The bottom line:
Pennsylvania voters re-elected Gov. Josh Shapiro on November 3, 2026, and unofficial results show Democrats winning control of both chambers of the General Assembly. If those results hold, Democrats will control the governor’s office, the state House and the state Senate at the same time for the first time in more than 30 years. Democrats also won all four of Pennsylvania’s competitive congressional races.
A reminder:
Results remain unofficial until counties certify them. Counties must certify results to the state by November 23, 2026, and one state House race remained too close to call as of November 13, 2026.
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PA Governor’s Race | PA Senate Race | PA House Race | Congress | Results in Other States | Implications for Nonprofits – in Harrisburg and in Washington | New Resource: Nonprofits & Democracy | Checklist for What Nonprofits Can Do Now | Questions?
The result:
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) defeated State Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) by about 21 points, roughly 60% to 39%. The Associated Press called the race one minute after polls closed. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis was re-elected on the joint ticket.
The bottom line:
Democrats won a 26-24 majority, their first Senate majority since 1993. Republicans held a 27-23 majority going into Election Day. Democrats flipped four seats, and Republicans flipped one:
New leadership:
On November 12, 2026, Senate Democrats announced their leadership team for the 2027-28 session, their first as the majority caucus in more than three decades:
The bottom line:
Democrats expanded their 103-100 majority and are set to hold 114 of 203 seats, pending final results, a net gain of 11. At least one race has not been officially called. Democrats lost the 12th District in Butler County, which had flipped from Republican to Democrat in an August 2026 special election; Rep. Brandon Dukes (D) conceded.
Still too close to call:
In the 41st District in Lancaster County, Brad Chambers (D) leads Rep. Brett Miller (R) by 28 votes, 14,291 to 14,263, with the last overseas and provisional ballots added to the tallies, according to LancasterOnline on November 12, 2026. Objections from the Miller campaign and the Republican Party to seven provisional ballots were dropped. Results remain preliminary until the county certifies them to the state, which it must do by November 23. Miller has not responded to requests for comment since just after Election Day, and a recount could still be requested by court petition. The 114-seat count assumes Chambers’ lead holds.
New leadership:
House Democrats chose their 2027-28 leadership team on November 10, 2026:
Republican leadership:
Senate and House Republicans will also choose their leaders for the 2027-28 session, as the minority caucus in both chambers. The new session begins January 5, 2027.
The bottom line:
Democrats won all four targeted Republican-held seats, moving Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation from 10-7 Republican to 11-6 Democratic:
Full results:
For results in every U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor and state legislative race, including an interactive map, see Duane Morris Government Strategies’ 2026 Midterm Elections: Where Things Stand.
The bottom line:
Pennsylvania was part of a broader shift in state government. Democrats flipped at least five governorships (Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas) and won or expanded control of legislative chambers in 10 states (Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin). Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are set to have new Democratic trifectas. Some races were still being counted as of November 5, 2026.
Ballot measures to know:
Voters decided about 145 statewide ballot questions in 39 states. Pennsylvania had none, but several carry lessons for nonprofits elsewhere:
The bottom line:
The 2026 results change the landscape in both Harrisburg and Washington. Pennsylvania is set to have one-party control of state government for the first time in 33 years, while the federal government is moving to divided control. Neither outcome guarantees particular results for nonprofits. Narrow margins, the need for bipartisan votes on many issues, and the realities of the budget mean that nonprofits’ relationships with lawmakers of both parties matter as much as ever.
IN HARRISBURG
What changes:
Democrats will enter the session that begins January 5, 2027, holding the governor’s office, a 26-24 Senate majority and 114 of 203 House seats, pending final results. It is the party’s first trifecta since 1993. Under divided government, the last two legislative sessions produced historic lows in the number of laws passed, according to Spotlight PA. With the same party controlling the governor’s office and both chambers, bills that pass one chamber are more likely to reach the governor’s desk, and the majority will set committee chairs and the legislative calendar.
Where to look for the agenda:
One of the best indicators of what the new majority will pursue is the long list of bills the House passed that the Senate did not take up. Over the past two years, the House sent the Senate hundreds of bills that did not receive final consideration. Many of them are likely to be the starting point for negotiations in the new session.
