats, said the organization had knocked on 17,000 doors of registered Democrats in the county, just about every registered Democrat. (Republicans have about 34,000 in the county in deep South Jersey).

A neighbor of Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock, the Democrat trying to unseat Rep. Jeff Van Drew in New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District, she said Mullock was well positioned to beat the Republican.

"He's very cross party lines," said Myers, a retired photographer now volunteering for the local Democratic Party. "He works with everybody. That's one of his strong points, and I think that will fare well for him."

Outside of West Scranton Intermediate School, 18-year-old Jordyn Turner’s hair was as blue as her ballot on Tuesday. 

As a high school senior, gas prices and Social Security benefits didn't weigh on her as much as the price of college and the health of the environment.

“I want to go to college,” Turner said. “I've known so many people, including myself, who have a very low chance of completing what they want in college.”

At the North Wildwood Community Center, retired firefighter 'Ray Vozzelli said he voted for U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew and is hoping the House stays in Republican control. Cape May County has long been a Republican stronghold and loyal to Van Drew, even when Van Drew was a Democrat. His opponent, Zack Mullock, is mayor of the City of Cape May.

"If the House switches, the very first thing they're going to do is impeach Donald Trump," Vozzelli said. They're not worried about anything else. They'll make up something and impeach him."

Asked if he was happy with the state of the country under President Donald Trump, he said, "I"m happier now than if Kamala Harris would have been elected."

At Aronimink Elementary School in Drexel Hill early Tuesday evening, Democratic and Republican greeters stood on opposite sides of the walkway leading to the school’s gymnasium, where residents could cast their ballots. They had spent the day watching the same stream of voters, but came away with sharply different impressions of the turnout — and what was driving it.

Risa DeSilva-King, a 43-year-old business owner and second-time Democratic greeter, said she had seen more people by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday than she had during the presidential election two years earlier. She said she voted “blue straight down.”

“I think that we have [President Donald] Trump to thank for that,” DeSilva-King said. No matter their party affiliation or personal beliefs, she said, “he’s really galvanized people to get involved.”

With their 5-week-old baby in tow, Emma Rose, 40, made the extra effort to cast their ballot at the Collingswood Community Center Tuesday afternoon.

After recently moving to Collingswood from Los Angeles, Rose, who works in tech, said they were quick to dive into local politics so that they were informed on the issues when they got to the polls today. Like many voters in the borough, the local ballot questions — a county-wide open space tax, a school board referendum, and the borough’s status as a dry town — primarily called Rose to the polls.

With two young kids, funding the borough’s struggling school district was a major priority, Rose said.

One of the biggest questions on Tuesday is whether more independent-minded voters in the Lehigh Valley — in one of the swingiest U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania — make a different decision than they made two years ago.

And as a steady stream of voters came through a polling place in Macungie a few hours before polls closed, that tradition of independence was on display.

“I can go either way. I used to vote with Republicans a lot. The past few years, now, I’ve been switching around,” said Kevin Black, 66, a retired teacher from Macungie, which is about six miles from Allentown.

Outside of Central Bucks South High School in Warrington, it was an unmistakable Bucks County scene as voters cast ballots shortly before the after-work rush.

Stalks of pale yellow corn withered in the November sunset, while high school football players chucked helmets and pads into waiting parents' cars.

Littered throughout the school's sizeable parking lot were political campaign signs — many of them negative.

Irene Demaio, 68, said she can hear a constant hum from the data center in Vineland at her home on quiet mornings.

“Someone I spoke to today, her brother lives even closer and has hearing aids, has to take them out and still wear earplugs because of the humming noise,” Demaio said from a polling site at a fire station less than 2 miles away from the massive data center.

“I think the politicians that let it happen need to go. Point blank,” she said. “They need to be out of office. Van Drew, specifically.”

John G. Whittier Elementary School was the hopping place to be in South Scranton in the late afternoon hours on Election Day.

Cars were constantly coming and going and gaggles of teens, couples, and grandparents were cycling in and out of the polling place at a rate Bernard Ott had never before seen in his four years signing voters in at that precinct.

“This is the largest turnout I've seen,” Ott said outside the school. “This is crazy.”

A blown fuse, power outage, and fire alarm led to the evacuation of a Germantown polling location around noon Tuesday.

But Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley says voting machines at Happy Hollow Recreation Center were not affected because of the battery backups they come with. The fuse, she added, was replaced in less than an hour.

