Tuesday’s primaries were the first test of Pennsylvania’s new districts, drawn in response to a court order that deemed the old map unconstitutional for its gerrymandering in favor of Republicans. The new map is more favorable to Democrats than even the Democrats expected, and the party could well pick up four or more seats here in November. Here is what to watch for in tonight’s primary races.



A record number of women ran for House seats in Pennsylvania, and several have won in Democratic primaries. Read about their victories here.

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The First, Seventh and 17th Districts are expected to be the most competitive in the general election. In the First District, based in Bucks County, Rachel Reddick, a former Navy prosecutor, and Scott Wallace, a wealthy philanthropist, are the Democratic front-runners to challenge Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a first-term Republican. In the Seventh District, in the Lehigh Valley, there are competitive primaries on both sides for a seat vacated by Representative Charlie Dent, a Republican. And two incumbents are facing off in the 17th District after Conor Lamb (a Democrat representing the former 18th District) and Keith Rothfus (a Republican representing the former 12th) were redistricted into the same race.

Keep an eye on the Fifth District, too. Represented until recently by a Republican, Patrick Meehan, it is now a safe Democratic seat thanks to the redrawn map — but a whopping 10 candidates are running for the Democratic nomination, giving primary voters a difficult choice. Six of the 10 are women, hoping to make it into Pennsylvania’s all-male congressional delegation.

While most attention has focused on the new House districts, Pennsylvania’s governor and one of its senators are also up for re-election. Gov. Tom Wolf is running unopposed in the Democratic primary and is likely to keep his job in November. Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat, is also likely to keep his seat, but he could face a challenge from Representative Lou Barletta, who is running in the Republican primary.