By Anthony J. Constantini
The Republican Party has, since 2016, been going through a political realignment, moving away from George W. Bush-style conservatism toward something new. In the process of shedding its skin, new candidates have come with different ideas, different ways of doing things, and have brought altogether different vibes from past Republicans.
And the center of those changes is in Northeast Philadelphia. It is there where a close-run battle for the 5th Senatorial District is being fought between Republican Joe Picozzi and incumbent Sen. Jimmy Dillon. Just a few years ago, no one would have put this district on the map of close electoral races. Not one Republican has won it for over 20 years, and Dillon won it in a special election by over 10 points in 2022. But one major PA election model has it as one of Pennsylvania’s only state Senate tossup.
The reason why this is a close race in a Democrat-leaning area? Because of how the challenger, Picozzi, has run. The 29-year-old has put a premium on running a campaign in a fundamentally different way than past 5th district Republican nominees.
Firstly, his campaign is incredibly active online. Picozzi’s Instagram account has nearly 3,000 followers – more than twice the number of Dillon’s official Senate account and campaign account put together. His campaign is active on Facebook and TikTok as well. For statewide Senate contests, like the imbroglio between Sen. Bob Casey and David McCormick, these would seem standard fare; but for state Senate contests, which are usually relatively low-key, such digital activity is rare and allows Picozzi to reach voters who otherwise might not be inclined to tap into a state Senate contest.
And Picozzi has used that reach to speak, literally, to groups that most Republicans – and many elected officials in general – overlook. He has reached out to the district’s large Spanish- and Russian-speaking blocs, even introducing himself at one Russian-language event in Russian. And Picozzi’s campaign is full of young staffers, and has made such an impact that it has even attracted the attention of the international press, some of whom shadowed Picozzi in an attempt to understand what makes politically disaffected and right-leaning youth tick.
Dillon’s campaign has tried to respond by painting Picozzi as not ready for prime-time in mailers that feature publicly available photos of the latter dressed as a cat for Halloween. But “my opponent dressed in a Halloween costume once” does not a strong attack ad make.
And none of this is to mention Picozzi’s ideas. Standard-fare Republican arguments – lines on taxes and social issues – have failed to win PA-5 in the 21st century. But Picozzi’s top priorities – as listed on his website and mailers – talk about education reform, including community tutoring programs and after-school program support, and political accountability, promising monthly townhalls and bi-weekly office hours. Along with those are proposals to reform business licensing and increasing mandatory minimums for violent crimes. His campaign has given out contact information for individuals to come forward with problems in the community, and he frequently highlights things like trash and broken-down cars in videos.
This is not to say that Picozzi has it locked up. PA-5, though one of the more conservative parts of Philadelphia, is still a majority Democrat area. But if any campaign is going to flip the district for the first time this century, it might just be this one. ••
