Democratic U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and Republican U.S. Reps. Guy Reschenthaler and Mike Kelly all won reelection to represent Western Pennsylvania districts where their parties hold majorities.
12th Congressional District
The Associated Press called the race for incumbent progressive Democrat Summer Lee at 8:12 p.m. She defeated Republican challenger James Hayes. As of around 10:15 p.m., she had received 59.2% of the vote, with around 64% of the vote counted.Lee won the seat in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District two years ago.
The district contains Pittsburgh and a number of outlying communities, including the eastern suburbs, part of the Monongahela Valley, and a portion of Westmoreland County. It also includes Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which includes a predominantly Jewish community.
Lee is the first Black member of Congress to represent Pennsylvania. Her public criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians put her at odds with some of her constituents — a fact on which Hayes sought to capitalize. She comfortably won her primary race despite a challenge and expensive ad campaigns from pro-Israel groups. She has championed efforts to secure Biden Administration investments for the district.
Hayes was a first-time candidate with a background in finance and a familiar platform blending social and business conservatism. He strongly supported Israel and repeatedly attacked Lee on the issue since entering the race.
14th Congressional District.
14th Congressional District
In the deep-red Congressional District 14, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler kept the seat he’s held since 2019. By 10:15, p.m. he had received 67.4% of the votes, defeating Democrat challenger Chris Dziados. A U.S. Army veteran, Dziados ran on a liberal platform.
The district includes Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties, as well as portions of Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland.
Reschenthaler has been one of former President Donald Trump’s more vocal supporters in the region; he voted against certifying Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in 2020. A former magisterial district judge and state senator who served as a U.S. Navy lawyer in the Judge Advocate General Corps, Reschenthaler currently serves as the chief deputy whip in Congress.
Dziados was a first-time candidate. He touted his extensive military background and Democratic principles in his bid to challenge Reschenthaler, voicing his support for abortion rights and Ukraine’s efforts to fend off an invasion by Russia.
16th Congressional District
Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly defeated Democratic challenger Preston Nouri in the race for Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional seat. By 10:15 p.m., he had received around 63.8% of the vote, with around 60% of votes counted statewide.
The district includes Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties, plus part of Venango County, and a majority of its registered voters are Republican. The party has had a nearly unbroken hold on the seat for roughly 40 years.
Kelly will serve his eighth term in Congress. He is an ardent Trump advocate, and is leading the panel investigating assassination attempts against Trump —the first of which took place in Butler County.
Nouri, a 25-year-old first-generation American, lived and worked in Washington, D.C., after college before returning to his hometown of Erie. If elected, he had said he would push to redistribute “government waste” to initiatives that support affordable housing and other programs benefiting low-income citizens.
