Democrat Daniel McCaffery defeated Republican Carolyn Carluccio in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court race on Tuesday, increasing the Democrats' majority on the court ahead of the 2024 election.
McCaffery, a superior court judge, defeated Carluccio, the Montgomery County of Common Pleas judge, to replace the late Democratic Justice Max Baer for a 10-year term, 52.7% to 47.3% with 90% of votes called. The majority now becomes 5-2 in favor of Democrats, preventing Republicans from having an edge in ruling in favor of right-leaning policies.
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Abortion took center stage in Pennsylvania's high court race. McCaffery has been vocal about his support for abortion and disagreement with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, receiving endorsements from Planned Parenthood, several labor unions, and environmental groups. He previously said he aims to preserve the rights that "we Democrats have fought for the last 60 years."
This low-profile race was built largely on advertising, particularly after an October poll found that 7 in 10 registered voters did not know enough about McCaffery or Carluccio to form an opinion.
McCaffery was blasted by Republican groups for his history of political activism that they believe has no place in a courtroom. On the other hand, Carluccio had been the subject of attack ads from Democratic allies for her stances on Pennsylvania's election laws and endorsements from anti-abortion groups.
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"I'm pretty worn out and disgusted by this whole process. I got into this race for the right reasons. I thought with 32 years of combined judicial and legal experience, I have the experience and qualification ... based on false statements and lies, it's pretty disappointing to say the least," McCaffery said to Pittsburgh's Action News 4 before the election.
Outside groups and individual donors had spent over $7 million to elect the new Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice. McCaffery spent $2 million over the last month. More than a dozen labor unions, mainly from the trades, have spent nearly $280,000 over the last month to support McCaffery, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Carluccio spent $742,000 of her own fundraising and received another $2.3 million in in-kind donations between Sept. 19 and Oct. 23, per the outlet.