Election 2026 live updates: Rabb wins Pa.’s 3rd Congressional District, Harvie wins 1st; full results

State Sen. Sharif Street conceded to state Rep. Chris Rabb in the 3rd Congressional District primary race, saying his campaign could not match Rabb’s strong support from progressive voters.

“This is a wake-up call for some of us,” he told supporters gathered at his watch party, held at a union hall in North Philadelphia.

“Let’s just be honest, there was the movement that gave birth to the victory today, called themselves “Reclaim,” and they wanted to reclaim their party. Perhaps we need to reclaim our communities and get a little bit more engaged and a little bit more involved,” he said.

Standing next to state Sen. Anthony Williams and Mayor Cherelle Parker, who campaigned with him in the final days before the election, Street also acknowledged third-place candidate Ala Stanford, who benefitted from millions in PAC funding and early television commercials.

“We didn’t have the millions of dollars of TV ads that the others had,” he said. “We did have people power, we did inspire lots of folks, we did it in a grassroots way.”

A state legislator since 2017 and the son of former Philadelphia Mayor John Street, Sen. Street was considered the establishment candidate and an early favorite to win the coveted congressional seat.

But perhaps due to Stanford’s peeling off some of the support he had counted on, he ended up in a distant second place to Rabb, earning just under 30% of votes to the winner’s 44%, with most of the votes counted.

Street listed off several issues he has worked on, such as creating Pennsylvania’s healthcare exchange and securing funding for gun violence prevention, and said he would continue that work in the state Senate.

“All issues we can continue to fight for,” he said. “So while this isn’t the result that we wanted tonight, this isn’t the end of the process.”

Ala Stanford thanked her supporters in her concession speech after falling short in her bid for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District primary race.

Stanford said she will “continue to be hopeful for the people in Philadelphia.”

“For the young folks, and especially for the women that believed so much in what we were doing, do not be discouraged,” Stanford said during a watch party at the North Philadelphia Welcome Center. “You might shed a tear tonight, but tomorrow, joy will come because we all have a purpose and we all have a passion and we all have a promise for the next generation.”

Philadelphia voters approved two ballot questions by wide margins during Tuesday’s election.

Ballot Question 1 amends the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create a board that will launch Philly Saves, a retirement program for private-sector workers whose employers do not offer them a retirement plan. Eligible workers will be enrolled automatically, with 3% to 6% of their paychecks going into a city-sponsored retirement account. Philadelphia will be the first city to offer its own retirement plan. Several states have already rolled out similar programs. Voters approved the ballot question by around 77% as of 10 p.m. with more than 90% of the vote counted.

Ballot Question 2 makes the city’s Office of the Youth Ombudsperson a permanent part of the city’s charter. The office was created in 2022 by executive order following reports of abuse at residential youth treatment facilities. The office oversees residential placements within Philadelphia’s child welfare, behavioral health treatment and juvenile justice systems. Voters approved the ballot question by around 87% as of 10 p.m.

State Rep. Chris Rabb will more than likely replace U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans in January. The self-styled progressive benefitted from political endorsements from the left and a grassroots ground game by local progressive groups such as the Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party.

A Philadelphia native, Rabb previously worked as an aide to Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and served on the White House Conference on Small Business during the Clinton administration. He later became a researcher and educator focusing on social entrepreneurship and wrote the book “Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity.”

He ran for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2016 and won, representing  Northwest Philadelphia for the last 10 years. There, he built a reputation as an outspoken advocate for racial justice, economic equity, public education and government reform, though some other Democrats have criticized him for being combative.

» READ MORE: Progressive Rabb wins 3rd District race with boosts from ‘the squad’ and local grassroots activism

With 60% of districts reporting, Chris Rabb has taken the lead in the race for the 3rd Congressional District.

Supporters at Rabb’s election night headquarters expressed confidence in their candidate after spending days knocking on doors, making calls and standing outside polling places today.

Shawn Moss, a member of the Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America, said he was feeling good after spending the day at a South Philly precinct.

“Most of the people were there specifically for Chris Rabb,” he said. “Not that we can manifest things into being, but I just feel like yeah, he got this.”

Drew Bono, 16, said he was also feeling confident.

“It’s going to be a very close race, but the way we’ve been organizing, I feel like we have a very good shot and a lot of momentum,” he said.

After a friend told Bono about the campaign, he quickly got involved.

“I read his platform and it felt like someone I wanted to support,” he said, adding he liked Rabb’s promise to “fully fund” education and healthcare. “I want someone who’s going to tax the ultra-wealthy to make those things come true.”

Supporters of Ala Stanford’s campaign fell silent at her watch party as updated polls showed her slipping out of the lead in the Democratic 3rd Congressional District primary.

The political newcomer jumped to an early lead after mail-in ballots were counted. Since then, state Rep. Chris Rabb has the lead with half of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday night dismissed his Republican challenger Stacy Garrity as another ally of President Donald Trump during a Democratic event in Bucks County.

