Money pours in to PA house rematch Republicans seek to hold

Both Democrat Hadley Haas and Republican Valerie Gaydos projected confidence as they greeted voters, offering hugs to neighbors and friends heading to the polls Tuesday to decide their fate.

For northwest Allegheny County, including Moon Township, Imperial and the Quaker Valley region, this election feels familiar: just two years ago, Gaydos bested Haas to retain the seat she’s held since 2018.

Gaydos’ lead in the purple district has slipped every year voters have headed to the polls. She beat Haas 54% to 46% in 2024, her narrowest victory to date.

This time around, Haas has national winds filling her sails and money pouring in to reinforce her. Filings showed more than $200,000 in donations coming from state- and national Democrat-aligned groups in the final days of the campaign in the last-minute push to put her over the edge.

Voters in Sewickley, Haas’ main base of support, said they’re voting against Republicans in Washington more than Gaydos, citing corruption and other issues that motivated them to go to the polls and cast ballots for her.

“We’ve been waiting for this since Donald Trump made it for president, so hopefully he was only an 18-month president,” Judith Marie said as she showed off her shirt with Donald Trump’s face superimposed on a portrait of Marie Antoinette.

Haas said she learned lessons from her last campaign that she has applied, mainly showing up in-person to events and door knocking.

“We’ve been really, really strong about holding my opponent accountable on the issues and how she’s been voting and doing the job, and making sure that people came to the polls and they knew the facts,” Haas said Tuesday morning.

Gaydos also projected confidence about her chances to hold her seat Tuesday despite the national headwinds. Much of her campaign has been about emphasizing the work she has done locally, the investments she has brought to the district and her willingness to work with Democrats to get major pieces of legislation to Gov. Shapiro’s desk.

“What people really want is they want government that works for them, and I think I have a track record of doing exactly that,” Gaydos said. “I’ve achieved those goals that I set out to do, and I think our community recognized that.”

Her voters said their votes were mostly against statewide Democrats than against Haas herself. They viewed Harrisburg as having too many regulations that drove up the cost of living.

“The gas prices are ridiculous,” Don Neely said. “Grocery prices are ridiculous, and I just think we need to stand up and fight for better prices and better overall government.”

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