McIlvaine Smith formally announced on January 17 that she was running for Taylor's now open seat, and was not opposed in the Democratic primary.
[10] Unofficial returns on election day initially showed that Royer had won by 19 votes, however, after the counting of provisional and absentee ballots, McIlvaine Smith was declared the winner by 23 votes, giving Democrats control of the state house for the first time in 12 years and making history as the first Native American ever elected to the legislature.
[11] Pennsylvania Republicans demanded a hand recount, which ended on December 22 with Mcilivaine Smith being officially certified as the winner.
[13] In December 2007, McIlvaine Smith was one of a few lawmakers who refused to accept a pay raise from the state, saying that she would donate her additional money to charities in her district[14] In December 2007, Shannon Royer announced his intention to challenge McIlvaine Smith for her House seat in a rematch of their closely contested 2006 campaign.
[17] For health reasons, the 2010 Democratic candidate withdrew, and McIlvaine Smith stepped in to run for re-election as State Representative for the 156th District.