“It did disrupt voting for a short time,” said Deeley. “People heard a fire alarm and had to evacuate, but everyone got the all clear to go [back].”

Donald Trump may not be on the ballot this election, but he and his administration were top of mind for voters in West Philly.

“I just am really horrified by what this administration is doing,” said Meena Fernald, 32. She said it was scary to be a woman, and scary to be a queer person under the Trump presidency. She is a parent to a new daughter,  and thought about her too when casting her vote for Democrats down the line.

Fernald was frank about what she hoped those lawmakers would do differently should they grab control of both the House and Senate.

Chris Grouzes always votes, even when he feels things are good. But as he cast he ballot Tuesday at the Kennett Friends Meeting polling place, “Things are bad,” he said.

“I care about people. I don't think people are being cared for right now,” the 41-year-old said.

He worries about the war in Iran, immigration enforcement, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s efforts to dismantle her own department, among other issues. He voted blue down the ballot.

Gov. Josh Shapiro voted with his wife, Lori, and son, Jonah, at his Abington Township polling place Tuesday morning.

By the time the Shapiros arrived around 10 a.m., the early rush at the Rydal Elementary West polling station had subsided, but the governor received a warm welcome from neighbors in the Abington ward, about two-thirds of whom voted for Kamala Harris in 2024.

After casting his ballot, Shapiro said at a news conference that in his next term he plans to cut both taxes and costs while boosting investments in mass transit, healthcare, and affordable housing.

Voters in New Jersey's 7th District expressed concern about the state of the economy as they left a polling place in Bedminster, Somerset County, where incumbent Republican Tom Kean Jr. and Democrat Rebecca Bennett are on the ballot.

Nance Shedlock and Kristin Bartel are good friends — such good friends that Bartel trusted Shedlock to mind her dog, Spike while she cast her ballot. And it doesn’t matter to them that they don’t share political viewpoints.

“I’m a Republican, I really want the gas prices to go down. That is important for me,” Shedlock said.

At the Erma Volunteer Fire Co., voting was brisk as the sun began to set over this Cape May County mainland town. Mike Lawrence, 81, said he was "not interested" in talk about a blue wave and predicted it would stop before it hit deep South Jersey.

"I'm voting straight Republican," said Lawrence, who owned a driving school before retiring. "Van Drew, I just think he does a good, good job. You know, he follows up."

He said he's reached out to Van Drew's office for assistance with a commercial real estate issue, and was satisfied with the assistance.

Many voters at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s predominantly Democratic polling place on Tuesday said they like him as a person and a politician — and would elect him president should he choose to run in 2028.

Most people who spoke to The Inquirer Tuesday said they’d support his presidential run based more on personal qualities and values than a policy platform.

Zibo Hasan, 49, who voted to reelect Shapiro as governor on Tuesday, said her support for a potential presidential run comes from personal experience.

Wanda Holmes-Smith has watched her cost of living climb — and her budget shrink.

Late Tuesday afternoon, after casting her ballot at Aldan Elementary School, Holmes-Smith, 68, ticked off the expenses that had risen in recent months: fuel, groceries, utilities.

“What hasn’t gotten more expensive?” she asked.

By midafternoon at two of South Philadelphia’s Republican strongholds, Marconi Plaza Bocce Courts and Barry Recreation Center, a consistent stream of voters cycled through.

Joe Mer, a South Philadelphian who votes Republican, was leaving his 26th Ward polling place at Barry — a precinct where more than two-thirds of votes went to President Donald Trump in 2024 — when he said he couldn't trust Gov. Josh Shapiro due to his swift change in stance on data centers.

“I just don’t like him. Shapiro said he was for the data centers, and now he’s against them. I don't like data centers, and I think ‘Big Tech’ has gone unchecked for too long. It’s time to start dialing it back,” Mer said.

Bertha Sarmina, judge of elections in the 22nd Ward, Division 10, said voter turnout was high at the Blair Christian Academy polling place in Mount Airy.

Sarmina has presided over six elections in three years, and said the turnout today was higher than usual.

“We've had a steady stream all day,” she said. “Other times we've had long periods of not much action.”

Data centers were top of mind for some Monroe Township voters on Election Day as developers continue to fight against the Gloucester County town’s ban in court.

Large signs condemned data centers in the parking lot of Open Bible Baptist Church, one local polling place. They were propped in the backs of trucks and trailers and came from both parties, even though there isn’t a referendum or direct reference to data centers on the ballot.