“We cannot afford to give Donald Trump a rubber stamp in the governor’s office, and that’s exactly what we’re up against,” Shapiro said to a large crowd of supporters at The Fuge. “My opponent is running on her complete and total allegiance to Donald Trump. Because she’s more focused on serving him than fighting for you. She proudly wears that MAGA hat while I wear the Pennsylvania jersey.”

Both Shapiro and Garrity, the state treasurer, ran unopposed in their respective primaries.

“You and your families, I believe, deserve a governor who shares your values, who will always fight for you,” Shapiro said. “I’ll defend the union way of life. I’ll defend the right to choose and I’ll defend the right to marry who you love. I’ll invest in your future, and hear me on this — I will always honor the oath I take to uphold the constitutions of the United States and our commonwealth. I will never ever ever back down from a fight. And I will never back down from a fight, especially against the president who’s coming for you.”

Bob Harvie has bested Lucia Simonelli in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.

The Bucks County commissioner and former high school social studies teacher will face off against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in November in one of four key Pennsylvania races Democrats are targeting to take control of the U.S. House.

Fitzpatrick, who has often ranked among the most bipartisan members of Congress, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. The former Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent was first elected in Congress in 2016 to represent the 8th Congressional District after the incumbent, his older brother Michael Fitzpatrick, decided not to run again. Following redistricting in 2018, Brian Fitzpatrick was re-elected to represent the 1st Congressional District, which encompasses all of Bucks County and parts of Montgomery County.

Fitzpatrick defeated Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz in both the 2024 and 2022 general elections by more than nine percentage points.

» READ MORE: Bob Harvie and Lucia Simonelli face off in Dem. primary for Pa.’s 1st Congressional District

Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt spoke an hour after polls closed Tuesday and declared the primary election a success.

“Pennsylvania held a free, fair, safe and secure election yet again,” Schmidt said.

Voting continued uninterrupted at a Lehigh County polling site where an explosive device was thrown Tuesday morning, Schmidt said. Despite record heat that hit 99 degrees Fahrenheit in Philadelphia, not a single polling place closed, “whether it was air conditioned or not,” Schmidt said.

“I think that speaks highly of the people who make our democracy possible,” he said.

Schmidt thanked the roughly 45,000 poll workers, hundreds of county election officials, first responders and law enforcement personnel who helped the election run smoothly.

He urged Pennsylvanians to “be patient” while votes are tallied.

He said over 854,000 voters requested mail ballots, roughly 77% of which had been returned by the close of polls at 8 p.m.

Bob Welsh, chair of the Warminster Republican Committee, and Steve Wojciechowski, a candidate for the Democratic State Committee, stood side-by-side at a polling place in Warminster Township on Tuesday.

Welsh and Wojciechowski said they often work across the aisle on the local zoning board in Warminster. They even compete in the same fantasy football league.

In what many see as a politically divided county, the two say they find common ground and foster mutual respect.

“Other than politics, we talk a lot about things that happen here in Warminster,” Welsh said. “We talk about sports, talk about life … It’s good to find out a Democrat view, you know, without somebody arguing, and saying you’re crazy, or why do you think that way. It’s good to have a conversation that [is] adult and it’s educated, and I think that’s why we get along, pretty much.”

“I think we do share the value that we want what’s best for our children, we want what’s best for our seniors, and … we want to keep it safe, we want good schools, like everybody does,” Welsh added. “There’s not a Republican, Democrat side to that.”

Wojciechowski agreed.

“When it comes down to the bottom line, it’s the community first … it’s the schools, it’s the community, like he said, the seniors, they come first,” he said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered his first remarks Tuesday night at The Fuge in Warminster after advancing past an empty Democratic primary field in his reelection bid.

He harkened back to the principles held by the state’s founder, William Penn, and contrasted them with the “cruelty” and “corruption” in Washington, D.C.

“Now three and a half centuries later, we are gathered here tonight with a duty to protect those principles to ensure that we do our part right now to pass them down to the next generation of Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro said following a speech from his running mate, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. “We have a responsibility to show that we will be the model to others who are watching us for our lead. I know that all feels at risk right now.”

In November, Shapiro will take on state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who easily emerged from a barren Republican primary.

“All of us are here because we choose not to be captive to the chaos,” Shapiro said. “We choose not to be part of the cruelty. We choose not to turn a blind eye to the corruption. We are here tonight to push back, to say enough is enough, to reclaim our power and to stand together in common purpose, the Pennsylvania way.”

Although poll workers reported that overall voter turnout was “low” at several polling stations in Warminster Township, Bucks County, Republican and Democratic voters told WHYY News that it was important to them to cast their ballots in the primary elections.

Rebecca Kellem, a 64-year-old Democrat who works for the commonwealth as a human services supervisor, said she voted in the primary for all of the candidates endorsed by the Democratic party, including Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.

Kellem said she hopes Democrats have a “clean sweep” in November, “so that we can get some things done and not have a stalemate” in Washington, D.C.

Michelle Squiccimara, 41, of Warminster, voted by mail for Lucia Simonelli in the Democratic primary for the congressional race.

