Dems win PA House

Dems take back PA:

By a single vote, Democrats will enjoy majority control of the Pennsylvania House for the first time in a dozen years when the Legislature convenes early next year.

That's because a House seat in Chester County flipped from GOP to Democratic hands when absentee ballots were counted this afternoon. The House will be 102 Democrats and 101 Republicans, pending the outcome of expected court challenges.

In an electoral ordeal that sometimes threatened to mirror the 2000 presidential debacle in Florida, elections officials in suburban Chester County handed the Democrats the keys to the House when unofficial tallies showed Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith winning the closely watched 156th District. The seat was in GOP hands.

Officials said Smith defeated Republican Shannon Royer by 23 votes. Going into Tuesday's vote count, Smith trailed Royer by 12 votes, down from an Election Day margin of 19 votes.

Is it time to start some re-districting?

Update: Ooops, I see from Kos that we need Senate too. Re-districting will have to wait.