Voters give Dems control of Pennsylvania Supreme Court - New Jersey Herald

Somehow I find that this does not spark in me the revulsion that Iowa voters did when they turned out three members of the state Supreme Court in retaliation for recognizing same sex marriage.  Especially important is the ability to get control of legislative redistricting after the 2020 census.  - gwc
Voters give Dems control of Pennsylvania Supreme Court - New Jersey Herald
by Peter Jackson /AP

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Democrats on Tuesday won all three open seats on Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, securing a majority on the high court for at least a decade, after a campaign that drew a record $11.5 million in contributions.

The winners were Philadelphia Judge Kevin Dougherty and Superior Court judges David Wecht and Christine Donohue of Allegheny County.

It was the first time three seats were open in an election for the seven-member court.

When the new justices take their oaths in January, they will round out a 5-2 Democratic majority.

Democrats also Tuesday won two other appellate court races - seats on the Commonwealth Court and on the Superior Court.

Justice Debra Todd, a Democrat now on the Supreme Court, is all but guaranteed a second 10-year term in 2017, when she'll stand unopposed in a yes-or-no vote on whether to retain her through 2027. That would give the Democrats an opportunity to shape the legislative redistricting following the 2020 census.

Republicans have controlled the court for six years and have a 3-2 advantage with an interim justice filling one open seat until a new justice is seated in January.

But organized labor and Philadelphia trial lawyers helped the Democrats raise three times as much money as the Republicans in this year's election.