“I’m looking for candidates who want to make the world better and sort of dream in a big picture kind of way of like what is possible,” she said, noting that she will vote for Harvie in the general election if he wins the primary.

“I wish that there was a magic wand [to] encourage everyone to take a primary seriously,” she said. “I guess people think that these results are inevitable, so they don’t need to participate, but … it’s not actually inevitable.”

Robert Price, 49, of Warminster, voted in the Republican primary Tuesday. He said he votes in every election and was focused on voting for Jason Richey for the Republican lieutenant governor ticket over John Ventre.

Regardless of who wins the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District, Price said he will reluctantly support Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick.

“I don’t have the confidence I would like to have in Brian Fitzpatrick, but he’s Republican, and even a bad Republican is better to me, hate to say it, than a Democrat,” Price said.

Excitement is brewing among Ala Stanford’s supporters after she jumped to an early lead in the Democratic 3rd Congressional District primary race.

Her mother, Carolyn, spoke at her official watch party at the North Philadelphia Welcome Center.

“I’m sure you had other things on your agenda, but you are here to see a miracle,” Stanford said. “Please let the miracle do its job.”

According to the Associated Press, Stanford leads by nearly 3,000 votes with 24% of the votes counted.

Speaking at an election night event in Warminster, Bob Harvie, a Democratic candidate for the 1st Congressional District, slammed U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Bucks, for going along with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“Everything is more expensive, and yet we cannot just blame Donald Trump,” Harvie said, addressing supporters at The Fuge, following a string of other Democratic speakers. “It’s too easy. It’s too easy just to put the blame on him because he’s got people like Brian Fitzpatrick who are helping him do the damage that they’re doing to this commonwealth and this district.”

Harvie is facing off against Lucia Simonelli in the Democratic primary. The winner will take on Fitzpatrick in the general election.

“It has been 10 years,” Harvie said. “10 years of Brian Fitzpatrick. Is your life better now than it was 10 years ago?”

Eugene DePasquale, chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, at an election night event in Warminster highlighted the power of Pennsylvania’s vote in shaping national politics.

“In Pennsylvania alone, we have enough power to flip enough seats, to give the Democrats the majority of the United States House of Representatives and make Donald Trump legislatively a lame duck president,” DePasquale said at The Fuge shortly after polls closed.

He said voters in the Greater Philadelphia region have the power to help flip the state Senate and maintain the Democrats’ state House majority.

If that happens in November, the party would hold its first trifecta in Harrisburg since 1992.

Ala Stanford took an early lead in the Democratic 3rd Congressional District primary race, with roughly 56,600 mail-in ballots counted as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Supporters watched the results come in from the North Philadelphia Welcome Center.

The pediatric surgeon formerly served as a regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Biden administration. She gained prominence for founding Black Doctors Consortium during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stanford was recruited and endorsed by outgoing U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, and has also received support from U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan. She also received an endorsement from The Philadelphia Tribune, the U.S.’s oldest continuously published Black newspaper.

Janelle Stelson won the Democratic Party’s nomination Tuesday to run for a congressional seat in southern Pennsylvania and mount her second straight challenge to Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry.

Stelson, a one-time local TV anchor and personality, lost in 2024 to Perry by barely a percentage point in the conservative-leaning congressional district.

Stelson was backed by Gov. Josh Shapiro and the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Stelson beat progressive challenger Justin Douglas for the right to challenge Perry in the Harrisburg-area district.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican Stacy Garrity will face each other in November after winning their uncontested primaries in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, setting up a November contest for the executive suite in a premier presidential battleground state.

Shapiro will go into the fall as a heavy favorite to win reelection over Garrity, the state treasurer. Shapiro is on track to break his own campaign spending record and has reported outraising Garrity by more than 10-to-1.

For Shapiro, the election year is more than an opportunity to win a second term: It’s a chance show his battleground-state political strength should he decide to run for president in 2028.

In addition to trying to win his own race, Shapiro is aiming to help Democrats flip key Republican-held U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania and deliver Democratic control of the state Legislature to advance his own agenda.

Republicans acknowledge Shapiro’s electoral strength, and many in the party hope that Garrity can at least make it a close contest to help protect other Republicans on the ballot.

The U.S. House campaigns will put Pennsylvania on the front lines of Democratic efforts to retake control of Congress and block the last two years of President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Contested primaries in swing seats

First, Democrats in Pennsylvania must settle primary fights on Tuesday to shape their congressional slate for the fall election when they hope to capture the state’s four swing districts and ultimately a U.S. House majority.

Shapiro and national Democrats are promoting their chosen candidates over progressive rivals, the latest example of a fissure that has divided the party as it grasps for a path back to power in Washington.

Three of the four swing districts have contested Democratic primaries, in addition to a wide-open contest in Philadelphia that will almost surely anoint the next seatholder. Those three swing districts are held by Republican U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie and Scott Perry.

Shapiro and the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, teamed up to endorse the same candidate in each of the three contested primaries.

Washington U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of the DCCC, said the party wanted “top tier” candidates who were the strongest to take on Republican incumbents.

