Pennsylvania
Why AP called Pennsylvania for Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — If it wasn’t a red wave in the nation’s most consequential battleground, there was at least a red swell.
Donald Trump reclaimed Pennsylvania by improving his margins across the state, shaving Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Philadelphia, expanding his own dominance in rural parts of the state, and — at the time The Associated Press called the race at 2:24 a.m. ET — flipping key suburban counties to the GOP column.
Trump led the state by some 175,000 votes at the time the AP called the race. Even if Vice President Kamala Harris were to carry the outstanding votes — which included ballots from counties she was losing — by 20 points over Trump, she still would not be able to close the gap.
Trump’s victory showed up across the state. In populous suburban Philadelphia’s Bucks County and neighboring Northampton County, Trump was leading — two places seen as bellwethers that Biden won four years ago. Trump did several points better in the populous Philadelphia suburbs of Chester and Delaware. He was winning in Erie in the northwest corner of the state, which Biden took narrowly four years ago.
Even in the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia, Trump was doing 3 percentage points better than he did four years ago.
CANDIDATES: President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green).
WINNER: Trump
POLL CLOSING TIME: 8 p.m. ET
ABOUT THE RACE: The biggest contested prize this year, Pennsylvania saw dozens of visits by Harris and Trump — more than any state.
The state was where Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler over the summer. He has appeared at rallies and events across the state and donned an apron at a McDonald’s in suburban Philadelphia in an effort to connect with voters.
Harris appeared at the site where George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War to highlight her support from some Republicans disillusioned by Trump. She held a get-out-the-vote rally in Philadelphia — a major source of Democratic support — in the race’s waning days.
Trump carried the state by a single point in 2016, while Biden defeated him by 1 point in 2020.
Pennsylvania struggled with a relatively new early voting option, which permitted voters to request mail ballots that could be cast before Election Day.
Unlike early voting in other states that have polling places, Pennsylvania counties saw lines of people seeking to get early mail ballots in part after Trump and billionaire Elon Musk encouraged Republicans to embrace mail-in voting. In 2020, Trump said baselessly that mail ballots were rife with fraud.
WHY AP CALLED THE RACE: Trump performed better in traditionally Democratic Philadelphia than Biden did four years ago and improved his margins in key populous suburban counties. The race was called when it became clear that even if Harris won the outstanding votes by a wider margin than she had been, she couldn’t close the gap.
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Learn more about how and why the AP declares winners in U.S. elections at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A Chester County, Pennsylvania, man is back home with his family after spending more than eight months in ICE detention.
Supporters of Carlos Della Valle spent months rallying and writing letters to immigration officials, urging them to release him. Now the Downingtown resident is sharing what it feels like to finally be home and why uncertainty still hangs over his future.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Carlos Della Valle said about being home. “You know, it’s so many months and it just didn’t seem like it was going to happen.”
Supporters lined the street outside his Downingtown home on Wednesday, cheering as he returned from a detention center in Louisiana. The 49-year-old said it still feels surreal to be back in Chester County after 258 days in ICE custody.
Della Valle, whose wife and son are U.S. citizens, has lived in Chester County for nearly 30 years. He said he came to the United States from Guerrero, Mexico, at age 20 after fleeing cartel violence.
“I was afraid for my life,” he said.
At age 21, Della Valle said, he was detained and sent back to the Mexican border, but he was never formally deported.
During a trial in August 2025, a jury acquitted him of illegally re-entering the country. Despite the verdict, he was taken into ICE custody because he does not have legal status in the United States.
Carlos Della Valle was released from ICE custody last week but said he still worries about what comes next.
“They tried to deport me twice, so what’s to stop that from happening again?” he said.
Carlos Della Valle said he now has weekly check-ins with ICE and is working with an attorney to get a work permit so he can return to his job as a plant manager at a small adhesive company.
His wife, Angela Della Valle, said the family’s experience pushed her to become more involved in immigration reform efforts.
“The Dignity Act that’s been authored by Congresswoman Maria Salazar is a very, very powerful piece of legislation,” Angela Della Valle said. “It would allow Carlos to stay since he’s linked to a U.S. citizen wife. It would allow him to work.”
For now, Angela Della Valle said she’s focused on appreciating the moments they missed during his time in detention.
“It’s amazing being together again and even more powerful to be able to come back together home,” Angela Della Valle said.
Since returning home, Carlos Della Valle said he has been reconnecting with friends and recently attended a Phillies game with his family.
“We loved being there,” he said.
Central Presbyterian Church in Downingtown is hosting a “Welcome Home Carlos” open house Saturday night to celebrate Carlos Della Valle’s release.
When 32-year-old Beth Dudley, a mom of two, walked into a convenience store in Salem Township, Westmoreland County, last month, she was stressed out about her flat tire.
Now, after winning $1 million from a scratch-off ticket, not only is Dudley getting a new tire, but she’s thinking about getting an entirely new car.
The Pennsylvania Lottery celebrated Dudley on Friday ahead of Mother’s Day, presenting her with a commemorative $1 million check.
Luck didn’t seem to be on Dudley’s side when she visited the Crabtree Gas and Go on Roosevelt Way in April. But she said she decided to treat herself to a lottery ticket anyway.
“I thought, ‘What’s it going to hurt?’” Dudley said. “I play occasionally. Before I won, my brother said, ‘You’re going to get the tire changed and your whole world will turn around.’”
And turn around it did. Dudley scratched the ticket and learned that she had won $1 million.
“I thought, ‘Am I seeing this right?’ Then I just started to cry,” said Dudley.
She said she was crying so much that when she called her mom, her mom thought something was wrong. She called her husband next, and she said he didn’t quite believe her at first.
Now she plans on buying a new car and investing the rest of her winnings. One thing’s for sure: she’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day this year with a little more money in the bank.
“It’s great to see a hardworking mom who juggles so much have some luck come her way,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne said.
Former Somerset County 911 director Bradley Lavan has been sentenced to as long as 120 years behind bars for sex crimes he committed against five children.
Late last year, Bradley Lavan pleaded guilty late last year to dozens of charges stemming from a 2023 arrest where police alleged he sexually abused five young children.
Lavan was ordered Thursday to serve 60 to 120 years in state prison, a sentence that Somerset County District Attorney Tom Leiden called “appropriate,” citing the seriousness of the crimes he committed.
“Today, justice was served,” Leiden said, adding that “the sentence should assure that Mr. Lavan is never able to prey on innocent children again.”
At the time of his arrest, then District Attorney Molly Metzgar said that it was alleged that Lavan groomed children in ages from 3 to 6 years old and forced them into performing various sex acts on him while they were in his home.
Police at the time said that Lavan’s time as the 911 director in Somerset County ended before he was arrested and the charges and his work with the county weren’t connected.
“This successful prosecution and sentence are the result of the District Attorney’s Office’s commitment to seeking justice for victims and for protecting the children of Somerset County,” Leiden said. “We will continue to work tirelessly to make Somerset County a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.”
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