Pennsylvania voters will choose a new member of the state’s supreme court on Tuesday in a judicial election that has attracted attention from Republican billionaire donors, political action committees, and advocates for abortion rights. Democrat Daniel McCaffery is competing against Carolyn Carluccio, a conservative judge known for her opposition to abortion access, which has drawn criticism from Planned Parenthood and other reproductive justice groups.
The total spending in the race has surpassed $17 million, an unusually high amount for an election with typically low voter turnout, according to the Associated Press. Democrats and abortion rights advocates are hoping that Pennsylvania voters will see Tuesday’s ballot as a representation of reproductive freedom in the state.
“This election gives Pennsylvania voters a choice between Carolyn Carluccio, who has tried to conceal her anti-abortion positions and avoid questions about protecting abortion rights in the judiciary, and Daniel McCaffery, a strong supporter of reproductive freedom,” said Breana Ross, campaigns director of Planned Parenthood Votes Pennsylvania.
Abortion rights advocates are aiming to energize Pennsylvania voters by highlighting Carluccio as a threat to abortion access. A similar strategy led to a resounding liberal victory in the Wisconsin supreme court race earlier this year, when a record number of voters turned out to elect Democrat Janet Protasiewicz, who pledged to defend abortion rights. Protasiewicz’s conservative opponent, Dan Kelly, refrained from expressing his opinion on voting rights.
Carluccio’s campaign, taking inspiration from Kelly’s unsuccessful playbook, has avoided sharing her views on abortion. After winning the primary election in May, Carluccio removed information about her opposition to abortion from her campaign website, as reported by the Keystone.
Previously, Carluccio’s campaign website stated her commitment to defending “all life under the law.”
“When we redesigned our website, we chose not to include a résumé link. Judge Carluccio had listed on her résumé that she would ‘defend all life under the law,’ and that is exactly what she meant – under the law,” explained Rob Brooks, a spokesperson for Carluccio’s campaign.
Despite Carluccio’s insistence on her ideological neutrality, her campaign has garnered support from right-wing groups. In a letter to the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, Carluccio disclosed that her candidacy was endorsed by the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, a leading anti-abortion group in the state.
According to campaign finance reports, Carluccio’s campaign received over $4 million from Commonwealth Leaders Fund, a political organization funded by GOP donor Jeffrey Yass.
Pennsylvania Democrats argue that Carluccio is disingenuously hiding her ties to the anti-abortion movement to appeal to primary voters. Polling conducted during the 2022 midterms showed that 64% of all Pennsylvania voters believed abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
“Her campaign is clearly trying to present her as acceptable to a primary audience,” said JJ Abbott, executive director of Commonwealth Communications.
However, the stakes of Tuesday’s election are not straightforward. Unlike in Wisconsin, where the threat of a near-total abortion ban loomed, the outcome of Pennsylvania’s supreme court race will not directly impact abortion access in the state. The race will not change the composition of Pennsylvania’s high court, as the majority of justices are already affiliated with the Democratic Party. Carluccio is operating in a less dire political environment compared to Kelly, who struggled to address the topic of abortion in Wisconsin.
Nevertheless, Planned Parenthood and other reproductive justice advocates stress the importance of looking ahead to the 2025 election when three of Pennsylvania’s Democratic justices will be on the ballot. Maintaining a liberal majority on the state’s supreme court in the long term is a priority for abortion rights advocates. Planned Parenthood Votes has launched a seven-figure advertisement campaign against Carluccio, marking the organization’s largest ad buy to date.
Abortion rights supporters are hopeful that Pennsylvania voters, like those in Wisconsin, will take heed of Planned Parenthood’s warnings about the potential consequences of Carluccio’s candidacy.
Dr. Benjamin Abella, a medical professor and emergency physician in Philadelphia, stated that voters are paying attention to Carluccio’s attempts to hide her campaign’s ties to right-wing anti-abortion groups.
“The public understands that we should not be complacent about abortion rights, especially if a judge remains silent on their intentions and positions,” he said. “There is no such thing as a guaranteed safe state anymore, and every election carries a risk.”