Likely first priorities:
In the days after the election, Gov. Shapiro and legislative leaders pointed to four priorities. The House has already passed versions of each:
Other issues likely to return:
Why it matters for nonprofits:
Many of these proposals would reach nonprofits directly. Minimum wage and paid family and medical leave would affect nonprofit employers as well as the workers and families nonprofits serve. Child care and working-family tax credits, housing, transit and health coverage proposals touch the communities nonprofits serve every day. Organizations should also watch whether new data privacy and AI requirements written for businesses would apply to nonprofits.
What could slow things down:
Passage by the House does not guarantee a bill’s future. A two-seat Senate margin leaves little room for defections, new committee chairs will shape what moves, and proposals with significant costs must compete within the state budget. Timing will vary: changes in law could move quickly, while constitutional amendments must pass in two consecutive sessions and then go to voters. Leaders have said a “First 100 Days” plan is coming, which should clarify near-term priorities.
What leaders are saying:
Supporters of one-party control point to past results. Sen. Vincent Hughes (D) noted that the last Democratic trifecta created the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which became “a national model.” Republicans have urged caution: Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R) said, “If you just go totally left-wing blue, you’re not going to have that popularity for long,” and the Senate Republican campaign committee has warned about the cost of possible tax increases. Gov. Shapiro has stressed bipartisanship: “In Pennsylvania, to get stuff done, we work together.”
The state budget:
The 2027-28 state budget will be the first major test of the new session. The governor will present a proposal in early 2027, the budget is due June 30, 2027, and Speaker Joanna McClinton has pledged to finish it on time. On-time budgets matter for nonprofits: the 2025-26 budget impasse lasted more than four months and delayed state payments to many organizations that deliver services under state contracts. Appropriations chairs Sen. Vincent Hughes and Rep. Jordan Harris will play central roles in shaping how priorities like human services, child care, education and health care are funded.
New relationships:
Several longtime legislators lost their seats, and new members will take office without established ties to the sector. New members of the General Assembly are scheduled to be sworn in on January 5, 2027. Democratic leaders in both chambers have been named, and committee chair and membership assignments will follow. Organizations that introduce themselves early, to members of both parties, will be better positioned for the session ahead.
IN WASHINGTON
Divided government:
Democrats will control both chambers of Congress when the new Congress begins in January 2027. As of November 11, 2026, Democrats had won 255 U.S. House seats, their largest majority since 2008, with more than a dozen races still uncalled, according to the Associated Press. In the U.S. Senate, Democrats had won at least 54 seats, with races in Alaska and Mississippi still being counted. With a Republican president, the federal government will be divided. Most legislation will still need 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster, and President Trump has said he will use his veto to block the Democratic agenda, so major policy changes in either direction are less likely. Analysts expect funding negotiations, must-pass bills and congressional oversight to become the main channels for change, which places federal grants and appropriations at the center of the next two years for nonprofits.
New congressional leadership:
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is set to become Speaker of the House, and on November 10, 2026, House Republicans elected Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as their leader. In the Senate, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to become Majority Leader, and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was re-elected to lead Senate Republicans.
Key committees for nonprofits:
The committees that write tax and spending laws will have new leaders, according to the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN):
What to expect in 2027-28:
NCN expects divided government to bring more congressional oversight and investigations, some opportunities for bipartisan legislation, gridlock on major changes, the return of earmarks, and more action by executive agencies. Democratic leaders have said their early agenda will include restoring Affordable Care Act premium tax credits; reversing or delaying Medicaid and SNAP funding cuts, work requirements and state cost-sharing; expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit; addressing tariffs and war funding; and anti-corruption measures. NCN also expects continued executive actions affecting nonprofits, including federal funding cuts, new grant requirements and challenges to tax-exempt status. NCN has said it will press Congress to ensure oversight and due process in federal investigations of nonprofits, strengthen legal protections for nonprofits, protect access to federal grants and partnerships, and block proposals that would harm nonprofits and the communities they serve.
