PA House Control Decided By Special Bucks Co. Election Tuesday

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is in the hands of Lower Bucks County voters going to the polls Tuesday for a special election in the 140th Legislative District.

With State Rep. John Galloway's resignation in mid-December to become the Magisterial District Justice for Falls Township, it split the PA House 101-101 between Democrats and Republicans.

Tuesday's election pits Republican Candace Cabanas, a Falls Township native, against Democrat Jim Prokopiak, a Pennsbury School Board member and former Falls Township supervisor.

The 140th Legislative District includes part of Middletown Township, Falls Township, Morrisville Borough, and Tullytown Borough.

Democrats had controlled the House by one vote when new state Rep. Melissa Cerrato unseated longtime Republican representative Todd Stephens in the 151st Legislative District in Montgomery County.

While Democrat Josh Shapiro is in the governor's seat in Harrisburg, Republicans hold the Senate.

Democrats outnumber Republicans three-to-two in the 140th Legislative District, according to voting information from the Bucks County Board of Elections. Galloway also won re-election handily last November.

Cabanas was nominated by the Bucks County Republican Party in December to run for the seat. She stated that she would help families make ends meet, support law enforcement efforts, fight rising healthcare costs, and provide quality education to children.

Prokopiak was selected as the Bucks County Democratic Party nominee.

“The people of Lower Bucks County need a voice in Harrisburg who is willing to fight for them,” Prokopiak told Patch after his announcement in December. “For too many people, the American dream is drifting further away — housing and healthcare are too expensive, and many jobs don't provide for those basic needs. Our schools are not properly funded, and college and technical training are too expensive.”

The Pennsbury School District is giving students the day off Tuesday since many of its schools are used as polling places.

There are 33 polling precincts in the 140th Legislative District.