“No data centers in Monroe Township,” said a sign supporting John Valentine, the Republican mayoral candidate.

Jacquie Shafer, a 44-year-old teacher from Langhorne, isn’t typically a midterm election voter.

But the current state of affairs — particularly when it comes to the cost of living — prompted her to show up Tuesday to Hoover Elementary School to cast a “straight blue” ballot.

“You make this living and you think you’re doing well, and suddenly you’re strapped,” said Shafer, who says she’s now having to decide whether her kids can do extracurriculars or if the money could be better used elsewhere. “[Our family] has two kids, two working adults, and it’s still really, really stressful.”

Six months later, Larry Krasner finally got his mac and cheese.

In May, the district attorney, a progressive Democrat, got kicked out of the biannual election day lunch at South Restaurant and Jazz Club after getting into a spat with labor leader Ryan Boyer, the host of the event that draws hundreds of politicos and elected officials. Krasner lamented that day that Boyer, whom he called “Lyin’ Ryan,” owed him campaign contributions — and that he didn’t even get to enter the venue to get a plate of soul food.

Krasner attended the event again Tuesday, but this time, there was considerably less drama.

With picturesque fall leaves dropping on the University of Pennsylvania campus, student voters appeared to be voting for Democrats across the board. But the motivations fueling their decisions ranged widely.

Lila Meltzer, 21, said it has been devastating to see President Donald Trump and his administration threaten democracy and do away with common decency. She voted for Democrats in the hope that they might be able to provide a better check on Trump’s power.

“Our government was not meant to have a king or leader who can plow over everyone else,” she said.

In the mail-balloting and in-person voting, Democrats held landslide margins over Republicans in New Jersey heading into Election Day.

“Democrats appear enthusiastic,” said Ashley Koning, director of the Rutgers University Eagleton Institute Center for Public Interest Polling.

About 1.25 million registered voters in the Garden State had cast ballots heading into Tuesday, with Democrats holding a 400,000-vote edge, or more than a 2-1 ratio, said Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rider University's Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics.

After machine set-up issues delayed the opening of three Chester County polling places, the Court of Common Pleas has granted a 30-minute extension of voting hours at three locations:

Each will remain open until 8:30 p.m. 

Votes cast after 8 p.m. will be on provisional ballots, officials said. 

City Commissioner Lisa Deeley confirmed Tuesday there were federal election monitors at polling places in Philadelphia.

The monitors had not caused disruptions or been involved in problems related to voting, she said at about 12:40 p.m.

Deeley, one of the city’s three top elections administrators, said her office received reports of federal monitors at Pollock Elementary, Lincoln High School, a polling place in the 10th Ward, and possibly other locations.

At the East Bradford Township administration building in Chester County, voters were split on their views of Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“Shapiro hasn’t done a god darn thing but make everything worse, not like when I was young,” said lifelong Republican Joan Hale. “I won’t vote for Democrats, because I don’t want this country to become socialist, and that’s exactly what will happen.”

While Hale, 74, doesn’t agree with everything President Donald Trump has done in his time in office, she said she believes he’s “a patriot who cares about this country and not about power.” She particularly praised his work to lower prescription drug costs for older residents.

Call it unfortunate timing.

Voters assigned to the polling place at Jerome Brown Playground arrived Tuesday morning to find the several streets blocked off to traffic due to utility work, making it hard to access the site.

In a video, State Sen. Sharif Street, who is also the Democratic ward leader in the 11th, alerted voters to the construction and temporary workarounds.

No news is good news at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Election Task Force.

In full swing since the polls opened at 7 a.m., the task force is monitoring online complaint forms and a hotline for voting irregularities.

But the first few hours of voting remained largely uneventful.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker posed for photos with guests and shook hands during a brief stop at the traditional Election Day lunch at Famous 4th Street Deli.

Parker said she’s hoping for a Democratic “trifecta” in Harrisburg, meaning her party would win a State Senate majority, and retain the State House and governor’s office.

“This is good energy,” Parker said. “My hope today is that people across the city of Philadelphia, that they understand the assignment and they exercise their constitutional right to vote. But I think we're looking at a trifecta today in the in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Mark Lynch Jr., leader of Philadelphia’s politically powerful electricians union, said the No. 1 thing he would be watching for in Tuesday’s election results is Gov. Josh Shapiro’s margin of victory.

“He worked his butt off, and up until the last minute, so I'm curious how large of a margin it really is,” Lynch said while ordering lunch at the traditional Election Day gathering at the Famous 4th Street Deli in Queen Village.

