Democrats will retain their one-vote majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after voters in Pittsburgh yesterday elected former congressional aide Lindsay Powell in a special election. Via HuffPost:
Powell’s victory gives Democrats a 102-101 majority in the House. Republicans have a 28-22 majority in the Senate, creating a divided Legislature that has kept Democrats from passing priorities such as broadened protections for LGBTQ+ people and gun control measures and Republicans from wins on issues including school vouchers.
The divided Legislature has also meant Republican senators have been unable to take to voters proposed constitutional amendments limiting the governor’s power and implementing voter ID.
Most recently the division has mired the state in a two-month budget stalemate after negotiations soured over education funding, in part because of the voucher debate.
