Bucks County Democratic leaders began sensing a red wave months ago. But last week’s municipal elections showed Republicans gaining more traction than expected. Steve Peoples covered the election results — and their implications — for the Associated Press/PBS NewsHour.

Political pundits view the local blue-to-red swing, felt in local races from judges to sheriff to recorder of deeds, in a wider context than just a Philadelphia collar county.

The ramifications may be indicative of trends stretching forward to the midterm elections and beyond.

“This is a bell we need to pay attention to,” said attorney Patrice Tisdale, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for magisterial district judge in Warrington and Warwick Townships. “The Democrats can’t keep doing politics as usual.”

Bucks County has become a critical political battleground in one of the nation’s premier swing states. Local voters helped turn Congress blue in 2018 and elect President Biden in 2020.

But the party has lost traction, as indicated by developments that include last week’s results.

If there is an upside, however, to the left-right ideological dichotomies in Bucks County it is this: Last week’s municipal races drew participation of more than 40 percent of registered voters. It represents a staggering figure for an off-year election.

More on the long-term, far-reaching fallout from the Bucks County red wave is at the Associated Press/PBS NewsHour.