DNC, PDP chairs: PA Supreme Court retention races have national implications
With less than two weeks until Election Day, Democrats across the country are underscoring the importance of three retention elections for justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court – elections that could dramatically reshape the ideological balance of the seven-member court for years to come.
In a call with reporters 11 days ahead of the election, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin stressed that the retention races – in which voters will be asked whether to retain each justice for an additional 10-year term on the bench – will have sweeping national ramifications, especially if the three justices fail to secure new terms.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices Christine Donohue, David Wecht and Kevin Dougherty are all running in retention elections this year after winning their respective elections as Democrats in 2015. If any of the justices are not retained, their terms will end on Dec. 31, 2025.
DePasquale told reporters that if the three justices fail to win their retention elections, the court, which hears cases related to election law and voting rights, could be thrown “into chaos” if asked to hear election-related cases in the 2026 election cycle.
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/politics/2025/10/dnc-pdp-chairs-pa-supreme-court-retention-races-have-national-implications/409067/?oref=cspa-category-lander-top-story