February 14, 2024
Dan Rainville/USA TODAY NETWORK
Jim Prokopiak's victory in the special election for the 140th District allows Democrats to maintain control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Democrat Jim Prokopiak won a special election Tuesday to represent Pennsylvania's 140th Legislative District, allowing the Democratic Party to keep its slim majority in the state House.
Prokopiak, 49, a lawyer from Levittown and a member of the Pennsbury Board of School Directors, defeated Republican Candace Cabanas, a restaurant server from Falls Township. The Associated Press declared the race at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Unofficial vote tallies show Prokopiak won 67.7% of the vote.
The 140th District in Bucks County includes Falls Township, Morrisville, Tullytown and parts of Middletown Township.
"For over a decade, I fought for the people here in Lower Bucks County and I'll continue to do that in Harrisburg," Prokopiak said in his victory speech, per WHYY. "Whether it be fighting for livable wages, affordable housing, whether it be fighting for fully funding our education so that no one gets left behind and protecting women’s rights to control their own bodies."
The House will now have 102 Democrats and 100 Republicans. A series of resignations over the last year has tested Democrats' ability to hold onto the chamber. Since January 2023, Democrats have won six special elections.
The vacancy in the 140th District – created by Rep. John Galloway resigning to serve as a judge in Falls Township in November – left a 101-101 deadlock between the two parties. But Democrats regained control last week when Republican Rep. Joe Adams, of the 139th District in Northeastern Pennsylvania, resigned due to deal with medical issues in his family. A special election to fill that seat is set for April 23, the day of the state's primary elections.
The power shifts came several days after Gov. Josh Shapiro introduced his budget proposal, which calls for reforming higher education and increasing public transit funding.
Prokopiak will need to win the Democratic primary in April and the general election in November to retain his seat in the House for the legislative session that begins next January.
