County
Allegheny
Occupation
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh
Qualifications
From serving as a State Representative to now as the current Lieutenant Governor, Austin Davis is delivering real results for all Pennsylvanians and will continue working to move our Commonwealth forward.
We’re focused every day on building a good education for our kids, safer communities, economic opportunity, and protecting Pennsylvanians’ rights and freedoms. I’m proud of the work the Governor and I have done to deliver real results for all Pennsylvanians on these critical issues – creating thousands of good-paying jobs, attracting over $40 billion in private-sector investment, cutting taxes seven times, investing our schools, and supporting both community-based violence intervention programs and state and local law enforcement. I’m committed to fighting for all Pennsylvanians – and we are going to keep working to create real opportunity for our families to get ahead and be able to live the American dream right here in our Commonwealth.
Since taking office, we have increased K-12 funding by nearly 30 percent and implemented an adequacy formula to drive investments to schools in the most need. Governor Shapiro and I are making sure Pennsylvania students are set up to succeed everyday with safe, healthy learning environments — providing universal free school breakfast, hiring mental health counselors, and investing in school safety. We are building upon our cyber charter school reforms to ensure students have regular, engaged contact with teachers online — saving schools districts millions in the process. I know that when we invest in education, we invest in the future of our children, which is why we will keep building on these investments to support our students.
Keeping our communities safe is our number one priority – but the federal government and their recklessness across the country has manufactured fear and chaos, making that work harder. Here in Pennsylvania, Governor Shapiro and I have worked to invest in law enforcement and violence prevention programs to build trust and build safer communities – and while we have been clear that we need a secure border and comprehensive immigration reform, we do not need the Trump Administration’s chaos in our Commonwealth. We will continue to stand up to it while we work to keep Pennsylvanians safe and move our Commonwealth forward.
Pennsylvania’s elections are free, fair, safe, and secure – and together with Governor Shapiro, we have defended the integrity of our elections and Pennsylvanians’ right to vote so that all eligible voters can exercise that fundamental right. Since taking office, we have taken steps to strengthen voting rights and decrease voter errors here in the Commonwealth by implementing automatic voter registration, re-designing mail-in ballots, and working closely with local elections officials to support their work. While the federal government attacks the sanctity of our elections, Governor Shapiro and I will continue to stand up and protect our democracy and Pennsylvanians’ freedom to make their voices heard and ensure their votes are counted.
County
Allegheny
Occupation
Attorney
Education
Allegheny College, BA (Economics/Political Science Double Major); The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, JD.
Qualifications
Growing up in Aliquippa, I saw the impact of economic decline & learned the value of hard work. I became a 3-time NCAA Academic All-American at Allegheny College. I worked in a steel mill through law school. Over a 30-year legal career, I’ve led high-stakes cases & teams across major industries.
The most pressing issue facing Pennsylvanians is affordability. Families are struggling with rising energy costs, high taxes, and housing costs. Pennsylvania sits atop the Marcellus Shale, one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, yet it has not been fully leveraged to benefit our citizens. I will expand responsible natural gas development, streamline permitting related to drilling and infrastructure, and position Pennsylvania as a world leading energy producer. This growth will lower energy costs and generate new revenue to reduce taxes, especially property taxes to lower housing costs. By connecting energy policy to tax relief, we can create jobs and make Pennsylvania more affordable.
A child’s future should not be determined by their address. The Commonwealth Court’s order is an opportunity to create a fair, student-centered funding system. I support increasing public school funding through a weighted formula that prioritizes low-income students, English learners, and special education needs. I also support expanding school choice through charter and cyber options, and by pursuing federal school choice opportunities alongside a Pennsylvania Scholarship Program that empowers parents with direct access to funding. Dollars should follow students, with clear accountability for results. No system should receive automatic funding without performance. Parents, not bureaucracies, should drive educational decisions.
The federal government sets immigration policy, but the state has a clear responsibility to protect public safety and enforce the law. Pennsylvania should not be a sanctuary for those who commit crimes or undermine public safety. State and local law enforcement should fully cooperate with federal authorities in identifying, detaining, and removing individuals who are in the country illegally and have committed violent crimes or other serious offenses. At the same time, we should ensure resources are focused on securing communities, supporting victims, and maintaining order. A safe immigration system requires clear rules, consistent enforcement, and no tolerance for criminal activity that puts Pennsylvania families at risk.
Pennsylvanians deserve elections they can trust completely. I will help ensure both accessibility and security by supporting voter ID requirements, regular maintenance of voter rolls, and strict chain-of-custody standards for ballots. We should also establish uniform election administration rules across all 67 counties so every voter is treated equally. Every eligible voter must have a clear, accessible path to cast a ballot, including early voting, while every safeguard must ensure only legal votes are counted and results are accurate and timely. The standard is simple: it should be easy to vote and hard to cheat.
County
Armstrong
Occupation
Educator
Education
BA in Political Science / Pre-Law; BS in Education
Qualifications
I am not qualified to run your life. But I am the only Lt. Gov. candidate in the race who recognizes that about himself.
Pennsylvania is shedding young people. People are moving to states where they see more opportunities and better affordability. By making Pennsylvania the state with the best educational system in the country (by cutting government, rather than growing it) and cutting regulations that stifle innovation and job growth, we can keep Pennsylvanians in the state.
Our education plan includes eliminating school-related property taxes that make housing unaffordable to families. It encourages families to make decisions that build their capital, allowing young people to enter adulthood with educational and monetary capital that will make them more competitive in our changing economy. This will allow families to stay and grow here in PA.
We would close all government schools. We know that monopolies create less innovation and are less efficient than competitive markets. Yet we impose a near-monopolistic system on something as vital to our community as education. Rather than shuffling money through bureaucrats and having them decide which schools are worth funding, we would send the funding directly to parents. This will introduce competition and innovation into the educational landscape in Pennsylvania and significantly reduce spending, allowing us to eliminate educational property taxes entirely.
Each family would receive $11,500 per student for education. This is far less than the $24,000 we spend now, but about the average cost of non-elite private education in PA.
Immigration is a federal issue. However, there are some things we can do to encourage the right type of immigration to Pennsylvania. We could consider the pull factors that encourage people to move to an area. We want immigrants who will contribute to our economy. We want immigrants who will be productive and not consume more resources than they contribute. Therefore, we can encourage productive immigration and discourage unproductive immigration by ensuring that no government assistance is provided to immigrants. Those immigrants who are confident in their ability to be productive members of society will move here. Those who are looking for free handouts will choose other states in which to reside.
Some view elections as a balancing act between ensuring that only legitimate votes are counted and preventing voter disenfranchisement from overburdensome regulations. We need to recognize that those are the same goals. Every legitimate vote that is offset by an illegal vote disenfranchises a voter. We should have commonsense voter laws, such as a simple voter ID, in place. A voter ID law is not overly burdensome. We already require ID to practice many of our rights as citizens. We require ID when we get a new job. We require an ID to purchase many items. We require ID to sign legal documents. We require ID to purchase a firearm. These are all rights we have as citizens, and few people object to the requirement of ID to exercise them.
