Matchups for 4 battleground House races are set in Pennsylvania

Mary Ellen McIntire and Daniela Altimari, CQ-Roll Call on May 20, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania Democrats on Tuesday picked their nominees for a handful of House races that could help determine control of the chamber this fall.

Bob Brooks, a union leader and retired firefighter, won the Democratic primary to challenge freshman Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania’s 7th District in what was the night’s most competitive primary for a battleground seat in the commonwealth.

Brooks was leading with about 40% of the vote when The Associated Press called the race at 9:46 p.m. Eastern time. He was trailed by former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and former Justice Department prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, who each had about 21%, and engineer Carol Obando-Derstine, who had around 17%.

Democrats view Mackenzie’s Lehigh Valley seat as one of their best pickup opportunities in this year’s midterm elections as they seek to win control of the House. The Mackenzie-Brooks matchup will be one of the most closely watched nationwide come November.

Brooks had earned endorsements from both wings of the Democratic Party, including from Gov. Josh Shapiro and Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Working Families Party and the moderate Blue Dog PAC.

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race a Toss-up.

Shapiro, who is up for reelection this fall and is considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, said in a Tuesday speech in Bucks County that Pennsylvanians “have a lot of power” as “the state that always decides it all.”

“Think about what it will look like after we flip four seats here in Pennsylvania and win all across this country in November, to have a Congress that actually fights for us,” he said.

In one of those targeted seats – the 10th District in South Central Pennsylvania – 2024 Democratic nominee Janelle Stelson won the nomination, setting up a rematch with GOP Rep. Scott Perry. Stelson lost to Perry by just over a point last cycle, while Donald Trump carried the district by about 5 points. Inside Elections rates the race Tilt Republican.

In the 8th District, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti was unopposed Tuesday for the Democratic nod and will take on Republican freshman Rob Bresnahan in the fall. Inside Elections rates the race Tilt Republican.

And in the 1st District, outside Philadelphia, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie won the Democratic nomination to challenge GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a longtime party target and a rare House Republican to hold a seat that Kamala Harris carried in 2024. Inside Elections rates the race Lean Republican.

Meanwhile, in the 3rd District, state Rep. Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Dwight Evans. The Philadelphia-based district is one of the most Democratic-leaning in the country, with Harris having carried it by 77 points in 2024, meaning Tuesday’s primary was the real contest to decide its next member of Congress.

Rabb, who had support from much of the party’s progressive wing, had 44% of the vote when the AP called the race at 10:42 p.m. Eastern time. State Sen. Sharif Street had 29.5% and pediatric surgeon Ala Stanford had 24%.

Georgia

The fields were also set for several open House seats in Georgia seen as safe for their respective parties.

In the solid-red 11th District, neurosurgeon John Cowan qualified for the June Republican primary runoff election along with Rob Adkerson, who was chief of staff to the retiring congressman from the district, Rep. Barry Loudermilk. Cowan previously lost a primary for a neighboring House district in 2020 to Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene.

State Rep. Houston Gaines, who had Trump’s endorsement, won the GOP nod in the deep-red 10th District in the race to succeed Rep. Mike Collins, who is running for Senate.

In the coastal 1st District, Republican Jim Kingston, whose father held the seat for more than two decades, won the nomination outright, according to the AP which called the race at 12:29 a.m. ET Wednesday. Kingston had Trump’s support in his bid for the seat of another Senate contender, Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter.

And Trump-ally Andrew Clyde easily prevailed over a pair of Republican challengers in the 10th District Republican primary in his quest for a fourth term.

In Metro Atlanta’s deep-blue 13th District, currently vacant following the death of Rep. David Scott last month, Emory University professor and state Rep. Jasmine Clark beat a crowded field for the Democratic nomination.

Separate from the primary, a special election will be held in July to fill the rest of Scott’s term, and his daughter, Marcye Scott, has filed to run in the placeholder election. She was not a candidate in Tuesday’s primary.

Kentucky

The most consequential race of the night unfolded in Kentucky’s 4th District, where Republican Rep. Thomas Massie lost a primary to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who was recruited by Trump. Massie has publicly sparred with the president over spending bills, the war in Iran and the release of records related to the convicted late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Another Trump-backed Republican, physician and former state Sen. Ralph Alvarado, won the primary for an open House seat centered on Lexington. Alvarado will next face Democrat Zach Dembo, a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor. The 6th District seat is currently held by Rep. Andy Barr, who won the GOP nomination for Senate on Tuesday.

The district hasn’t elected a Democrat to Congress since 2010, but the party is hopeful this reddish swath of the Bluegrass State will flip in November. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the seat to its “Districts in Play” target list, citing the fact that Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear carried the seat by double digits in his 2023 reelection race.

Other states

While voters in Alabama also picked their House nominees Tuesday, the state appears set to void the results in four races as it seeks a redraw of its current congressional map. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey declared last week that the state would hold special primary elections for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts on Aug. 11 in anticipation of those boundaries changing.

Rounding out the list of states that voted Tuesday were Oregon and Idaho, where there are currently no House races rated competitive by Inside Elections and where all House incumbents won their primaries.