A Lower Bucks special election will determine control of the Pa. House

The balance of the Pennsylvania House is on the line for a fourth time in less than a year, with a special election Tuesday in Lower Bucks County.

Two candidates are running to replace longtime Democratic Rep. John Galloway, who resigned to become a magisterial district judge. The outcome of the Feb. 13 election will determine which party controls the House, currently tied at 101-101.

The candidates — Republican Candace Cabanas and Democrat Jim Prokopiak — are running to serve the final year of Galloway’s term. They are also both trying to get on the ballot for the forthcoming primary election, as a two-year term representing the district will be up for grabs again in November.

The district, which encompasses Falls Township and parts of Middletown Township, Tullytown, and Morrisville, leans Democratic; 52% of its registered voters are Democrats, while 32% are Republicans.

Three times in the last year, House Democrats have defended their one-seat majority in special elections. A national Democratic group focused on state legislatures has poured more than $80,000 into the latest race so far, while Cabanas has raised less than $10,000, according to her latest campaign finance filing.

Prokopiak, 49, is an attorney and Pennsbury School District board member. He previously served as a Falls Township supervisor, where he worked with now-Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.

Prokopiak previously ran for the seat in 2006, when it first opened up after the late Thomas Corrigan retired. Galloway won the Democratic primary, and rarely saw a Republican challenger. In 2022, Republicans did not put up a candidate, even after the district shifted slightly more Republican in statewide redistricting.

A father of three, Prokopiak said keeping the Democratic House majority is crucial for protecting reproductive rights and increasing the minimum wage, among other Democratic priorities. He also wants to focus on issues specific to working-class residents in the 140th House District, such as fully funding Pennsylvania’s school districts to reduce local property tax burdens.

“We need to elect Democrats, and by extension me, because that’s the only way the agenda can move forward,” Prokopiak added.

Cabanas, 45, is a restaurant server and former health-care aide who moved to the area in 2019 from Lancaster. The mother of three wants to increase representation of working-class workers in Harrisburg and said she struggles with inflation and tax increases just like the residents of the district.

“I have a better understanding of what people are going through in this area,” Cabanas said in a phone interview. “My opponent is an attorney. I feel like sometimes these people go into white-collar professions and sometimes they forget.”

Prokopiak, however, said he’s been working on local issues for decades as a supervisor and school board member and can bring his local government experience to the statehouse.

Like many of the previous special elections, Democrats have focused their messaging on abortion access. Prokopiak said he wants to codify abortion rights in Pennsylvania through a constitutional amendment. Cabanas declined to take a stance on the issue, and said she would vote based on the opinions of her constituents.

“It really doesn’t matter what I believe,” Cabanas added. “It really matters what [the community is] telling me.”

Prokopiak said he opposes school vouchers — a top Republican priority that Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro also supports.

“I don’t see how we can fund vouchers when we’re having a tough time putting money into the schools we already have,” Prokopiak added. “Vouchers won’t help people in Lower Bucks County.”

Cabanas said she’s been “looking into” vouchers and noted Shapiro’s support for state-funded private school options.

Cabanas said she has struggled to keep up with Prokopiak’s outside funding in the race.

“When you’re on the losing side of races, the Republican Party has been more hesitant to hand it out,” Cabanas said. “We’re not getting big funds from the [Republican National Committee], from the [House Republican Campaign Committee] in Harrisburg. … I don’t necessarily want to shame my party, but it is a real struggle to get money, and I’ve questioned should it be this hard?”

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which boosts state legislative races across the country, has invested $80,000 in Prokopiak’s candidacy. Prokopiak’s full campaign finance filing was not available as of the end of the day Friday.

“Any time you have a special election for the majority, very rarely do you sit back on it,” said DLCC President Heather Williams. “We’ve got a good track record, but we’re certainly not taking anything for granted.”