Pennsylvania Primary Elections Are on Tuesday and I’m Reluctantly Voting
The state will be selecting the candidates from the two major parties to run for the open Senate seat and Governor as the main highlights
Tuesday, May 17th is an important date for Pennsylvanians who are going to vote in the primary elections to remember. The race for the open Senate seat left by outgoing Senator, Pat Toomey, is going to be a hotly contested seat.
Highlights of the Senate race
Pennsylvania is currently one of six states where there is one Democrat and one Republican in the Senate. Pennsylvania in 2020 went for Joe Biden for about a couple of percentage points. This is the state that is also most likely to gain a Senate seat in the upcoming election.
The frontrunners for the Democrats right now are current lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, and current House of Representative member, Conor Lamb. Personally, I’m not too excited about what the Democrats are bringing to the table against the Republicans but it could possibly be enough to defeat them in November. The race is still too close to call at this point.
The Republicans are running Kathy Barnette, David McCormick, and that cancer of a fake doctor, Mehmet Oz. Honestly, I know Dr. Oz is getting the most national media attention for his Senate run but I don’t know if he has enough political clout to get through this Republican field despite his endorsement from former President Donald Trump. At least, I hope he doesn’t but after the actual election of a man with no political experience in 2016, I suppose anything is possible.
Wide-open governor’s race, too
The governor race is also wide open as the current Governor, Tom Wolf, is limited by term limits. Some notable names on the Republican side of the race will be Lou Barletta, Doug Mastriano, Bill McSwain, and Dave White.
On the Democratic side of the race is Josh Shapiro, who is likely going to be the winner for the Democrats by default. He is the most prominent name on the Democratic side and the only one who qualified for the ballot. I’m a registered Democrat in the state of Pennsylvania.
A personal take on the current primary system and the two-party system
I don’t truly align with the Democrats that much politically as I’m more to the left but I have more ballot access registered with one of the parties as Pennsylvania is a closed primary state, meaning that I can only vote in primaries with the names of the candidates in my party alone.
Even though I don’t feel completely comfortable voting with the Democrats in any election, I swallow my pride and at least get the candidates from the party to best run against the Republicans, who are visibly worse than the Democrats.
I wouldn’t actively vote for any Republicans in any local, state, or federal elections but I wish I had more choices than the two parties I’m given here. Regardless of how I personally feel though, my fellow Pennsylvanians should get out there and vote this week to get the best candidates on the ballot in November.
There are other important races and just go vote Tuesday
The remaining races, as there are numerous, are for lieutenant governor, state senators, House of Representatives members, and other local races. Voting is a right and a civic duty that we all have and we should all exercise our power out there on Tuesday. Hopefully, for myself, one of these days, Pennsylvania will be an open primary and I can register with any political party I want to ahead of the primaries so that my voice can truly be heard, but just defeating the Republicans now and in November will be enough for me.
