As local Democrats continue to celebrate their party’s success in last week’s elections, former President Donald Trump’s newest bid for the White House is providing some with even more confidence moving forward.

Trump on Tuesday announced his third bid for the presidency, raising concerns among local Republicans about a fractured party and a potential lack of enthusiasm. Officials on the other side, though, believe his run could split the GOP and help Democrats pick up more Congressional seats down the road.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Michelle McFall, chairwoman of the Westmoreland County Democratic Committee. “I’m thrilled he announced, and I want to thank him in advance for shoring up the win for Rev. Warnock in Georgia. I don’t think it’s going to shift the party. I think it’s going to completely break the party. They’re going to fracture, and they’re going to hit a breaking point.”

Last week, Democrats in Pennsylvania and across the nation touted victories up and down the ballot, with Republicans missing the mark on the “red wave” they had anticipated.

Democrat John Fetterman of Braddock flipped the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, defeating Republican Mehmet Oz by 4.5 percentage points.

With the help of candidates such as Fetterman, the party was able to retain control of the Senate.

However, the Republicans still took control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which will hold major sway in determining congressional priorities.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Josh Shapiro swept Trump-aligned Republican Doug Mastriano in the gubernatorial race by more than 14 percentage points.

And it appears Democrats will take control of the state House for the first time in more than a decade.

• Some Pennsylvania Republicans anxious after Trump’s campaign announcement • Fetterman defeats Oz to win Pa.'s key Senate race • Trump files lawsuit to avoid Jan. 6 committee subpoena

McFall noted the gubernatorial race, in particular, illustrated Republican voters rejecting Trump-aligned candidates, adding that deep-red Westmoreland County saw many crossover votes that helped propel Shapiro to victory.

Although Shapiro trailed Mastriano by more than 6 percentage points in the county, he outperformed President Joe Biden’s 2020 performance by more than 10 percentage points. Fetterman also outperformed Biden by more than 4 percentage points.

In the more Democratic Allegheny County, Shapiro beat Biden’s 2020 performance by about 9 points and Fetterman outperformed the president by 3.6 points.

Sam Hens-Greco, chairman of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, said it’s too early to tell how a Trump candidacy could impact future races.

But in the midterms, he said, Democrats’ messaging proved effective against that of Republicans, who largely focused on the economy and crime and casting doubt on the electoral process.

“I think that the candidates that we ran across the board, from state House to state Senate, to Congress to governor and senator, they are all exceptional candidates who were talking about how to better govern in the complex society in which we live,” Hens-Greco said.

Local Republicans this week told the Tribune-Review that Trump might have made his presidential bid announcement too early, with the party still healing and searching for cohesiveness in the face of the election results.

In addition, an Allegheny GOP official said, voters might not be as enamored with Trump this time around, specifically with his baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

U.S. Rep.-elect Chris Deluzio, who last week won the state’s 17th Congressional District race by defeating Republican Jeremy Shaffer by 6.4 percentage points, focused on Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election when asked about the former president’s announcement.

“Donald Trump tried to overthrow our government and is a threat to our democracy,” Deluzio said in a statement. “Pennsylvanians rejected him, and we’ll do it again.”

As Democrats attack Trump’s reelection bid and Republicans express concern, some analysts have indicated that Trump could very well be the 2024 GOP nominee.

Noting the fact Trump continues to poll favorably among Republicans, FiveThirtyEight, a Disney-owned polling and sports blog company, published an analysis this week comparing Trump’s polling numbers to other potential contenders.

“Trump also leads early polling of the Republican primary by a substantial margin,” the analysis states. “In most national surveys, he registers in the high 40s or low 50s, 20-30 points ahead of his closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.”

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