Pennsylvania Democrats are in 'chaos' — when they can least afford to be: report

01 September 2023

2022 was a good year for Democrats in Pennsylvania, where Democratic now-Gov. Josh Shapiro defeated far-right GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano by around 15 percent and now-Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) flipped a U.S. Senate seat that that been mostly in GOP hands for decades.

Democrats also flipped the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, although Republicans still control the Pennsylvania Senate.

But in an article published by Politico on September 1, Philadelphia-based journalist Holly Otterbein reports that the Pennsylvania Democratic Party is in a state of "chaos" in 2023.

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Pennsylvania, Otterbein notes, is crucial to President Joe Biden's reelection hopes, and 2024's presidential election is only 14 months away.

"With a little more than a year to go until the 2024 election," Otterbein reports, "the state Democratic Party is reeling from financial problems and a lack of trust across the party, according to interviews with 20 Democratic officials and operatives throughout Pennsylvania. They include elected officials, county chairs, state committee members, former state party employees and strategists."

Many Pennsylvania Democrats, according to Otterbein, "fear" that their "party will not be in the strongest shape possible ahead of the presidential election and a key Senate race next year."

Another priority, Otterbein reports, is a Pennsylvania Supreme Court race that will be held this November. In that race, Democrats "are making abortion front and center."

Mike Mikus, a Democratic consultant in Pittsburgh, told Politico, "It's concerning that the state party is laying people off as we're heading into a really important Supreme Court race, which then leads into the presidential year. They're going to have to figure out a path forward to build their own fundraising operation, and it sounds like there's a lot of building to be done right now."

Joe Corrigan, a Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist, is sounding the alarm as well, telling Politico, " “I don’t see anyone that can handle the level of speed and complexity and attention to detail needed to ensure that paid communications are put in front of voters in a timely way."

Holly Otterbein's full report for Politico is available at this link.

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