Dem Scanlon wins House seat in Pennsylvania

Democratic civil rights attorney Mary Gay Scanlon easily beat Republican former prosecutor Pearl Kim Tuesday in the race to represent Pennsylvania’s 5th District, in a pickup for Democrats.

The 5th district, which consists of mainly of suburban Philadelphia Delaware County, is a new district, owing to Pennsylvania’s court-mandated redistricting this year.

The district replaces the area represented by Republican Pat Meehan, who resigned amidst sexual harassment allegations by an aide.

{mosads}The race was seen early on as an easy win for Democrats in an area that voted heavily for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, though she lost the state to President Trump.

The race was also one of only a handful in the country in which two women were running against each other. Scanlon will be the first woman representing Pennsylvania in Congress since then-Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D) resigned in 2015.

Scanlon ran on core Democratic issues like health care and gun rights. She earned former President Barack Obama’s backing.

Kim ran largely as a centrist, emphasizing her independence from the GOP on issues like immigration.

Scanlon will get to serve the remainder of Meehan’s term, and then serve a new term starting on Jan. 3.