Shapiro, the Democratic incumbent widely viewed as a 2028 presidential contender, will want to run up the score on Republican challenger Stacy Garrity to enter the next election cycle with momentum.

Early-morning votes in West Chester were open about their support of Gov. Josh Shapiro. And the consensus among them was that he seemed primed for an ascendance to the national stage.

Outside of the Mary Taylor House on Walnut Street, Jay Lautenberg said Shapiro has consistently shown strong leadership, and has the ability to work across the aisle.

“He’s a good balance of a traditional politician with someone who is reliable with common sense issues,” Lautenberg, 52, said, referring to the quick temporary repairs made to I-95 in Philadelphia after a section collapsed in 2023.

Gov. Josh Shapiro voted with his wife and son Jonah at his Abington Township polling place Tuesday morning.

The early morning rush had subsided by the time the Shapiros arrived around 10 a.m., but the governor received a warm welcome from neighbors in the Abington ward, about two-thirds of whom voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. Several voters said this morning they'd known Shapiro’s family long before he held public office.

“His father was my sons’ pediatrician until they were 18 years old,” said Diana Eidenshink, 62, a registered Republican who voted for both Shapiro and Democratic U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean. “Big fan of the whole family.”

Shortly after a mob of President Donald Trump supporters rushed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a horrified Julie Marshall decided to call her congressman.

She wanted to let Republican Brian Fitzpatrick know that she believed Trump needed to be removed from office for his role in what had occurred.

So she called Fitzpatrick’s office.

Monitors from the U.S. Justice Department will observe today polling locations in Philadelphia, among other Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware counties.

President Donald Trump’s administration announced that more than 1,000 monitors will be on the ground to ensure compliance with federal election law, including the Voting Rights Act and American with Disabilities Act.

Federal monitoring of elections is routine, and monitors arrived to Philadelphia under previous presidential administrations. In the 2024 General Election, President Joe Biden’s DOJ deployed over 700 monitors. 

Tina Loveland-Smith, 53, a Delaware County school administrator, held back tears as she described why she came out to vote at the Media Borough Community Center on Tuesday morning.

"I have a daughter, and I feel like our democracy is crumbling before our eyes," Loveland-Smith said.

A registered independent, Loveland-Smith been both a Democrat and a Republican in the past. Now, she said, the fight to "defend our democracy" transcends party lines.

The slow trickle of Democratic voters into Chew Recreation Center, a voting precinct and cherished community playground in South Philadelphia, was subdued during the morning rush Tuesday. Parents rolled strollers into the playground with bubbling children in tow, business people rushing off to work after casting a ballot, and the city squirrels populated the trees and fences around the park.

Those showing up to vote, however, were feeling a mix of hope for a change in global and domestic policy, but also trepidation at what’s to come under President Donald Trump's administration.

“I don't know why I was feeling a little bit nervous about voting for the first time in a long time. Social media's scaring me into thinking something bad will happen after this election,” said Point Breeze resident Liz Jacobson, 40, who pointed to reporting around the war in Iran and false election claims pushed by the White House.

Over a million voters in Pennsylvania cast their ballots before the polls even opened.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, 1,114,767 mail and absentee ballots have been returned, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. That's nearly 85% of the 1,315,879 ballots sent to voters.

The vast majority of those — 718,641 ballots — were from registered Democrats. Registered Republicans returned 280,442 ballots, while Independents accounted for the remaining 115,684 ballots.

For the most part, early morning voters at the Glassboro VFW, a quiet Gloucester County polling place on Wilmer Street, didn’t cast their ballots with a specific race in mind despite the county commissioners race gaining traction — and controversy — online.

As a member of the military, Randall Williams, 47, said he voted Tuesday to do his civic duty. He declined to share his party.

“You can’t sit there and complain if you don’t go out and vote,” Williams said.

Juan Lopez wanted to be fully retired at his age – 69 – but has to juggle painting houses with caring for his disabled wife. So when he walked around the corner from his Bridesburg home to the Point No Point Club to cast his ballot on Tuesday morning, he voted with his wallet in mind, he said.

“The most important thing is the food – the prices, everything is so expensive,” said Lopez. “And the gas. Since Trump took over, it hasn’t been the same. I have to work now.”

Lopez has always trended Democratic, he said, but since Donald Trump took office, he won’t consider a Republican candidate. He enthusiastically voted for Gov. Josh Shapiro, whom he saw as an anti-Trump.

