HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Every year is an election year in Pennsylvania, but 2015 has a quality that’s likely to shake up the usually mundane judicial races: three open seats on the seven-justice state Supreme Court.
A throng of more than a dozen hopefuls, including judges from lower courts and lawyers from outside the judiciary, are lining up – first for the party endorsements in January and February, then in the May 19 primary for the nominations that will be awarded to the top three vote-getters in each party.
The November election will decide which of the six candidates win the three seats – and the 10-year terms that go with them.
The outcome could easily flip the Republican Party’s slim 4-3 majority, and the simultaneous influx of so many new members is bound to change the face of the court in unpredictable ways.