New members with nonprofit experience:
About three dozen incoming members of Congress, from both parties, have nonprofit experience, from founding and leading organizations to serving on boards, teaching at nonprofit universities and volunteering. In the Senate:
In the House, Pennsylvania’s Rep.-elect Chris Rabb (D-PA-03) has served on the boards of Race Forward, Friends of the Wissahickon and the Bread and Roses Community Fund and taught at Temple and Drexel universities. Other incoming members include Sean McCann (D-MI-04), a former Red Cross director of financial development; Sarah Trone Garriott (D-IA-03), who led the Des Moines Area Religious Council’s food pantry network; Sydney Gruters (R-FL-16), former executive director of the New College Foundation; and Jessica Hart Steinmann (R-TX-08), former executive general counsel of the America First Policy Institute. These members may be natural partners for nonprofits on sector issues.
The lame-duck session:
The current Congress returned on November 9, 2026, for its final weeks. Federal funding expires December 11, 2026, none of the 12 fiscal year 2027 appropriations bills has been enacted, and another short-term continuing resolution is increasingly likely; some lawmakers expect it to run into February or March 2027. Senate Republicans have said they want to use the remaining weeks to confirm nominees and pass another budget reconciliation bill before the new Congress begins January 3, 2027. Other items in play include judicial and agency nominations, the defense authorization bill, the farm bill, flood insurance, surface transportation, permitting reform, crypto and college sports legislation, enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies and a possible year-end bipartisan tax package. Instead of another short-term funding bill, Congress could also pass full-year spending bills or a combined package of the two, sometimes called a “cromnibus.”
Federal grantmaking rules:
The September 2026 continuing resolution (Section 157) bars OMB from finalizing its proposed overhaul of the Uniform Guidance, the rules that govern federal grants, through December 11, 2026. The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) says the proposal would allow agencies to withhold, terminate or suspend federal grants without cause, and nearly 500,000 public comments were submitted on it. A coalition of 116 organizations, including nonprofits, hospitals and universities, has asked Congress to carry the Section 157 protection into any new continuing resolution and the final fiscal year 2027 spending bills. The coalition also reports that several federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the Departments of Education, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development, have begun adopting similar provisions in their own grant terms. Organizations that receive federal grants, directly or through the state, have a direct stake in whether the protection is extended before it expires on December 11, 2026.
Other items to watch:
The Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act (S. 3931), which would modernize IRS customer service and strengthen taxpayer rights, has passed the Senate and awaits House action. In addition, on October 21, 2026, the Justice Department dropped its appeals in litigation over the Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer eligibility rule, which Independent Sector reports means the rule will not take effect. That matters to nonprofit employees pursuing loan forgiveness.
New resource:
The National Council of Nonprofits has released “Nonprofits and Democracy,” a three-part primer on the role nonprofits play in a healthy democracy, the challenges the sector has faced in the last two years, and how nonprofits can use their strengths to help safeguard and strengthen democracy. NCN encourages organizations to share it.
☐ Introduce your organization to newly elected state legislators and members of Congress in your area, regardless of party, before they are sworn in. Start with new members who have nonprofit backgrounds. Here’s a checklist to help you get started!
☐ Watch for new legislative leadership and committee assignments, which will shape the 2027-28 session.
☐ Review House-passed bills on issues that affect your organization. Many could be the starting point for negotiations in the 2027-28 session.
☐ Prepare your budget message. Gather the data and stories that show how state funding decisions, and on-time budgets, affect the people you serve.
☐ Weigh in on federal grantmaking rules. If your organization receives federal funds, use NCN’s Take Action resources to ask your members of Congress to extend the protection before December 11, 2026.
☐ Track the federal lame-duck session and the December 11, 2026 funding deadline.
☐ Share NCN’s Nonprofits and Democracy primer with your board, staff and volunteers.
☐ Keep your nonpartisan practices in place. The rules for 501(c)(3) organizations apply after Election Day too, including when engaging with newly elected officials. Need a reminder? Check out this PANO post from 2024 all about What Nonprofits CAN Do when it comes to civic engagement.
Questions about what these results mean for your organization? Email Anna Keilly, PANO’s Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy.
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Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash.
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