This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

 It was a clean sweep for Democrats running for statewide appellate court seats this week, as Democrats Dan McCaffery, Jill Beck and Timika Lane, and Matt Wolf all won their elections for state Supreme Court, state Superior Court and Commonwealth Court, respectively. Democrats went four-for-four on in the appellate court races, generating some major momentum for the party heading into next year.

Ceilings have been broken in the commonwealth’s two biggest counties, thanks to Democrats Sara Innamorato and Cherelle Parker. Innamorato, a progressive former state representative, defeated Republican Joe Rockey in the race for county executive – the first woman to be elected to the position. And in Philadelphia, Parker, a former city councilmember and state legislator, handily won the mayoral race – setting herself up to be the city’s 100th – and first female mayor.

The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5 has a new president. The police officers union recently elected Roosevelt Len Poplar, the organization’s vice president, to succeed John McNesby as the president of the union. Poplar, a 33-year police officer, becomes the first Black president in Lodge #5’s history, according to The Philadelphia Tribune.

Gov. Josh Shapiro will be tasked with naming a replacement on the Blair County Court of Common Pleas after President Judge Elizabeth Doyle lost her bid for a third term on the bench, as first reported by the Altoona Mirror. Boyle was running in a retention election, but ultimately 51% of Blair County voters opted not to retain Doyle, according to unofficial county election results.

With national media narratives making their way to school board races, many across the commonwealth were closely watching the results of high-profile county races like the one for Central Bucks School Board. Democrats swept several school board races in the southeast and parts of central Pennsylvania, with Republican candidates backed by the self-described parental rights organization Moms For Liberty coming up short across multiple races. And in Central Bucks, where Republicans took control in 2021 and approved a policy that allows community members to request that books be removed from school libraries for “inappropriate” content, Democrats won all five seats up for grabs.

For the first time in modern history, a Republican will not hold an at-large city council seat in Philadelphia. The city’s historic election night is due in no small part to victories for Working Families Party candidates. WFP incumbent Kendra Brooks and her running mate Nicolas O’Rourke were the two highest non-majority party vote-getters in the at-large race Tuesday, earning them the open seats and leaving Republicans Jim Hasher and Drew Murray on the outside looking in. Now, Northeast native Brian O’Neill – who handily defeated a well-funded challenger in labor leader Gary Masino – is the lone Republican voice in the city’s legislature, where he will represent the 10th District.