We continue our series on the candidates for the Pennsylvania State House with a look at the Lehigh Valley.
Races to Watch
HD 137: Joe Emrick* (R) vs. Anna Thomas (D)
Emrick has served in the state House since 2011. He is the majority deputy whip and has been a staunch supporter of legislation that monitors the Commonwealth’s use of sewage sludge by land application.
Thomas, a Bethlehem school board member, sees stronger education policy as the key to creating greater economic opportunity in the area. She defends reproductive rights for Pennsylvanians without government interference.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: D+0.9
Contested Races
HD 22: Josh Siegel (D) vs. Robert Smith Jr. (R)
Siegel, chief of staff in the Lehigh County controller’s office, defeated Saeed Georges in the primary, 64-36. He wants to fully fund the fair funding formula, enact a total gift ban for all elected officials in PA, and protect a woman’s right to choose.
Smith, a former Allentown school board member, is passionate about quality education for kids and wants to empower parents by providing school choice. He supports voter ID and wants to reform property taxes.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: D+42.3
HD 124: Tina Burns (D) vs. Jamie Barton (R)
Burns, a healthcare consultant, is pro-choice, supports universal healthcare, equitable funding in education, and property tax relief.
Barton, vice president of an energy business, defeated two other challengers in the primary with 68%. He wants to make the government work by focusing on job growth, education, reducing taxes and wasteful spending, eliminating property taxes and revitalizing the PA Energy industry.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: R+30.9
HD 131: Milou Mackenzie* (R) vs. Kevin Branco (D)
Mackenzie is in search of a second term in Harrisburg. She has worked to put more power back into the hands of citizens – be it over school curriculum decisions, taking politics out of the process of legislative redistricting, or life-changing decisions over the pandemic response.
Branco, a business owner, wants to start funding education again, reduce school property taxes, and supports LGBTQ rights as well as creating an independent commission of citizens to craft legislative districts based solely on population, not party affiliation.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: R+9.2
HD 132: Mike Schlossberg* (D) vs. Beth Finch (R) vs. Matthew Schutter (L)
Schlossberg, the House Democratic Caucus Administrator, has served in the state House since 2013. He says two of his biggest priorities are increasing funding to education and supporting more access to mental health.
Finch, founder of Freedom For Choice PA, supports parents’ rights and school choice, and says she is passionate about defending our Constitutional God given inalienable freedoms.
Schutter is a township elections judge.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: D+15.0
HD 134: Peter Schweyer (D) vs. Brent Labenberg (R)
Schweyer, who has served in Harrisburg since 2015, defeated Enid Santiago in the primary, 63-37. He wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour and continue working toward education funding equity.
Labenberg, the Emmaus Borough council president, is pro-life, believes in school vouchers and voter ID, and is not in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: D+25.0
HD 138: Ann Flood* (R) vs. Gene Hunter (D)
Flood is looking for her second term in the state House. A pro-life candidate, she is focused on funding Pennsylvania’s schools, enacting measures aimed at controlling the cost of healthcare and expanding access to mental health services.
Hunter, an environmental activist, earned a spot on the ballot as a write-in. He believes in a woman’s right to choose and would support gun control legislation.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: R+17.2
HD 145: Craig Staats* (R) vs. Jim Miller (D) vs. Lula Vanliew (L)
Staats was elected to the state House in 2014. He aims to promote job growth through the adoption of business-friendly policies that will attract job creators to the Commonwealth.
Miller, an Air Force veteran and West Rockhill Township supervisor, earned a spot on the ballot as a write-in candidate. He says he is running because he could not stay on the sidelines while Pennsylvanians’ rights to vote, rights to choose, and a rights to a healthy future for Upper Bucks were stolen for political gain.
VanLiew does not have an online profile.
Dave’s Redistricting Partisan Lean: R+12.1
Unopposed
- HD 133: Jeanne McNeill* (D-Lehigh)
- HD 135: Steve Samuelson* (D-Northampton)
- HD 136: Robert Freeman* (D-Northampton)
- HD 187: Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh/Berks)
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