Democrats are starting to funnel money into crucial state races as the 2024 election cycle heats up, including a $50,000 donation to a competitive contest in Pennsylvania that could serve as an early indication of President Joe Biden’s 2024 chances in the swing state.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced its donation on Tuesday, which marks the first major contribution to the race that will take place on Feb. 13, pitting Democrat Jim Prokopiak against Republican Candace Cabanas. The race for the 140th state House district will determine which party controls the state’s lower chamber.
“This race is one of the most important special elections of the year and the DLCC is all hands on deck to ensure that Jim Prokopiak emerges victorious,” DLCC President Heather Williams said in a statement. “Everything is on the line — from control of the speaker’s gavel to the future of fundamental freedoms like abortion access. … We cannot allow state Republicans to regain control of both chambers and legislate Pennsylvania backward. The stakes couldn’t be higher.”
The funds stem from a $21 million fundraising haul that the group announced earlier this month, which will be allocated across other states that also feature competitive legislative races, such as New Hampshire, Minnesota, Arizona, and Michigan.
The Feb. 13 contest is the seventh special election in the Pennsylvania House in the past year, with Democrats winning five of the previous six. The open seat is the result of former Democratic state Rep. John Galloway’s resignation in November 2023, when he left to become a judge. He had held the seat for 16 years.
Democrats will be looking at the district, which includes Bucks County near Philadelphia, as a prediction for the 2024 presidential election. The district leans blue, and Biden won it by 17,000 votes in 2020.
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Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also won the district in 2016, by 2,000 votes, according to NBC News.
“Pennsylvania will be a major battleground this November at all levels of the ballot and putting Democrats in the strongest possible position begins with this special election next month,” Williams said.
