Joe Picozzi and Sean Dougherty – two young political upstarts from opposing parties – emerged victorious in a pair of hotly contested Northeast Philadelphia state legislative races from last week’s election.
Though the City Commissioners continue to sort through provisional, military and overseas ballots, major media organizations, including the Associated Press and New York Times, have called the 5th Pennsylvania Senate District for Picozzi, 29.
He was able to unseat incumbent Democrat Jimmy Dillon, who conceded Sunday, and flip a district that covers much of Northeast Philadelphia to the GOP. The race was decided by a margin of less than 1%, according to unofficial results posted on the state’s election returns website.
Picozzi will be the only Republican senator in Harrisburg from Philadelphia, and the city’s sole other GOP state lawmaker is Rep. Martina White, also of the Northeast, who was reelected without opposition.
“It’s time for all of us to come together as one community to find common sense solutions to restore and secure Northeast Philadelphia,” Picozzi said Sunday in a statement. “I will not let you down.”
Once he takes office in January, Picozzi will be a member of the Republican Party’s 28-22 Senate majority. Democrats retained their one-seat advantage in the state House of Representatives, thanks in part to Dougherty’s win.
Preliminary returns show that the 30-year-old attorney and former public defender bested Republican hopeful Aizaz Gill by fewer than 500 votes in the 172nd District, which encompasses Fox Chase and sections of Burholme, Rhawnhurst and Bustleton.
“Now the work begins to bring home funding and legislation to benefit the 172nd including funding our schools, protecting women’s reproductive rights, increasing safety in the district, and increasing good-paying jobs,” Dougherty said in a post to his campaign social media pages Saturday.
Dougherty successfully challenged incumbent Democratic Rep. Kevin Boyle in the April primary for the party’s nomination.
