The 2026 election went as well as could be hoped for Democrats with senate wins in North and South Carolina, Ohio, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, and Texas with potential wins in Alaska and Mississippi. If the two undecided Senate seats go the Democrat’s way, they will have a 56-44 majority. As of this writing, the Democrats in the U.S. House have gained a net of 41 seats with eighteen seats not decided. The national results are astounding, however this post will focus on 2026 election reflections in the Alleghenies.
With the possible exception of Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton in Ohio, there were no major upsets in the Alleghenies. Some include Southeastern Ohio in the Allegheny Plateau (or Northern Appalachia). In this region of Ohio, only Athens county (where Ohio University is located) was won by Acton and Brown.
The map above shows how counties shifted toward Democrats nationally. In the Alleghenies, West Virginia showed more than a 20% swing in almost every county compared to 2024. Statewide Shelly Moore Capito won her Senate race with 58.3%. By contrast, she won her race in 2000 with 70.3%. Outside of West Virginia shifts to the Democrats were smaller in counties with smaller populations.
Governors Josh Shapiro of PA, Kathy Hochul of NY and Wes Moore easily won reelection with 60.4%, 59.6% and 62.8% of the vote respectively. In Pennsylvania there were no U.S. Senate races but four U.S. House seats flipped to the Democrats in the eastern part of the state. The house seats in the Allegheny region of the state were not flipped. The seat in the Alleghenies that came closest to being flipped was the 16th district in the Northwest corner of the state where Justin Wagner had 46.1% of the vote against incumbent Republican Mike Kelly.
In the Alleghenies, incumbent Republican candidates won their seats handily but had smaller percentages of the vote. For example Beth Farnham (interviewed on this site) had 32.46% of the vote which is higher than the 25.80% she received in 2024 against John Joyce. Looking at the total votes received in this race, Farnham received 91,080 this year and 104,823 in 2024. She received 87% of the vote she got in 2024. By contrast, Joyce received 189,493 votes in this year and 301,460 in 2024. His total this year was 63% of what he received in 2024.
PA State Legislature Results
In the State Senate, Democrats pick up 3 seats giving them a 26 to 24 majority. Democrats also picked up 9 seats in the state house giving them a 111 to 88 majority. For the first time since 1994, Democrats control both houses in the state legislature and the governor’s office.
Another candidate interviewed on this site was Trajan Jones. He received 37.3% of the vote against incumbent Republican Jim Struzzi. Struzzi was unopposed in 2024. Here in Cambria County, Democratic State Rep Frank Burns received 58.75% of the vote this year. In 2024 he received 51.42%. Both parties poured a lot of money into Burns’ seat in the last few election cycles.
The Democrats made smaller gains in the Central part of Pennsylvania than in the rest of the state. There is still a long way to go here for them