Politico reports:

The Philadelphia suburbs buried Donald Trump in 2020.

One year later, after enabling Joe Biden to flip one of the nation’s most critical swing states, their lurch in the opposite direction is a cause for alarm among Democrats.

Largely overlooked amid the party’s dismal suburban results in Virginia and New Jersey last week, Republicans regained ground in the vote-rich Philly suburbs after years of losses under Trump. The GOP flipped multiple row offices in populous Bucks County, carried a state Supreme Court race there, and even came close to winning seats on the county council in Delaware County, where Biden romped by nearly 30 points in 2020.

Pennsylvania will be home to highly competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial races in next year’s midterm elections — and the GOP’s local comeback here shows that Democrats’ newfound shakiness among suburban voters reaches far deeper than one or two states.

“This November was an early insight into what Democrats could be facing in the suburbs in 2022,” said Dan Sena, former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The suburbs have become much more competitive for Democrats than they have been in the last two elections, and provide opportunities for Republicans to make gains.” [Continue reading…]