The hotly contested race in the 5th Senatorial District came to an end Sunday, as Democratic Sen. Jimmy Dillon conceded to Republican challenger Joe Picozzi. Picozzi is leading by 874 votes with less than 200 to count.
Dillon posted the following statement on Facebook and Instagram: “This isn’t the outcome we hoped for, but I want to thank each and every one of you, from the bottom of my heart, for taking this journey with me.
“First and foremost, I owe endless gratitude to my daughters, Reese and Aubrey, for their love, patience, and support. They’ve been by my side, attending events, knocking on doors, and reminding me every day why this work is so important. To my mom, my brother Shawn, and my entire family, thank you for being my foundation and my strength. To my staff, campaign team, and everyone involved — you gave this effort everything, and I’m so proud of the work we accomplished together.
“To the community of Northeast Philadelphia, thank you for allowing me to represent you. Serving as your Senator has been the greatest honor of my life. Together, we achieved so much — more than $35 million in funding for our schools, our youth organizations, our trades, and our law enforcement.
“And to Joe Picozzi, congratulations. I hope you will carry forward the work of making Northeast Philly stronger and safer for all who call it home. I wish you every success in delivering for our neighbors.
“As for me, I will continue to serve the community in any way I can. Northeast Philly has always been my home, and I will always stand with the people who make it such a remarkable place. Thank you, Northeast Philly, for everything.”
In a post on X, Picozzi said, “Over the last year, I talked to thousands of people who have touched my heart profoundly and eternally. I am grateful for the trust you have placed in me to serve you as your next State Senator.
“I want to thank Senator Dillon for his service to our home. It’s time for all of us to come together as one community to find common sense solutions to restore and secure Northeast Philadelphia.
“I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to serve as your next State Senator. I will not let you down.”
Dillon was elected in a 2022 special election with almost 57 percent of the vote against Republican Sam Oropeza. Dillon won all the wards except the 45th, and that ward was removed from the district after redistricting.
Fast forward to 2024, when Dillon was seeking a four-year term, and the Republican City Committee decided to not even run a candidate against the incumbent.
Picozzi is not part of the establishment that made that decision, and he jumped into the race. He built a campaign team that secured nominating petitions to get on the ballot and began knocking on doors across the district. The Senate Republican Campaign Committee took notice and largely funded his campaign.
With all 251 divisions reporting and all provisional ballots counted, Picozzi leads Dillon, 50,447 to 49,573. There are believed to be about 185 military, overseas and defective mail-in ballots that can be “cured,” but that’s not enough to change the outcome.
Dillon won the 41st, 56th and 65th wards by at least 10 percentage points, but Picozzi – without the support of ward leaders and left off of the official party ballot distributed to voters on Election Day – won the 57th, 58th, 63rd, 64th and 66th wards.
Dillon won mail-in votes by about 7,300 and provisional votes by 31, but Picozzi won the votes cast on Election Day by about 8,200.
Picozzi will become the first Republican to represent the 5th Senatorial District since Hank Salvatore, who served four terms before losing in 2000 to Mike Stack.
Republicans entered Election Day with a 28-22 advantage in the Senate and will maintain that edge. Democrats, as expected, flipped a Harrisburg-area seat after redistricting made that district so unwinnable for Republicans that the incumbent didn’t even seek re-election.
Republicans have been in the Senate majority for the last 30 years. ••
