HARRISBURG — Spending has officially begun on both sides of Pennsylvania’s 2025 Supreme Court election, which will task voters with retaining or rejecting three justices.
A political group funded by a mix of state and national Democratic donors has begun running at least one TV ad in favor of new 10-year terms for the three justices. Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht were all elected as Democrats in 2015.
The ad, paid for by Pennsylvanians for Judicial Fairness — or PJF — asks voters to vote yes and “keep the Supreme Court independent.”
The ad also highlights a case, brought by a handful of reproductive health providers, that argues the state constitution protects access to abortion. While the high court has yet to rule on the case's merits, it tossed out a lower court’s ruling.
“Vote and protect your rights,” the ad concludes.
A representative for PJF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The message counters ads by a national Republican group that’s put at least $85,000 into the opposite message — a no vote.. As Spotlight PA reported last week, those ads include a call to stop “radical liberal judges” from securing “another decade of power.”
The stakes of this retention election are high for both groups.
Since voters put Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht on the bench nearly a decade ago, flipping the court from GOP control, the Democratic majority has ruled on high-profile issues including mail ballots, redistricting, and pandemic-related health measures.
The Pennsylvania Bar Association, a nonpartisan trade group for lawyers that often evaluates judicial candidates’ qualifications, has recommended all three justices for new terms.
PFJ, the pro-retention group, has not yet been required to file a campaign finance report this year, so it is unclear how much it has raised or spent on ads or other political actions. But the same group spent millions during the contested 2023 state Supreme Court race in favor of Democrat and eventual winner Justice Daniel McCaffery.
That year, the PAC received big checks from organized labor and trial lawyers as well as from out-of-state billionaires who have a history of donating to pro-abortion-access causes. It also got funding from a handful of “dark money” groups that do not disclose donors.
Retention elections are usually sleepy affairs in which judges handily win new terms. Just one statewide judge has ever lost — Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro in 2005, amid widespread grassroots discontent with state government.
If a justice loses their retention race this November, they must vacate their seat at the end of the year. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro would be able to appoint a temporary justice, but that person would need approval from the state Senate, which is currently controlled by Republicans.
The GOP needs at least two Supreme Court seats to be on the 2027 ballot in order to have a hope of taking back control. At least one will be, regardless of the outcome this November. Donohue, one of the justices up for retention in 2025, will face mandatory retirement in 2027 because of her age.
Election Day is Nov. 4.