Pennsylvania Voter Guide: The who, what, where & when of the 2024 election

From the White House to the state House of Representatives, Pennsylvanians have some hefty decisions to make in this year's election.

The commonwealth is considered among a handful of critical swing states to decide the outcome of the presidential race. Further, voters here will help determine control of Congress and of a divided state Legislature where margins are slim in both the upper and lower chambers.

Here are some of the most pivotal races on the 2024 ballot in Pennsylvania.

U.S. Senate

Democrats can go a long way toward securing their tenuous control of the U.S. Senate if they can defend the seat of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

Casey is chair of the Special Committee on Aging and is seeking a fourth term in Washington, D.C. He and his fellow Democrats technically hold a slim majority in the Senate because even though Republicans technically lead 49-47, there are four independents in this chamber and none of them caucus with the GOP.

Army veteran and former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick is Casey's Republican opponent in this race.

Learn more about the U.S. Senate candidates:

Casey-McCormick: Previewing the Casey-McCormick race for U.S. Senate

Inflation, greedflation, shrinkflation: Casey, McCormick duel on key election topic

U.S. House of Representatives

All U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election during even-numbered years. Pennsylvania has 17 members of this chamber: nine Democrats and eight Republicans.

Learn more about the U.S. House candidates:

Deluzio-Mercuri: Previewing the Deluzio-Mercuri race for U.S. House

Smucker-Atkinson: Previewing the Smucker-Atkinson race for U.S. House

Thompson-Womer: Previewing the Thompson-Womer race for U.S. House

Perry-Stelson: Previewing the Perry-Stelson race for U.S. House

Cartwright-Bresnahan: Previewing the Cartwright-Bresnahan race for U.S. House

Kelly-Nouri: Previewing the US House race between Kelly and Nouri for Pa. 16th District

A race to watch: Previewing the Ehasz-Fitzpatrick race for U.S. House

Pennsylvania Senate

Though Democrats hold the governorship and recently reclaimed the state House of Representatives after more than a decade in the minority, Republicans still have clout in Harrisburg via their state Senate majority.

Odd-numbered Senate districts are on the ballot in Pennsylvania this year. Democrats can take control of this chamber with a net gain of three seats this cycle.

Learn more about the Pennsylvania Senate candidates:

Mastriano-Schroy: Previewing the Schroy-Mastriano race for Pennsylvania's 33rd Senate district

Laughlin-Wertz: Previewing the Laughlin-Wertz race for Pa. Senate

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The Democratic hold on the state House of Representatives is tenuous at best.

All 203 seats in this chamber are on the ballot. Republicans can regain a majority with a net gain of just one seat.

Learn more about the Pennsylvania House candidates:

Kauffman-Kreischer: Previewing the Kauffman-Kreischer race for Pennsylvania's 89th district

Irvin-Steeg: Previewing the Irvin-Steeg race for Pennsylvania's 81st district

Roae-Walker: Previewing the Roae-Walker race for Pa. House 6th Legislative District

Banta-Cancilla: Previewing the Banta-Cancilla race for Pa. House

Bizzarro-Goring: Previewing the Bizzarro-Goring race for Pa. House

Merski-Strupczewski: Merski opposed by the GOP's Strupczewski for Pa. House

Ballot measures

There are no statewide ballot measures in Pennsylvania at this time, according to the Department of State.

A department spokesperson noted, however, that proposed constitutional amendments could still appear on the Nov. 5 election ballot if approved on time by members of the General Assembly. Any such amendment would need to be passed in time for notice to be published in newspapers of general circulation across the state no later than Aug. 5.

Pennsylvania row offices

Statewide row offices are additionally up for grabs this year.

Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor Timothy DeFoor, both Republicans, are challenged respectively by Democrats Erin McClelland and state Rep. Malcom Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia. Incumbent Attorney General Michelle Henry is not seeking election, so her office is being sought by Democratic nominee Eugene DePasquale and GOP nominee Dave Sunday.

Learn more about the row office candidates:

DeFoor-Kenyatta: Previewing the DeFoor-Kenyatta race for auditor general

Garrity-McClelland: Previewing the Garrity-McClelland race for Pa. treasurer

DePasquale-Sunday: Previewing the DePasquale-Sunday race for Pa. attorney general

Local races of interest

There are no local races on the ballot this cycle for countywide offices, school boards or municipal governments. Voters from the two major parties selected local party committee members and delegates to the respective conventions during the April 23 primary.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: What day is the presidential election 2024