At Monaghan Presbyterian Church in Dillsburg, York County Tuesday morning, the parking lot was as full as on a Sunday morning, with every parking spot taken.

People on hand to vote, rather than worship, crowded the brick sanctuary in the 10th Congressional District near the home of incumbent Republican Congressman Scott Perry, who is in a tight reelection fight against Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson.

The rural community of around 2,400 people has long leaned Republican, as evidenced by what voters with freshly cast ballots said.

A handful of pivotal congressional races in Pennsylvania and New Jersey could well decide the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representative and a menu of other races of interest are on the ballots.

But it wouldn’t be shocking if it turned out that fewer than half of those eligible decided to vote.

In the mid-term elections since 2010, turnout in Pennsylvania has averaged 46%, and 42% in the Garden State, both within range of the national average, according to data assembled by the University of Florida’s U.S. Elections Projects.

New Jersey voters in at least one district on Tuesday will help determine which party controls the U.S. House, in a midterm election widely seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. faces long odds that voters will return him for a third term in the 7th Congressional District in Central and North Jersey, as Democratic momentum builds amid a national backlash against Trump that will potentially elevate former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett to the seat.

Voters’ frustration with the president is so severe that Democrats have expanded their map in the final weeks, increasing their support for Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock’s challenge against four-term Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew in South Jersey’s 2nd District.

With the governor’s race expected to be a reelection rout for Gov. Josh Shapiro, all eyes Tuesday will be fixed on four swing congressional districts that Democrats appear poised to flip and thereby win control of the U.S. House.

The path to power in Washington runs straight through the Philly suburbs — not to mention who controls Harrisburg.

For the first time in decades, Pennsylvania Democrats could also take full control of the legislature. That would give Shapiro — expected to easily cruise by Republican challenger Stacy Garrity — significantly more power to shape the direction of the state as he inches closer to announcing a 2028 presidential run.

Whatever factors may discourage people from going to polling places on Tuesday in the Philly region, the weather won’t be one of them.

The remarkable run of rainless days will reign at least through Tuesday around here, and voting conditions should be excellent in Pennsylvania and New Jersey from the Port of Erie to Cape May Point ferry terminal.

In fact, they should be decent in the majority of the nation, said Jennifer Tate, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, in College Park, Md.

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to send election monitors to polling places in Philadelphia and three other Pennsylvania counties on Election Day. Whether that’s cause for concern or business as usual is up for debate.

It’s not uncommon for the federal government to deploy election monitors. However, the plan has raised alarms due to President Donald Trump’s track record of disputing election results. The Justice Department, which is run by Trump’s former personal attorney Todd Blanche, said the goal is to make sure federal law is followed.

The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections in the commonwealth, shared some of the Justice Department's communications, as well as its plans. Here’s what we know:

Gov. Josh Shapiro closed out his gubernatorial reelection campaign on familiar turf in Jenkintown on Monday night, urging supporters to look toward the future as Democrats aim to retake Congress and the Pennsylvania state Senate on Election Day.

Flanked by his family and numerous elected Democrats, Shapiro reflected on his political beginnings in Montgomery County and implored the crowd to reject what he described as the "chaos," "cruelty," and "corruption" of President Donald Trump's administration.

Standing in the shadow of Jenkintown's Plaza Apartments, Shapiro recalled his first political campaign in 2004, when he ran for state representative and, after knocking thousands of doors, beat a well-known Republican incumbent.

Stacy Garrity, the Republican Party’s nominee for Pennsylvania governor, projected confidence at an Election Day eve rally in Bucks County, despite multiple statewide polls showing her with a double-digit disadvantage in the race.

“The most important message of tonight,” she said to a crowd of about 170 people Monday in Newtown, “we will win this race.”

Garrity, who is challenging popular incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, has struggled to find her footing in the gubernatorial race and build a strong war chest to match Shapiro’s massive haul.

Pennsylvania, can you believe it? It’s here. Voters across the Keystone State are casting their ballots in the midterm elections, which will decide the balance of power in Harrisburg and Washington.

Control of the U.S. House could come down to a few key Pennsylvania congressional districts, including one in the Philly suburbs. And the election will determine whether Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro holds onto the governor’s office as he faces a challenge from Republican Stacy Garrity.

Pennsylvanians will also make their voices heard in state House elections and state Senate races as Democrats vie for their first trifecta in Harrisburg in decades. The majority in the state Senate will likely come down to a handful of competitive races in the eastern half of the state.