The 2023 Pennsylvania elections took place on , to fill judicial positions, allow judicial retention votes, and fill numerous county, local and

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

offices, the most prominent being the

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

. The necessary

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

s were held on May 16, 2023. In addition, special elections for legislative vacancies could be held at various times in 2023.

Justice of the Supreme Court

One vacancy occurred after Democratic Chief Justice Max Baer died on .

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Deborah Kunselman, Judge of the

Superior Court of Pennsylvania The Superior Court of Pennsylvania is one of two Pennsylvania intermediate appellate courts (the other being the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania). It is based in Harrisburg. Jurisdiction The Superior Court hears appeals in criminal and mos ...

* Daniel McCaffery, Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, U.S. Army veteran

Endorsements

Results

2023 Pennsylvania supreme court Democratic primary by county

Republican primary

Candidates

* Carolyn Carluccio, Judge of the Montgomery County

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

* Patricia McCullough, Judge of the

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania is one of Pennsylvania's two intermediate appellate courts. The Commonwealth Court's headquarters is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with jurisdiction over administrative and civil public law. The Superior ...

=Withdrawn

= * Paula Patrick, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas

Endorsements

Results

2023 Pennsylvania supreme court Republican primary by county

General election

Polling

Endorsements

Results

Judge of the Superior Court

There were two seats up for election. A vacant seat on the court was up for election after the retirement of Judge

Jacqueline Shogan Jacqueline Ouzts Shogan (born June 5, 1953) was a judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. She was first elected in 2007 and then re-elected in 2017. Education and legal career Jacqueline was born in Flushing, Queens, New York City. She a ...

in 2021. A second seat was scheduled for election due to the impending mandatory retirement of Judge Emeritus John T. Bender on December 31, 2023. The election of Jill Beck and Timika Lane, flips the partisan makeup of the Superior Court, from a 8–7 Republican majority, to a 9–6 Democratic majority. However, the makeup was decreased to a 8–6 Democratic majority when Judge

Dan McCaffery Daniel D. McCaffery (born July 20, 1964) is an American lawyer who serves as a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court since 2024. He is a former judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, serving from 2020 to 2024. He defeated Republican Carol ...

vacated his seat after being elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Maria Battista, former

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

for the

Pennsylvania Department of Health Pennsylvania Department of Health is a cabinet-level agency in Pennsylvania. It was established in 1905 and later modified by the Administrative Code of 1929. In 1996, the requirement for the Secretary to be a physician was eliminated and the po ...

(2011–2014), former Venango County assistant district attorney (2004–2005) * Harry Smail Jr., Judge of the Westmoreland County

=Withdrawn

= * Michael Dimino, professor at

Widener University Commonwealth Law School Widener University Commonwealth Law School (Widener Law Commonwealth) is a law school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and part of Widener University, a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited l ...

* Emily Yuhaniak, former

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Judge John T. Bender

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Jill Beck,

civil litigator Civil law is a major "branch of the law", in common law legal systems such as those in England and Wales and in the United States, where it stands in contrast to criminal law.Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 19 ...

, Blank Rome * Patrick Dugan, Judge of the

Philadelphia Municipal Court The Philadelphia Municipal Court is a trial court of limited jurisdiction seated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has 27 judges elected by the voters of Philadelphia. The Municipal Court has three divisions: the Criminal Division, the Civil Div ...

