Pennsylvania's political pendulum swung to Republicans this year. Will it stay there?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

72% : Despite voters rejecting Trump four years ago, he was still seen as a powerhouse for widespread Republican successes in the state that year including key wins in state-level offices.
61% : Trump won Pennsylvania with more votes than any other Republican statewide candidate in history by bolstering his support in rural areas, chipping away at Vice President Kamala Harris' advantage in the suburbs and urban areas -- and benefiting from her campaign's underperformance in these areas.
58% : The Philly suburbs helped Trump win the presidency in 2024, with more than 200 municipalities in the area shifting more toward the president-elect.
55% : He became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Bucks county since 1988 and made gains among working class voters in Delaware County." READ MORE: Donald Trump won Pa. with more votes than any statewide Republican candidate in history.
53% : Republicans halved Democrats' voter registration advantage in the state over the last four years, and while some Democratic Party leaders dismissed the registration increase as a lagging indicator of the support Trump already had in the state, the GOP saw it as a promising result of a dedicated ground game.
53% : Dave McCormick was the first GOP Senate or gubernatorial candidate to win Pennsylvania since 2016, and he did it in part by catering to low-propensity voters across the state just as Trump has in the past.
49% : The Republican Party was bolstered by the Trump campaign's appeal to, and focus on people who like him but may not otherwise show up to the polls, as well as anti-incumbent sentiment.
48% : Trump also had a clear impact on congressional races in Pennsylvania.
44% : And Trump -- now a more "matured" politician in 2024, said Josh Novotney, a GOP lobbyist and strategist in Pennsylvania -- catered to working class and low propensity voters, driving turnout and chipping away votes in historically Democratic areas.
43% : "I think for the most part, the oxygen in the room was eaten up by the presidential, so I think Trump did bring out a lot of voters that historically don't come out for Republicans," Novotney said.
38% : So with the 2026 midterms looming and lower turnout expected, the question is whether Republicans can maintain their strength in the state without Trump on the ballot and a different segment of voters showing up.
36% : I know more about Donald Trump than anybody," Nick Cromley, 56, a dishwasher at Dickinson College in Carlisle, said two days after the election.
35% : Trump drove voters to the poll who proceeded to vote Republican down the ballot.
34% : The impact of Trump not being on the ballot in 2022, in Street's eyes, depends on how he does as president.
33% : "The formula of Trumpism without Trump hasn't worked in any off year elections for the most part," said Adam Carlson, a data analyst and former pollster.
32% : Whether Trump is an asset or a liability, we've seen him be both."
25% : Carlson expects dissatisfaction with Trump in the White House will help the Democratic Party recruit strong candidates.
22% : Democratic Reps. Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright lost their seats to Republican challengers, State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan Jr., in areas that Trump has made gains in since 2020, garnering support from working-class Latino and Rust Belt voters in the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania.
21% : Cromley said he was a Democrat until Trump first ran for office.
20% : Trump was considered toxic to some Republicans and their vast defeat prompted some soul-searching.

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