MEMO: Pennsylvania Judicial Elections 2021
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Andrew Wynne, VP Judicial Fairness Initiative, Republican State Leadership Committee
DATE: November, 5 2021
RE: Pennsylvania Judicial Elections 2021
WHY GET INVOLVED?
As new congressional and legislative maps are being introduced around the country, the strategy of Eric Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee is clear: sue until it’s blue. Holder and the national liberals that fund his efforts are looking to use these endless lawsuits as a way of making up for what Democrats failed to do at the ballot box in 2020, when they didn’t flip any of the chambers they were targeting in order to influence the 2021 redistricting process. This is the same strategy they used in Pennsylvania and North Carolina last redistricting cycle, and it is one of the many examples of why it is no longer enough for Republicans to just win state legislative races.
We know full well that national Democrats are trying to use state courts to try to implement their radical agenda from the bench, on everything from redistricting to critical legislation that impacts the economy, public safety, and education. The Republican State Leadership Committee’s Judicial Fairness Initiative (JFI) was created to lead the national effort to fight back by informing voters about the perils of this radical judicial activism and to support strong conservatives who uphold the Constitution and follow the law as written.
The path back to ending liberal control over Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court began this week. JFI spent $1.625M on a voter education project to help Judge Kevin Brobson defeat Judge Maria McLaughlin, holding the seat of retiring Justice Thomas Saylor and allowing for a Republican majority to still be within reach as early as 2027.
HOW WE DID IT?
JFI spent $250,000 during the May primary this year to draw contrast between Judge Kevin Brobson’s experience and record and that of one of his opponents, as we viewed him to be the most qualified and electable candidate for the general election. Judge Brobson secured just over half a million votes and a majority of the votes cast in the Republican primary to capture the nomination.
Over the summer months, the Republican State Leadership Committee’s research team dug deep into the record of Judge Brobson’s opponent, Judge Maria McLaughlin. She had served as a district attorney in Philadelphia, a family court judge, and most recently, as a judge on the general court of appeals in Pennsylvania, the Superior Court. The opinions she wrote on that court served as the basis for a contrast advertising campaign designed to highlight the differences between Brobson and McLaughlin.
As the fall campaign season swung into high gear, JFI developed two television advertisements.
One ad highlighted the contrast between Brobson and McLaughlin on public safety.
We also ran a negative spot against McLaughlin that informed voters of the details and facts around one of McLaughlin’s more reckless public safety related opinions.
These ads ran on broadcast and cable television in Pennsylvania’s largest television markets and reached voters during a time when their voting decisions were being made.
During the last week of the campaign, JFI sought to contact voters again, using a shortened version of the television commercial, delivered directly to voters’ cell phones, where they could view the commercial in the palms of their hands. JFI reached nearly 500,000 persuadable or marginal turnout voters in the last week with these text message efforts.
RESULT AND TAKEAWAY
As of this writing, Judge Brobson holds a more than 120,000 vote lead on nearly 2.6 million votes cast, a margin of 52.4% to Judge McLaughlin’s 47.6%.
Judge Kevin Brobson’s victory over Judge Maria McLaughlin maintains the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s partisan composition at five Democrats and two Republicans. Chief Justice Max Baer, a Democrat, reaches mandatory retirement age in December 2022, setting up a contested election in November 2023.
Our efforts to help elect Judge Brobson in a state that Joe Biden won in 2020 show that there is no reason why we cannot keep making gains on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court if we have the resources at our disposal to do so. Your continued support is what makes these projects possible.
###
