Pa. justices win retention for 10-year terms on state Supreme Court

by Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
November 4, 2025

Three state Supreme Court justices were elected to second terms Tuesday, despite efforts by conservative groups to persuade voters to oust them, according to unofficial election results.

Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, first elected as Democrats in 2015, will continue serving on the commonwealth’s highest court, which hears appeals in cases ranging from capital murder cases to congressional redistricting. 

Their retention to 10-year terms maintains the court’s 5-2 Democratic majority, although Donohue, 72, will be able to serve only three years before reaching the mandatory retirement age for state judges. 

Democratic leaders called the results a victory for judicial independence and a further repudiation of efforts by billionaire political donors to buy court seats.

“Tonight, folks across our commonwealth sent a resounding message by voting to retain all three Supreme Court justices who will continue to defend the rule of law, safeguard our elections, and protect our constitutional rights,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said. “Here in the birthplace of democracy, the good people of Pennsylvania will always stand for freedom.”

Democratic National Committee Chairperson Ken Martin, who campaigned across the state for the justices, said the election was a major win for fair elections, reproductive rights, voting rights, and democracy.

“Tonight, Pennsylvania delivered a message on behalf of the entire country: No matter how rich you are, and no matter how much power you think you might have, our courts are not for sale,” Martin said.

With about half of the vote counted, the votes for each justice stood at about 63% to 37% in favor of retention. Retention vote margins are historically in the range of 60% to 75%.

In other statewide judicial elections, Democrat Brandon Neuman led Republican Maria Batista 56% to 41% in the race for a Superior Court seat and Democrat Stella Tsai led Republican Matt Wolford 57% to 43%. Superior Court Judge Alice Beck Debow and Commonwealth Court Judge Michael Wojcik each held leads in favor of retention.

Since 1968, Pennsylvania has used a system of electing judges initially in contested partisan races and requiring them to stand for retention for subsequent terms. In a retention race, judges face no opponents and voters are asked to decide whether the judge should be retained for another 10-year term.

The retention election for three members of the court created an opening for Republicans to break up the Democratic majority. A non-retention vote for any of the three would have triggered a contested election in 2027.

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Groups associated with billionaire donor Jeffrey Yass launched a campaign late last summer to mobilize voters to “term-limit the Pa. Supreme Court” and to associate Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht with unpopular decisions, such as overturning comedian Bill Cosby’s 2018 aggravated indecent assault conviction. 

Another ad said the court was responsible for redrawing congressional districts to help Democrats, while showing a gerrymandered map favored by Republicans that it had actually rejected as unconstitutional.

It’s unclear, until the final campaign finance reports are filed, how much outside groups spent, but the justices and committees supporting them raised at least $14 million.

Nydea Graves, lead democracy coordinator of One Pennsylvania, which promotes progressive, multiracial working class political power, said the vote was a rejection of Yass and the MAGA agenda.

“Voters understood that Pennsylvania needs a court that holds true to the constitution’s promise of equal treatment for all of us. From voting rights to education equity to healthcare to workers’ rights, Pennsylvanians expect the law to be applied fairly, not just in favor of a privileged few,” Graves said.

Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht were originally elected in an unprecedented three-way race. It stemmed from the scandal-driven resignations of two justices and the mandatory retirement of former Chief Justice Ron Castille. 

Justice Joan Orie Melvin resigned in 2013 after she was convicted of using her judicial staff and her sister’s state Senate staff to do campaign work. Justice Seamus McCaffery resigned in 2014 after it was revealed he sent pornographic emails to an agent in the attorney general’s office as former Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office investigated her predecessor’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse case. 

Only once, in 2005, has a Supreme Court justice not been retained, when Justice Russell Nigro was voted off the bench in the backlash from a middle-of-the-night vote by state lawmakers to give themselves and judges a pay raise.

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Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.