by WorldTribune Staff, August 21, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
Democrat Brandon Dukes won Tuesday’s special election for a Pennsylvania state House seat in a district that President Donald Trump won by 20 points in 2024.
Dukes, a TD Bank loan officer, defeated Republican Scott Timko, a private aviation pilot and Air Force veteran in the Butler County district which primarily consists of Cranberry Township, a growing suburb of Pittsburgh, alongside Mars, Valencia, and Zelienople, Spotlight PA reported on Wednesday.
The seat has been vacant since state Rep. Stephenie Scialabba, a Republican, resigned in March.
Less than one-third of registered voters in the district cast a ballot in the Tuesday special election, the Capital-Star reported, leaving the door open for another competitive match-up in November.
In a statement shared with the Capital-Star on Wednesday, Pennsylvania House Republican Campaign Committee spokesperson Bob Bozzuto held out hope for GOP candidates, noting that the general election will likely have “significantly more voter turnout” than the special election.
“The General Election starts today with Scott Timko reaching out to voters, building a winning coalition, and holding Brandon Dukes accountable for his extreme positions that he continues to hide from voters,” Bozzuto told the local outlet.
Democrats have held a one-vote majority in the state House since 2023. There have been 17 special elections to fill vacant state House seats during that time and the victory by Dukes is the first flip.
“We’ve had the same representation here in the district in Harrisburg for the last 30-some years, and nothing is working,” Dukes told Spotlight PA. “It’s time to change course.”
The district last elected a Democrat to the state House in the 1990s.
“When you think of the stereotypical person who’s become more Democratic since Trump was elected, that is the district you think of,” said Will Allison, a Cranberry native and chair of the Allegheny County Young Democrats, who has led canvasses of the district.
