AP Election Brief: What to expect in Pennsylvania as a special election decides statehouse control

Voters in suburban Philadelphia are set to decide party control of Pennsylvania’s state House of Representatives on Tuesday with their pick to replace a Democrat who resigned.

Also on the ballot in Pennsylvania are primary elections for state Supreme Court and Philadelphia mayor, with the winner of the Democratic primary all but sure to become the city’s next leader in this fall’s general election.

The race with the biggest immediate consequence is the special election in state House District 163 in Delaware County, a suburb of Philadelphia. Democrat Mike Zabel, who won by 32 percentage points in November, resigned after allegations of sexual harassment.

Democrat Heather Boyd, a former congressional and state legislative aide, faces Republican Katie Ford, a military veteran, school volunteer and behavioral therapist, in the special election.

If Ford wins, and if Republicans hold on to a central Pennsylvania seat as widely expected in a second special election on Tuesday, the chamber will flip to GOP control.

Nine candidates are running in the Democratic primary for mayor of Philadelphia, and no one has stood out as the obvious front-runner. Among the top candidates: former City Council members Cherelle Parker, Helen Gym and Allan Domb; ShopRite franchise owner Jeff Brown; and former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart.

Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in the nation’s sixth largest city, so Tuesday’s winner will be an overwhelming favorite to win in November.

Democrats and Republicans across the state will also choose nominees for the state Supreme Court.

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