Two of those — Janelle Stelson and Bob Harvie — are facing opponents on the left, while another, Bob Brooks, is in a four-way primary contest.

Stelson, a former local television anchor and personality, is running in Perry’s south central Pennsylvania district and competing for the nomination with Justin Douglas, a progressive minister and a Dauphin County commissioner.

In Fitzpatrick’s district in suburban Philadelphia, Bob Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner, is up against Lucia Simonelli, a first-time candidate and climate activist.

Brooks’ primary is for the right to challenge Mackenzie in the Allentown-area seat. He’s facing former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County executive Lamont McClure and former legislative aide Carol Obando-Derstine.

In the fourth swing district, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti was unopposed for the Democratic nomination to take on GOP U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who also was unopposed in the primary.

Democrats see opportunity

In 2018, the last midterm election cycle under Trump, Pennsylvania Democrats flipped four Republican-held congressional seats. In 2024, Perry and Mackenzie’s margins of victory were among the slimmest in that year’s House races — smaller than the margin by which Trump won those districts in the presidential election.

Fitzpatrick won more comfortably, but he is just one of three House Republicans elected in districts that also backed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Fitzpatrick and Perry are perennial targets of Democrats, and have survived repeatedly. However, Mackenzie is a freshman in his first reelection test.

Without Trump on the ballot, Democrats hope they can capitalize on weaker Republican turnout. Shapiro won the same districts in 2022, and he’s on the top of the party’s ticket this year.

A Philadelphian will go to Washington

In Philadelphia, the Democratic primary for a seat in Congress there is widely viewed as a toss-up among three candidates.

No Republican is seeking that party’s nomination, making the Democratic primary winner a shoo-in to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans.

It features a familiar name to many in the city: Sharif Street, a state senator, former state party chairman and son of the city’s former two-term mayor, John F. Street. He is backed by Mayor Cherelle Parker, former Gov. Ed Rendell and the city’s building trades unions.

A state lawmaker, Rep. Chris Rabb, was endorsed by progressive stalwarts U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and online streamer Hasan Piker and has drawn financial backing from the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Dr. Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon who started a Black doctors’ consortium during the COVID-19 pandemic, was helped by millions of dollars from 314 Action, a left-leaning political action committee aimed at electing scientists to Congress.

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, chief of the Bucks County Democratic Committee, spoke first Tuesday night at The Fuge in Warminster shortly after the polls closed.

According to Santarsiero, Democratic voters came out in droves during the primary, outperforming their Republican counterparts. He said it is a positive indicator ahead of the general election in November.

“We’re not going to have a blue wave — we’re going to have a blue tsunami,” Santarsiero said.

Polls have closed in Pennsylvania’s 2026 primary election.

Voters weighed in on their party’s nominees for governor and the U.S. House, as well as Pennsylvania’s state House and state Senate.

Follow along as WHYY News tracks primary election results this evening.

A polling place in Lehigh County remains open to voters after an explosive device was thrown “in the vicinity” of Salem United Church of Christ in Catasauqua on Tuesday morning.

The incident has prompted an investigation by local, state and federal police. No arrests have been made as of 5:30 p.m., according to Pennsylvania State Police.

“[The event] is believed to have been an isolated incident. No information exists to cause investigators to believe this incident was related to the polling location,” police said in a statement.

Law enforcement officers responded and arrived at the church shortly after 9:15 a.m. following reports that someone threw an explosive device from a moving vehicle towards the polling location.

The device detonated about half a block away from the church and around the corner from its entrance, state police said. Third Street is currently closed at Pine Street, and Third Street is currently closed at Walnut Street, due to the ongoing investigation.

There were no injuries, and the immediate situation “was swiftly resolved,” Josh Siegel, county executive, said in a statement.

“We trust in the expertise of the local, state and federal investigators on hand to determine what happened,” Siegel said.

Siegel told Lehigh Valley Public Media on Tuesday afternoon that voting wasn’t interrupted “in any way.”

“Right now, everybody should rest assured that our polling sites are safe and secure and everyone can continue to vote in person in Lehigh County,” he said.

Pennsylvania State Police Troop M’s Major Case Team is leading the investigation with assistance from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Catasauqua Borough Police Department, state police Troop M Fire Marshal Unit, Allentown Bomb Squad, and the North Catasauqua Borough Police Department.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is being asked to contact Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem at 610-861-2026.

William Small, the CEO of Turner and Selby, a Philadelphia-area construction company, is running for Congress, looking to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans.

Small is not on the ballot, so he’s running as a write-in for the Republican primary.

Small has become known at times for fiery public comments during City Council meetings. His mic was cut during one such speech after Council President Kenyatta Johnson repeatedly asked him to specify what proposed bill he was criticizing. He has called the council a “cartel.”

The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, meaning that Small will have a hard time beating whoever wins the Democratic primary today.

WHYY News reached out to Small, but neither the email address nor the phone number on his campaign website were working.

