What does battle for Pa. House majority mean?

Answer: Members on both sides of the aisle in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives are claiming to be the majority leader. On one hand, there is state Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-191st District, who was sworn in as majority leader and presiding officer last Wednesday, citing the law and precedent, after Democrats won 102 seats, a majority, on Nov. 8. On the other hand, there is state Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-100th District, who on Monday was sworn in claiming he was majority leader, based on three new vacancies on the Democratic side, which resulted in a 101-99 majority for the Republicans.

Q: When will a speaker of the House be elected?

Q: Who will run for speaker?

A: McClinton will be a candidate for the Democrats. A Republican candidate has not been named, but Cutler said he will not be a candidate.

Q: How did we get here?

A: On Nov. 8, Democrats won 102 seats in the House, a majority. But Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-32nd District, died before the election, creating a vacancy. McClinton used her power to schedule special elections on Feb. 7 to fill three House seats left by DeLuca’s death and the resignation last Wednesday of both Austin Davis, D-35th District, who was elected the state’s first Black lieutenant governor, and Summer Lee, D-34th District, who was elected as the state’s first Black woman in Congress.

Q: Has this happened before?

A: “This is unprecedented,” said Nicole Reigelman, House Democratic caucus spokesperson. “Nobody’s seen anything like this. We believe we are the majority party and we are going to keep talking about it.” For her part, McClinton cited as precedent a case in 2004, when Samuel H. Smith, a Republican who served as the presiding officer Dec. 9, 2004, scheduled a special election to fill a seat vacated by a Republican lawmaker in the 189th District. McClinton also cited the 2003-04 session when Majority Leader John Perzel, R-172nd District, served as acting speaker for several weeks following the death of Speaker Matt Ryan, R-168th District.

Q: What’s next?

A: On Feb. 7, a special election is scheduled for the three vacant seats, which are in predominately Democratic Allegheny County and are expected to be won by other Democrats. Republicans will run candidates in those races, Cutler said.

Last Friday, Cutler filed suit in the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg against the Department of State and the Board of Election of Allegheny County, seeking an injunction to stop the writs of election filed by McClinton. Cutler said he has the power to schedule the special elections, but said the timing could be affected by the lawsuit.

“By affirming our current majority, House Republicans are also continuing our commitment to upholding the rule of law and electoral certainty, while acting in a manner wholly consistent with prior precedent,” Cutler said in a statement.