* Timika Lane, Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas

Endorsements

Results

General election

Results

Judge of the Commonwealth Court

There was one vacancy on the Commonwealth Court when then-Judge Kevin Brobson vacated his seat after being elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2021.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Megan Martin, former Secretary-Parliamentarian of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

(2012–2022) * Joshua Prince, associate, Prince Law Offices, P.C., a law firm specializing in

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

litigation

= Endorsements

Results

2023 Pennsylvania commonwealth court Republican primary by county

Democratic primary

Candidates

*Bryan Neft, commercial litigation attorney, former president of the

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

Bar Association's Board of Governors *Matthew S. Wolf, Supervising Judge of the Civil Division of the

=Withdrawn

= * Brandon Neuman, Judge of the Washington County

, former

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

(2011–2017)

Results

2023 Pennsylvania commonwealth court Democratic primary by county

General election

Results

Judicial retention

Superior Court

President Judge Jack A. Panella (D) and Judge Victor P. Stabile (R) were scheduled for retention votes in 2023. Both informed the

Pennsylvania Department of State The Pennsylvania Department of State is a cabinet-level state agency in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The department is headed by the secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Responsibilities *Campaign finance reporting *Charities *C ...

that they would seek retention.

Municipal elections

Philadelphia

Mayor

City council

City Controller special election

A special election took place after the resignation of City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart in October 2022 to run for mayor.

= Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared * Christy Brady, former Acting City Controller (2022–2023) * Alexandra Hunt, activist, public health researcher, and candidate for

Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district Pennsylvania's third congressional district includes several areas of the city of Philadelphia, including West Philadelphia, most of Center City, and parts of North Philadelphia. It has been represented by Democrat Dwight Evans since 2019. Wit ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

*John Thomas, management consultant Did not file * Karen Javaruski, enterprise risk management professional Withdrawn * Jack Inacker,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

veteran and former nuclear weapons systems specialist ''(endorsed Brady)'' * Gregg Kravitz, realtor

Endorsements

Results

2023 Philadelphia city controller Democratic primary by ward

= Republican primary

Candidates

Declared * Aaron Bashir, entrepreneur and nominee for

Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district Pennsylvania's second congressional district includes all of Northeast Philadelphia and parts of North Philadelphia east of Broad Street, as well as Center City and portions of Philadelphia's River Wards. It has been represented by Democrat Bren ...

Results

= General election

Results

Allegheny County

County Executive

District Attorney

= Democratic primary

Declared

* Matt Dugan, Chief Public Defender of

(2019–present) * Stephen Zappala, incumbent

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

(1998–present)

= Endorsements

= Results

= General election

= Results

= Incumbent Stephen Zappala accepted the Republican nomination upon losing the Democratic primary, though he remained a registered Democrat.

Special elections

Pennsylvania State Senate

27th senatorial district

On , state senator

John Gordner John R. Gordner (born January 5, 1962) is an American attorney and politician. A Republican, he represented the 27th District in the Pennsylvania State Senate (2003–2022) and the 109th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (19 ...

announced his resignation in order to serve as counsel to interim Senate Pro Tempore Kim Ward. Gordner's resignation was effective on November 30. A special election to replace Gordner was held on . Democrats nominated speech pathologist Patricia Lawton while

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominated State Representative

Lynda Schlegel-Culver Lynda Joy Schlegel Culver (born May 28, 1969) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A member of the Republican Party, she is currently a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 27th District since ...

Libertarians Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

had nominated business consultant and constable Thomas Anderson, but he failed to file the necessary paperwork in time and his lawsuit for ballot access was denied by the

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania is one of Pennsylvania's two intermediate appellate courts. The Commonwealth Court's headquarters is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with jurisdiction over administrative and civil public law. The Superior ...

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Three vacancies in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives opened between Election Day 2022 and the start of the 2023 session in January. The vacancies have made the difference between Democratic and Republican control, and paralyzed the chamber due to representatives' inability to agree on basic operating rules.