Small’s website says that he is focused “on real solutions—not political talking points” such as “raising standards in education, restoring safety in our communities, expanding opportunity, and demanding accountability from government,” though specific policy recommendations are sparse.

In an Instagram video, he accused “illegal immigrants” of opening shops to sell fentanyl-laced marijuana.

The Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District race will likely ultimately decide who will replace retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans.

But not everyone in the district will get to vote. That’s because Pennsylvania is one of eight states that requires closed primaries, meaning only voters registered with a political party can vote in them. Another nine states’ primaries are “partially closed,” meaning the rules vary, but unaffiliated voters may be allowed to participate.

Some independent voters in West Philly, such as Bree Doldron, are looking to change that.

Doldron, who organizes for Open Primaries, a national organization that advocates for open primaries in the state, said that it’s disheartening to be excluded from such an important race.

“I feel pretty disadvantaged and pretty nervous about the next 50, 60 years of my generation’s lifetime making sure that we have the ability to be represented and to be heard for who we really are and how we really identify,” she told reporters on a press call Monday.

Independent and unaffiliated voters now make up the fastest-growing segment of Pennsylvania’s electorate.

According to Pennsylvania Department of State data, the share of voters registered outside the two major parties has grown to 16.5%, and there are now more than 1.4 million independent and unaffiliated voters in the commonwealth.

“It’s not a liberal rising, it’s not a conservative rising, it’s a diverse rising of Americans just saying there’s got to be something better than this,” said Open Primaries ​​President John Opdycke. “The numbers are staggering. In blue states, red states, purple states, voters are leaving the parties en masse.”

The state is home to four Republican-held seats that Democrats want to flip as the party tries to win House control for the rest of Trump’s term.

Three of them have contested Democratic primaries, so voters will pick the candidate they want to send into the hypercompetitive contests.

The Republican lawmakers being targeted are U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie and Scott Perry.

Gov. Josh Shapiro and House Democrats’ campaign organization have endorsed the same candidates in all three primaries, saying they want “top tier” Democrats to take on the incumbents.

Some West Philadelphia residents are voting with Israel’s war in Gaza in mind.

The issue became a flashpoint during the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary campaign and an area where the candidates differed most sharply.

State Rep. Chris Rabb has been the most outspoken about stopping aid to Israel. Unlike state Sen. Sharif Street and Dr. Ala Stanford, he also called Israel’s war “genocide.”

For voters like Rachel Mattson, who identified herself as Jewish, that made the difference in her decision.

“I’m really upset with what Israel’s doing,” she said, having just voted for Rabb. “For years, we’ve overinvested in Israel’s violation of human rights and violation of international law. They’re a rogue state at this point.”

That sentiment was shared by Maya Wharton, who said she was disappointed by Stanford’s reticence on the issue. She also voted for Rabb.

“As a Black woman, I need somebody who’s going to fight for Black women and acknowledge the pain of other people as well,” she said. “We are a marginalized group, so we should be actually helping other marginalized groups.”

While so-called “pocketbook issues” — such as the price of gas and rent — are prominent in the race, Mattson said the issues are connected.

“We’re spending so much money on funding the Pentagon and funding ICE and funding Israel’s war machine and we don’t have money,” she said. “I’m not voting on international issues, I’m voting on federal and domestic issues.”

» READ MORE: What’s ‘progressive’? Pa.’s 3rd District primary is testing the label

Close to 1.5 million Pennsylvanians are expected to cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election.

If you or someone you know experiences voter intimidation or harassment, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania officials want you to know who to call.

In Philadelphia, District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office is working in tandem with city police and federal law enforcement to uphold residents’ civil rights.

“If you think you can mess with Philadelphia elections, if you think you want to ‘F’ around, you are going to find out,” Krasner said at a press conference on Monday.

In November 2020, police arrested two men near the Philadelphia Convention Center, where mail ballots were being processed. Both had loaded handguns on them, though neither had a permit to carry firearms in Pennsylvania. They were convicted on weapons counts but were acquitted of election interference.

Philadelphia voters can report problems to the DA’s Election Task Force hotline at 215-686-9641.

Statewide, voters who experience voter intimidation or harassment should report it to one of the following, per Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt:

• The judge of elections at a voter’s polling place
• The voter’s county elections office
• The voter’s local district attorney
• The Pennsylvania Department of State hotline: 1-877-VOTES-PA

WITF’s Jordan Wilkie contributed reporting.

Chester County has extended voting hours at the Precinct 170 – South Coventry polling place located at Owen J. Roberts Middle School.

The site opened at 8 a.m., but voting activities were paused shortly after the opening to “provide assistance to a member of the school community.” According to a press release, the pause lasted less than thirty minutes

The Court of Common Pleas has granted a 30-minute extension of voting hours at the precinct. The polling site will now remain open until 8:30 p.m., and votes cast after 8 p.m. will be recorded on provisional ballots.

All other precincts in Chester County will close as scheduled at 8 p.m.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the U.S. House Democrats’ campaign arm are trying to elevate candidates in three contested swing district primaries there, although that message isn’t always getting through.

