Dean talks costs, accountability, and Senate performance
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Just two years after Republicans won races up and down the ballot across the nation, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean believes Democrats could flip several of those seats back in Pennsylvania.
Throughout the 2026 cycle, Democrats in the Keystone State and beyond have placed their focus on four Republican incumbents serving in Pennsylvania's U.S. House delegation: U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st District; Ryan Mackenzie, R-7th District; Rob Bresnahan, R-8th District; and Scott Perry, R-10th District.
While at a campaign rally on Saturday for Gov. Josh Shapiro, Dean told The Center Square that she believes her party has recruited "quality candidate(s) that meet the moment and also meet the geography, the district, and the people who live there and are speaking to them and to their needs."
Polling and national pundits seem to agree that four of those seats are, at the very least, in play this cycle for Democrats.
Bresnahan and Mackenzie are freshman lawmakers who were elected to the U.S. House in 2024 by defeating Democratic incumbents U.S. Reps. Matt Cartwright and Susan Wild for Pennsylvania's 8th and 7th Districts, respectively.
Bresnahan is facing a challenge from Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti for the district in northeast Pennsylvania, while Mackenzie is going up against Bob Brooks, a firefighters' union leader, for the seat in the Lehigh Valley.
While those seats flipped from blue-to-red just two years ago, The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball believe both currently narrowly favor Cognetti and Brooks, rating both races as "leans Democratic."
Perry, former chair of the conservative U.S. House Freedom Caucus, is serving his seventh term in Congress and is also in a race both outlets describe as "leans Democratic" for Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District. Janelle Stelson, a former central Pennsylvania television anchor, is the Democratic candidate attempting to unseat him for the second cycle in a row for the seat in south central Pennsylvania.
The race, widely viewed as the biggest uphill battle for Democrats among the four, is Fitzpatrick's bid for a sixth term representing the district in the Philadelphia suburbs. Bucks County Commissioner Bob Brooks, a Democrat, is aiming to defeat Fitzpatrick, the only Republican serving in the Keystone State who represents a district that Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024.
The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both describe that race as a "toss-up."
"Their constituents feel unheard and unrepresented," Dean argued. "So, you have that spirit, that sad spirit up against really quality people, getting the word out, even in this difficult, expensive environment."
While those four races are top of mind for Democrats in Pennsylvania, Dean believes a fifth seat is in play: Pennsylvania's 9th U.S. House District.
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, first elected to the U.S. House in 2018, has cruised to reelection by double digits each time he's been on the ballot. Dean believes, however, that Democrat Rachel Wallace, a former congressional staffer in the U.S. House and President Joe Biden's budget office, is giving him a run for his money this cycle in a ruby-red seat.
Dean acknowledged to The Center Square that President Donald Trump won the district by double digits, but described Wallace as a "quality candidate who’s been doing the work, has raised the money, and has raised her voice, and people are out there getting it."
"And on the other side, the incumbent who is completely complicit with this president," Dean said.
Trump won Pennsylvania for a second time in 2024 and helped lift Republicans up and down the ballot. However, recent polling indicates that Trump's approval rating is underwater in Pennsylvania, which may undermine his party’s ability to maintain majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.
One of those seats that flipped from blue to red in 2024 was won by Republican Dave McCormick, who defeated longtime incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.
McCormick, an ally of Trump, overwhelmingly supports the president's agenda.
However, since the start of Trump's second term, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has been increasingly at odds with his party over a number of key issues.
When asked by The Center Square of her thoughts on the job performance of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate delegation, Dean said it was "disappointing."
"Disappointing to not have been much more of a barrier to the corruption of and the incompetence of this administration," she explained.
Dean, a former member of Pennsylvania's General Assembly, launched a campaign for lieutenant governor in 2018, alongside Fetterman. After district boundaries were redrawn, Dean bailed from that race to launch a congressional campaign.
However, she detailed her relationship with Fetterman during that statewide run.
"I got to run around the state with him," Dean told The Center Square. "It was a lousy winter, but we had fun."
"I appreciated his stump speech, he appreciated mine, but I don’t see in him today those same sets of values that he was promoting then," she continued. "So, I’m disappointed, disappointed in his votes, disappointed in his not showing up as much."
During the Republican Party's midterm convention in September, Fetterman made a surprise virtual appearance introducing McCormick during the gathering in Texas. Dean was in Dallas for counterprogramming and sharply criticized Fetterman's decision to participate in the GOP convention.
Despite his recent votes, Dean explained how she still cared about Fetterman.
"I am also, I’ll say, very clearly worried for him," she said. "I’ve only cared about his well-being, his health."
"So, disappointed in his performance," Dean said, but added that she "cares that he is well and his family as well."
"I love Gisele. They have great kids," she explained, naming Fetterman's wife. "So, disappointed in the governing of our senators."
Dean is seeking a fifth term in the U.S. House to represent the district in the Philadelphia suburbs that is widely considered Democratic friendly territory. She is being challenged by Republican Aurora Stuski.
When talking to voters in her district and across the country, Dean said she hears three issues most frequently: costs, corruption, and concern about the election.
During a successful 2024 for Republicans in Pennsylvania and across the nation, they had an advantage on the debate around affordability. However, polling shows Democrats now have an edge on the issue, which is top of mind for voters.
If Democrats win a majority back in the U.S. House, which could include winning those "flippable five" seats in Pennsylvania, Dean said their focus would be on two paths.
"We’re going to go down the path of affordability, and you know, making sure that this economy is working for everybody, and how do you do that," Dean explained. "You do that by ending reckless wars, reclaiming our constitutional authority under Article One, and you can do it legislatively, we can do it in courts of law and elsewhere."
"But, we’re also going to hold people to account," she added.
She specifically cited what she viewed as corruption from U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche.
When asked by The Center Square if accountability would either include oversight hearings or impeachment, Dean said she was "going to presuppose it."
"I serve on Appropriations and on Foreign Affairs (committees)," she said. "We have valuable oversight authority."
Dean noted that she had confidence in the Judiciary Oversight Committee, which would likely be led by Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin if Democrats take back a majority in the U.S. House.
"So, the good news is there’s plenty of good people to do all the work that needs to be done," Dean said. "But, I won’t presuppose or prejudge, you know, how it’s done."
"But, having the gavels, having the subpoena power, and calling people before the American public to account for what they have been doing is going to be really important," she said.