Democrat Larry Krasner defeated Republican opponent Chuck Peruto in the Philadelphia District Attorney race on Tuesday night.
During his second term as district attorney, Krasner plans to continue to fight for liberal causes, and further his "progressive overhaul of the office," 6ABC reported. Penn Democrats and Penn Justice Democrats previously endorsed Krasner's run for reelection, and Penn Democrats hosted him for an event in September where he discussed progressive criminal justice reform and the importance of increasing voter turnout.
Philadelphia voters also approved all four ballot questions, voting to abolish the "rule of two" – a law that forced city managers to choose between the top two candidates who scored highest on the Civil Service exams – as well as asking Harrisburg to legalize recreational marijuana and creating a Department of Fleet Services, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that over one million ballots were requested for this year’s election. As of Tuesday afternoon, 73% of these requested ballots were returned. Most of the tallying of the ballots will happen in the next few days, as Pennsylvania law prevents officials from beginning the mail-in ballot count until Tuesday morning.
New Jersey and Virginia were the only two states that held elections to select a governor yesterday.
In New Jersey, 1983 Wharton MBA graduate and Democrat Phil Murphy won a highly contested race with Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, according to the Inquirer. AP eventually called the race in favor of Murphy. In Virginia, Republican Glenn Younkin defeated Democrat incumbent Terry McAuliffe.
In statewide election results, Pittsburgh elected its first Black mayor, Ed Gainey, 6ABC reported. Gainey previously served five terms in the Pennsylvania state House.
Republican Kevin Brobson won the race for the vacant seat on the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court. His appointment is unlikely to have a significant impact, as there will still be a 5-2 Democrat majority, according to 6ABC.
Voter turnout numbers in the general election are expected to be much greater than for Pennsylvania elections. Approximately 25% to 30% of registered voters participated in yesterday's election, 6ABC reported. In comparison, the 2020 presidential election had a turnout of 76.5% of registered voters statewide, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.
According to the Inquirer, yesterday's Pennsylvania state elections were the first in which mail-in ballots could be requested without any particular reason in Pennsylvania's general election history.
Despite this change, elections ran smoothly without any court complaints filed, a stark contrast from the many court complaints filed during last year's general election, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Students and community members who voted on Penn’s campus reported similar ease throughout the voting process on campus.
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