Tara Chickey, a Democrat voting in southcentral Pennsylvania’s 10th District on Tuesday, said she likes Shapiro and his endorsement of Janelle Stelson might have made a difference to her — if she had known about it.

Instead, she voted for Justin Douglas for the right to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a top target of Democrats.

Douglas, a progressive minister and Dauphin County commissioner, is up against Stelson, a former TV anchor and personality who is endorsed by Shapiro and the House Democratic Campaign Committee.

The race for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District seat will be the top of the ticket for primary voters in parts of Center City, North and West Philadelphia.

Candidates and voters turned out early Tuesday morning to beat the heat and cast a ballot.

Anne Rock arrived a half hour before the polls opened in Mount Airy to make sure she was able to do what she called vote for change within her own party.

“I feel completely powerless, lost, bereft,” she said. “I feel the Democratic Party has left us behind and I’m looking to change candidates like [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], like Chris Rabb – you know, the progressive wing of the party. I think they’re the future. If we have a future.”

Rock voted for Rabb, who showed up to the polling location about an hour later to cast his own ballot and greet voters. He welcomed the diverse views on display for the seat, which hasn’t been without an incumbent for more than a decade.

“I think it’s great for democracy that people have a choice, a real choice,” Rabb said. “And how competitive it is will be determined by, you know, what the results are.”

As competing candidate Dr. Ala Stanford voted Tuesday morning, she said she is ready to serve the people of the district.

“I’m encouraged,” she said. “It’s been a long several months talking to the people, listening to what their needs are for the district, and I am prepared to step up and represent our third congressional district from Chestnut Hill to South Philly and everywhere in between.”

Candidates Sharif Street voted by mail and worked polling places Tuesday morning across the congressional district while Shaun Griffith continued to run a low-key campaign for the job.

Just days before Tuesday’s primary election, a state judge ruled that the city can move ahead with a change in vote-counting rules that drew a legal challenge.

The decision affects thousands of Democratic and Republican ward committee positions in neighborhoods around Philadelphia that are being contested in the election.

The Board of Elections decided in February to require write-in candidates for those committee slots to get at least 10 votes to be elected. Critics say that’s impossible in many areas that have few registered Republicans, and West Philly Republican ward leader Matt Wolfe sued on behalf of three candidates to block the change.

A Court of Common Pleas judge initially ruled for Wolfe in late April, saying state law only requires the winner of a ward committee race to get the most votes — even if it’s just one or two.

But lawyers for the city and the Republican party appealed, and on Friday, Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough overturned the lower court’s order. She said it was too early to sue, because the Board of Elections hasn’t enforced the new rule yet and no candidates have been blocked from taking office.

“The claims are based on anticipated future events that may never occur,” she wrote. “No concrete Board action has imposed hardship… that would warrant judicial intervention at this juncture.”

» READ MORE: Judge overturns ruling on Philadelphia vote-counting rules

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro voted for himself and others on the Democratic ticket on Tuesday at a school in Montgomery County, just over the Philadelphia city line.

Beyond the commonwealth, Shapiro considered the national picture this election season.

“Let’s see what November entails,” Shapiro said. “I think what’s clear is Donald Trump keeps injecting chaos, cruelty and corruption into our commonwealth and our country. People are sick and tired of it.”

Shapiro predicted a “national referendum” on Trump in the November midterms. “I wouldn’t want to be Trump or any Trump-backed candidate,” he said.

The key voter issue, the governor said, is cost of living. He cited the U.S. war in Iran as a factor in driving up prices alongside what he called “pure corruption that we’re seeing every day coming out of the Trump administration.”

Shapiro ran unopposed in his gubernatorial primary and isn’t expected to face a major challenge from Republican Stacy Garrity, who also ran unopposed.

Some Philadelphia mail ballots returned for the 2026 primary have been flagged for errors — among them: unverifiable identification, incorrect dates and missing secrecy envelopes — but voters still have a chance to correct them.

Below is a searchable list of ballots with errors as of this week.

If your ballot is among the flawed, here’s how to fix it:

Unverifiable identification

• Fill out and submit an ID verification form along with a picture or photocopy of an acceptable ID, if available, to phillyelection@phila.gov or via fax to 215-686-3398.
• Voters may also call 215-686-3469 or visit one of the city’s satellite election offices for in-person help.
• Note: ID verification forms are due by Tuesday, May 26.

Other ballot errors

• Voters may obtain a replacement ballot at the County Board of Elections office in City Hall Room 140 or at one of the city’s satellite election offices.
• Replacement ballots can be filled out and submitted on the spot or deposited in one of the city’s secure drop boxes.

Unable to obtain a replacement ballot? You can request a provisional ballot at your polling place on Election Day. Provisional ballots are the last to be counted.

If viewing on a mobile device, rotate for the best user experience.

Is there a future in politics for Republicans who cross President Donald Trump?

The signs this year suggest no, and Trump has convinced his voters to defeat his adversaries again and again. The next test of the president’s power to extract retribution is on Tuesday, when Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky faces a Trump-backed primary challenger.

