Americans will go to the polls Tuesday in a midterm election that will determine control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term.
In Pennsylvania, voters will also be electing a governor and choosing the lawmakers that will represent them in Harrisburg, and Philadelphians will be faced with a pair of ballot questions.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, widely seen as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, is running for reelection against Republican Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who has won a pair of competitive statewide elections over the past six years.
Garrity’s running mate is Jason Richey, chair of the Allegheny County GOP, while current Lt. Gov. Austin Davis will appear on the ballot alongside Shapiro.
Libertarians Ken Krawchuk, a computer programmer and writer who lives in Abington, and John Thomas, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2024, are also running for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
Back in May, state Rep. Chris Rabb earned the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, defeating state Sen. Sharif Street and Dr. Ala Stanford.
He is expected to be officially elected Tuesday in the heavily Democratic district, which covers West and Northwest Philadelphia, along with much of Center City and parts of North and South Philadelphia. Incumbent Dwight Evans announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection.
Although no Republicans filed paperwork to run, an independent, Dennis Mahoney, is on the ballot opposite Rabb. The moderate Forward Party has backed Mahoney.
GOP candidates are challenging Democratic incumbents in the two other Philadelphia Congressional districts.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, who took office more than a decade ago, is seeking reelection against Jessica Arriaga, a mother and health care professional from North Philadelphia, in the 2nd District. The district is made up of Northeast Philadelphia, the River Wards, and the eastern parts of North Philadelphia and Center City.
In the 5th District, which is based in Delaware County and includes sections of South and Southwest Philadelphia, Nicholas Manganaro is attempting to unseat U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon.
Three State Senate seats are up for election this year, but only one is being contested.
In the 4th District, covering sections of Northwest Philadelphia and Montgomery County, GOP nominee Todd Johnson, pastor of First Immanuel Baptist Church, is challenging Sen. Art Haywood, who was first elected in 2014.
Democratic incumbent Sens. Christine Tartaglione and Anthony Hardy Williams are unopposed in the 2nd and 8th districts, respectively.
All Pennsylvania House of Representatives spots are up for grabs every two years, and multiple candidates are vying for seats in four city districts, primarily in Northeast Philadelphia.
Rep. Martina White, Philadelphia’s only Republican in the state House, is running for reelection against Democrat Rob Gurtcheff in the Far Northeast’s 170th District.
Retired teacher Bill Griffin is running on the GOP ticket against Rep. Pat Gallagher, who has been in office since 2023, in the 173rd District in the Northeast.
Over in the 177th District, which spans parts of Northeast Philadelphia and the River Wards, Democratic Rep. Joe Hohenstein, first elected eight years ago, is running against Robyn Bird, who works for the firefighters’ and paramedics’ union.
In West Philadelphia’s 192nd District, GOP hopeful Tiffany Vann Brown is trying to disrupt Rep. Morgan Cephas’ plans for another term in Harrisburg.
Democrats Amen Brown, Sean Dougherty, Ed Neilson, MaryLouise Isaacson, Jason Dawkins, Jose Giral, Malcolm Kenyatta, Ben Waxman, Elizabeth Fiedler, Regina Young, Jordan Harris, Rick Krajewski, Roni Green, Joanna McClinton, Tarik Khan, Sierra McNeil, Danilo Burgos, Darisha Parker, Chris Johnson, Andre Carroll, Jared Solomon and Anthony Bellmon will appear on the ballot unopposed.
Philadelphia voters will be asked to approve or reject a pair of proposed changes to the city charter, which serves as the municipality’s governing document.
The first question would, if ratified, allow City Hall to prioritize small and local businesses for municipal contracts worth between $75,000 and $500,000, even if those companies did not submit the lowest bid.
Last year, Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration remade the city’s minority-, women-, and disabled-owned enterprise initiative into a program favoring small and local businesses, citing legal risks from recent court rulings.
If a majority of voters select “yes” on the second measure, Creative Philadelphia, the city’s existing arts and culture office, would become a permanent staple within City Hall. As it stands, the department could be eliminated through a mayoral executive order.
City Council legislation associated with the ballot question indicates that, if approved, each mayor would be required to appoint a chief cultural office to oversee Creative Philadelphia, which works to develop policies to support the arts. Mural Arts and the city’s Public Art Program would also report to the department, previously known as the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.
Polling places will be open for in-person voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Philadelphians can find their voting location by typing in their address at atlas.phila.gov/voting.
For individuals voting by mail who have not yet returned their ballot, City Commissioners recommend that, in the few days before an election, they deliver their envelope to a dropbox. Ballots are not counted unless they are received — not postmarked — by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The Commissioners, who oversee elections in the city, operate more than 30 dropboxes. For a full list of locations, go to vote.phila.gov. Additional information about voting is available on the state’s website, vote.pa.gov.
MORE: Behind the scenes of Philly's mail-in ballot counting process