32nd district

On October 9, 2022, incumbent representative Anthony DeLuca died of lymphoma while seeking reelection. The time of his death occurred after the deadline to conduct candidate substitutions, causing his name to remain on the ballot. Despite his death, he defeated

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

challenger Queonia Livingston, receiving 85% of the vote. A special election to replace DeLuca was held on . Democrats nominated Penn Hills Democratic Committee chair Joe McAndrew. Republicans nominated pastor and

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

veteran Clay Walker. 2022

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

candidate Queonia Livingston had filed nomination papers but they were rejected by the

34th district

On On November 8, 2022, incumbent representative Summer Lee was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, while simultaneously running unopposed for reelection to the 34th legislative district. Pennsylvania's constitution forbids General Assembly lawmakers from holding another office, but does not prevent them from running for reelection while seeking another office. A special election to replace Lee was held on . Democrats nominated

Swissvale Swissvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, east of downtown Pittsburgh. Named for a farmstead owned by James Swisshelm, during the industrial age it was the site of the Union Switch and Signal Company of George We ...

borough councilor Abigail Salisbury while Republicans nominated Robert Pagane, a kickboxing instructor.

35th district

On January 4, 2022, incumbent representative Austin Davis announced he would be seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, with

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the attorney general of Pen ...

's endorsement. He was nominated to be on the ticket on May 18 and was elected to the position in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. Davis was subsequently reelected to represent the 35th district, defeating Republican challenger Donald Nevills with 65% of the vote. Pennsylvania's constitution forbids General Assembly lawmakers from holding another office, but does not prevent them from running for reelection while seeking another office. A special election to replace Davis was held on . Democrats nominated

McKeesport McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. A suburb of Pittsburgh, it is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela River, Monongahela and Youghiogheny River, Youghiogheny rivers. The population was 17,727 as of the ...

official

Matt Gergely Matthew Robert Gergely (October 5, 1979 – January 19, 2025) was an American politician. A Democrat, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 35th district from 2023 until his death in 2025. Early life a ...

, brother of previous seatholder

Marc Gergely Marc J. Gergely (born October 17, 1969) is a former Democratic Party member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 35th District and was elected in 2002. He was the Deputy Whip and was the only Democrat from Allegheny C ...

. Republicans nominated their 2022 general election nominee Don Nevills.

108th district

On , incumbent representative

was elected to Pennsylvania's 27th Senatorial district in a special election amid the resignation of Senator

. House Speaker Joanna McClinton announced a special election for May 16 in conjunction with the 2023 primary. Republicans nominated Shikellamy School Board Member Mike Stender, while Democrats nominated Montour County Commissioner Trevor Finn. Libertarians nominated

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

veteran Elijah Scretching.

163rd district

On , incumbent representative Michael Zabel resigned from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, effective March 16, following a sexual harassment controversy. House Speaker Joanna McClinton announced a special election for May 16 in conjunction with the 2023 primary. Democrats nominated Heather Boyd, a senior staffer to Congresswoman

Mary Gay Scanlon Mary Gay Scanlon (born August 30, 1959) is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she has represented in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. The district is based in Delaware County, a mostly ...

and former Upper Darby School Board member. Republicans nominated Kathleen "Katie" Ford, an

veteran and special education therapist. Libertarians nominated Alfe Goodwin, a retired

Philadelphia Police The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD, Philly PD, or Philly Police) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the County and City of Philadelphia. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, ...

officer and nominee for this district in 2022.

21st district

On , incumbent representative Sara Innamorato resigned from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after becoming the Democratic nominee for Allegheny County Executive. House Speaker Joanna McClinton announced a special election for September 19. Democrats nominated Lindsay Powell, a nonprofit executive, while Republicans nominated Erin Connolly Autenreith, a realtor and local Republican Party chair.

Notes

References

External links

Official campaign websites for Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

*
Dan McCaffery (D) for Supreme Court

Official campaign websites for Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Maria Battista (R) for Superior CourtJill Beck (D) for Superior CourtTimika Lane (D) for Superior CourtHarry Smail Jr. (R) for Superior Court

Official campaign websites for Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

* * {{2023 United States elections, state=Pennsylvania November 2023 in the United States Pennsylvania special elections

2019 Pennsylvania elections The 2019 Pennsylvania elections was held on November 5, 2019 to fill Judiciary of Pennsylvania, judicial positions on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Superior Court, allow Retention election, judicial retention votes, and fill numerous coun ...

Pennsylvania judicial elections

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...