Massie has been a thorn in the president’s side for pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, opposing the war with Iran and voting against Trump’s signature tax legislation last year.

Here are some things to watch as voters in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania cast ballots on Tuesday.

Will Trump’s endorsement continue to carry the day?

Trump has repeatedly shown that Republican primary voters will follow his lead, even as his popularity wanes with the broader electorate.

In Kentucky, he’s supporting first-time candidate Ed Gallrein over Massie, who has been in office since 2012. Massie is trying to convince Republicans that they can support both himself and Trump at the same time, a proposition that has been tried unsuccessfully in other races around the country.

On Saturday, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana failed to even make the runoff, unable to repair his relationship with Trump five years after voting to convict him during his second impeachment trial. And earlier this month, Trump successfully dislodged five of seven Indiana Republicans he targeted for voting against his redistricting plan.

Trump is flexing his influence in other places on Tuesday as well.

In the race for Georgia governor, Trump is backing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in an unexpectedly ugly battle for the Republican nomination. Jones, who comes from a wealthy Georgia family, has given his campaign $19 million. But billionaire Rick Jackson, a health care tycoon, has put more than $83 million of his fortune into the race. Trump’s endorsement power has rarely been tested against that level of lopsided spending.

Trump stayed on the sidelines of Georgia’s Senate race, leaving a crowded field of hopefuls seeking to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who’s running unopposed for his party’s nomination. But in Alabama, Trump endorsed Rep. Barry Moore for Senate to replace Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor.

A test for Shapiro in Pennsylvania

It’s no secret that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro may run for the White House.

But on Tuesday, the Democrat’s political clout will be tested in his home state, where he’s working to elect a slate of House candidates that he thinks will give his party the best chance to flip Republican seats in the fall.

Shapiro’s endorsed candidates include Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton; Bob Brooks, president of the state firefighters’ union; and Janelle Stelson, a former television news personality who narrowly lost two years ago.

As popular as he may be, Shapiro’s endorsements haven’t scared off Democratic rivals, who are fighting to defeat the governor’s picks — and perhaps send a message that he’s not as strong as he’d like to be with the 2028 presidential contest looming.

Pennsylvania’s closed primary elections mean that registered Democrats and Republicans can only vote within their own party’s races, respectively. Ballot questions, however, are open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation, and Philadelphia voters can weigh in on two ballot measures this primary season.

Ballot question 1: Creating a retirement savings board

Question text: Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of the Philadelphia Retirement Savings Board to oversee a defined contribution retirement program for the benefit of eligible private-sector workers, and to authorize City Council to determine the composition, powers and duties of the board?

What does a ‘yes’ vote mean?: A “yes” vote means you approve the creation of the Philadelphia Retirement Savings Board as an independent board within the City’s government. The Board would oversee the creation and administration of a retirement program for certain eligible workers whose employers do not offer them a retirement plan. Contributions to the plan would only come from the participating workers. Details of the retirement program may be established by ordinance.

Ballot question 2: Creating a youth ombudsperson office

Question text: Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of the Office of the Youth Ombudsperson to improve the safety and quality of services for youth placed in juvenile justice, child welfare, and behavioral health residential care facilities, and to authorize City Council to determine additional powers and duties of the Youth Ombudsperson as needed to carry out this mission?

What does a ‘yes’ vote mean?: If you vote “yes” on this ballot question, that means you approve establishing the Office of the Youth Ombudsperson in the City’s Charter and making it permanent. It also means you approve allowing Council to give the office additional powers and duties by ordinance.

» READ MORE: WHYY News’ Emily Neil shares more context on Philly’s 2026 ballot questions

One Pennsylvania primary race could have nationwide implications if Democrats want to flip the U.S. House in November, and has drawn national pressure from both parties.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, is among the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the country. Polling puts him underwater in favorability after narrowly flipping the seat in 2024 from Democrat Susan Wild by just 1% of the vote.

“Congressman Mackenzie is a first-term Republican incumbent in a cycle that is challenging for his party,” said Chris Borick, director of public opinion at Muhlenberg College. “You put all those things together, and this is going to be a clear challenge for him to retain this seat.”

The race for the Democratic nomination to replace him has drawn four candidates. Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association, and Ryan Crosswell, a former federal prosecutor and Marine veteran, are considered by many to be the frontrunners. Also in the race are Lamont McClure, a former Northampton County executive, and Carol Obando-Derstine, who previously worked for former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and former Gov. Tom Wolf.

As voters head to the polls Tuesday, here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

Who gets to vote?

Only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

How many voters are there?

As of May 11, there were nearly 9 million registered voters in Pennsylvania. Registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans, 3.8 million to 3.6 million. About 1.2 million were not registered with any party.

How many people actually vote?

Roughly 1.1 million Democratic primary votes and about 953,000 Republican primary votes were cast in the 2024 presidential primaries, held long after Trump and President Joe Biden had clinched their nominations.

