Democrats picked up a critical victory in a special election for Pennsylvania’s 140th state House District‚ increasing an already extremely-thin majority. “Democrat Jim Prokopiak‚ a school board member in Bucks County‚ defeated Republican Candace Cabanas‚” NBC News reports. Prokopiak’s victory gives Democrats a 102-100 majority in the Pennsylvania State House. BREAKING: Ronna McDaniel has lost every time! Republicans blow up another chance! Democrats have just won a state House special election in Pennsylvania‚ preserving the party's narrow majority in the closely watched battleground state. pic.twitter.com/hqGZBvOguK — Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 14‚ 2024 BREAKING: Democrats Win Pennsylvania Special Election‚ Securing Control of State House https://t.co/kqFhDn2EF5 — MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) February 14‚ 2024 NBC News reports: The party had a one-seat majority‚ 102-101‚ before Democratic Rep. John Galloway resigned after he won a judgeship in November. His departure created a tie. But another resignation Friday‚ by Republican Joe Adams‚ gave Democrats a fresh 101-100 advantage. Republicans control the state Senate‚ while Democrats hold the governorship. The win in Bucks County — a purple slice of the northern suburbs of Philadelphia — was hailed as positive news by national Democrats‚ some of whom had viewed the contest as an early bellwether of the party’s fortunes among suburban voters ahead of the 2024 election. Even the Biden campaign weighed in on the victory‚ touting it as evidence that Bucks County voters would reject Donald Trump in the fall. “With control of the state House on the line‚ Pennsylvanians again defeated Republicans’ anti-abortion agenda and voted for Jim Prokopiak‚ a Democrat who has stood up for women and working people‚” Julie Chavez Rodriguez‚ a Biden campaign manager‚ reportedly said. With 100% of precincts reporting‚ the (tentative) final results for PA HD-140 are as follows: Jim Prokopiak: 67.3% (6‚462) Candace Cabanas: 32.1% (3‚079) D+35.2 in the end. An absolutely astonishing overperformance in this Biden+10 seat by roughly ~25 points. — Joshua Smithley (@blockedfreq) February 14‚ 2024 According to Decision Desk HQ‚ Prokopiak defeated Cabanas by a 67.7% to 32.3% tally. Spotlight PA wrote: Prokopiak is the sixth Democrat to win a special election since the start of the latest legislative session in January 2023. During this period‚ the party has navigated a half-dozen vacancies created by a death‚ members winning other offices‚ and a resignation due to allegations of sexual harassment. The Democrat was favored to win Tuesday’s election due to the political registration and voting history of the district. The other five special elections had similar backgrounds. When Prokopiak takes office‚ Democrats will again hold 102 of the 203 seats in the lower chamber. The bare majority allows the party to set the agenda in the state House‚ advance their priorities‚ such as a minimum wage hike and increased education spending‚ and block what they oppose‚ such as stricter abortion restrictions or making it easier to block state regulations. Overall‚ this win enhances the party’s — and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s — leverage in coming budget negotiations.