In the more competitive U.S. Senate primaries in 2022, Republican and Democratic voters each cast roughly 1.3 million votes.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 45% of 2024 Democratic presidential primary vote and 17% of the Republican primary vote was cast before primary day.

As of Thursday, about 385,000 Democratic primary ballots and about 129,000 Republican primary ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Vote release practices vary from county to county, but most counties release results from absentee voting along with in-person Election Day voting throughout the night. Roughly a third of the counties release all or almost all of their early and absentee vote results in the first update of the night.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 primary, the AP first reported results at 8:01 p.m. ET, or about a minute after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 2 a.m. ET with about 91% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

Pennsylvania requires an automatic recount for statewide races with a vote margin of 0.5 percentage points or less. For non-statewide races, voters may petition an individual county board of elections or the courts to order a recount. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 168 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

Hundreds of thousands of mail ballots were requested across Pennsylvania for the 2026 primary election.

As of Tuesday morning, approximately 74% had been returned out of the more than 850,000  requested. Democratic voters made up roughly 72% of requested mail ballots, according to state election data. Here’s what to know:

Mail ballot drop-off locations for Bucks, Chesco, Delco, Montco, and Philly can be found online.

If you have a mail ballot but prefer to vote in person, bring your ballot (and the envelopes it came with) and surrender it to a poll worker. Once you’ve surrendered your mail ballot and signed a declaration, you can cast a regular ballot.

If you requested a mail ballot but didn’t receive one, head to your polling place and ask for a provisional ballot. After Election Day, officials will verify you didn’t already vote by mail and count your ballot.

Mail ballots must be delivered to a drop box or county election officials by the time the polls close at 8 p.m. Mail ballots postmarked by the deadline, but not yet received, do not count.

On top of scorching temps, primary voters heading to the polls on Tuesday face poor air quality.

A Code Orange Air Quality Alert for ozone is in effect for Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, per the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Under a Code Orange, air pollution concentrations may be unhealthy for vulnerable groups such as children, people with asthma, people with heart or lung disease and older adults.

The state DEP cited mostly sunny skies, west to southwest winds and high temperatures in the mid-90s as likely contributors to ozone production in the Code Orange range.

Ozone is formed from burning fossil fuels. Cars, trucks, power plants and industrial facilities contribute nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds which, when combined with sunlight, create smog, also known as ground-level ozone.

Residents and businesses are also encouraged to reduce ozone air pollution by driving less, limiting engine idling and conserving electricity by setting air conditioning to a higher temperature and turning off lights not in use.

Residents are encouraged to visit AirNow.gov to check local conditions.

If you need a primer, here’s how to understand your air quality index.

As voters head to the polls, Philadelphia remains under a Code Red, with temperatures expected to reach a high of 96 degrees on Tuesday.

The city’s Office of Homeless Services declares a Code Red when the heat index, a measure of both heat and humidity that reflects how hot the air feels, is forecast to be above 95 degrees for three consecutive days.

During a Code Red event, the city implements special measures to keep people experiencing homelessness safe. Those measures include 24-hour outreach to find unhoused people and transport them to safe indoor spaces and opening all available beds within the city’s emergency housing network for those in need.

The city’s Code Red will expire at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Heat-related illnesses, like heatstroke and heat exhaustion, increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events, per the National Weather Service.

Bob Brady, who chairs the Philadelphia Democratic Party, said the forecast could help bring people to the polls rather than keep them away.

“It’s going to be strange, we’ve never had it that hot,” Brady said. “I hope it’s going to bring out the vote.”

» READ MORE: Coping with extreme heat

• Code Red in Philly: Here’s what the declaration means for residents.
• Staying safe: If you must go outside during extreme heat, here’s what to watch out for and how to stay cool.
• Extreme heat risk: WHYY News’ Climate Desk shares what older adults and indoor service workers should know about preventing heat-related illness.

Voters are heading to the polls today to cast ballots in Pennsylvania’s 2026 primary election. Polls open at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m.

Reporters from WHYY News and Billy Penn are following the state’s major campaigns, including the closely watched 3rd Congressional District race in Philadelphia and the 1st Congressional District race in Bucks County.

As Election Day unfolds, follow WHYY’s live special coverage on WHYY.org, the WHYY App, and WHYY-FM.

Here’s your voter game plan

• Your one-stop shop: Live coverage, candidate guides and election results, all in one place.
• Voter FAQs: WHYY News’ Pa. voter guide has the answers you need about key deadlines, mail ballot information, candidate breakdowns, and more.
• Key races to watch: U.S. House
  • Pa.’s 3rd District in Philly: 4 Democrats — state Sen. Sharif Street, Pa. House Rep. Chris Rabb, Shaun Griffith, and Dr. Ala Stanford — seek to replace Dwight Evans in Congress.
  • Pa.’s 1st District in Bucks County: Bob Harvie and Lucia Simonelli seek to unseat U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
• Ballot questions: Here’s a breakdown of what to expect in Philly, as well as Horsham and Lower Salford townships in the suburbs.
• Counting the votes: Follow along with WHYY as primary election results come in this evening.