Huge races on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary

The two major parties will select their candidates for November.

By the MVI

Democrats and Republicans across Pennsylvania will decide Tuesday which candidates from their respective parties will go on to run in the November general election.

On the ballot are the governor and lieutenant governor, along with the entire Pennsylvania House and half of the state Senate. All of Pennsylvania’s 17 congressional districts will also be up for election. Across the state, there might also be local ballot questions.

Polls open at 7 a.m and close at 8 p.m. As long as voters are in line to vote by 8 p.m., they are entitled to cast a ballot.

In Pennsylvania, those registered as an independent or with a third party cannot vote for candidates in the primary election. Pennsylvania is one of eight states that has a closed primary system, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective party’s primary.

Unaffiliated and third-party voters can participate in special elections that coincide with the primary; they can also vote on statewide constitutional amendments and local ballot initiatives.

Democrats and Republicans will cast votes for their parties’ candidates across races for governor, lieutenant governor, state House and Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

The winners of each primary will face each other during the Nov. 3 general election.

At the top of the ballot this election is the governor’s race — though neither party officially has a contested May primary.

Governor’s race

Pennsylvania’s governor oversees a vast network of state agencies responsible for everything from education to human services to prisons. The governor is also in charge of creating and submitting an annual state budget to the General Assembly, and has the power to make emergency declarations, sign executive orders and approve or veto legislation passed by state lawmakers. The governor’s annual salary as of 2026 is $253,870.

Shapiro

Incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro was elected to the role in 2022 and is seeking a second term in office. He is expected to face Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the November general election.

Shapiro is a relatively moderate Democrat open to across-theaisle dealmaking, though that hasn’t prevented serious negotiating breakdowns with the Republican- controlled state Senate during his first term. He’s also considered politically ambitious and is reportedly positioning himself to run for president in 2028.

He entered Pennsylvania politics with a successful 2004 run for state House. He was elected in 2011 to the Board of Commissioners in his native Montgomery County, then won the race for Pennsylvania attorney general in 2016.

When asked by the Washington County League of Women Voters what the most pressing issues facing Pennsylvania residents, Shapiro responded: “I’ve met with Pennsylvanians on our farms, in our cities and everywhere in between, and I’ve found that most people want the same key things: good schools, safe communities, good-paying jobs, and their freedoms protected. As governor, I’ve worked hard to get stuff done on these pressing issues — cutting taxes seven times, securing over $40 billion in private-sector investment, creating over 22,000 good-paying jobs, delivering historic public education funding, and improving public safety by supporting law enforcement and violence prevention programs — but there’s more work to do, and I’m going to keep fighting to ensure all Pennsylvanians have the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed here in our commonwealth.”

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity is shown in April 2025. Commonwealth Media Services

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity is the sole Republican candidate in the primary. Elected in 2020, Garrity is in her second term as treasurer. The role is the Bradford County native’s first in politics — Garrity spent much of her career in manufacturing and is a decorated veteran, deploying three times between 1991 and 2008 in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. She received two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit award. She retired as a U.S. Army Reserve colonel.

As treasurer, Garrity, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, primarily stewards state dollars, returns unclaimed property and administers savings programs. But she has periodically waded into politics, too. She increased state investments in Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, for instance, and inserted the Treasury Department into last year’s budget impasse by offering loans to counties and other entities that had their state funding frozen.

When asked by the Washington County League of Women Voters about the most pressing issues facing Pennsylvania residents, Garrity responded: “Pennsylvania families are being squeezed by higher energy bills, failing schools, rising crime and a government that spends too much while delivering too little. My focus will be simple: make life affordable again, restore safe communities and create real opportunity. That means unleashing Pennsylvania energy, cutting red tape on job creators, demanding accountability in education, protecting public safety, and bringing fiscal discipline back to Harrisburg. As treasurer, I returned over $1 billion to taxpayers. As governor, I’ll bring that same results-driven leadership to lower costs and put Pennsylvania families first.”

Lieutenant governor

In Pennsylvania, candidates for lieutenant governor must run for the role in the primary separately from gubernatorial candidates, though they can team up and campaign together as a ticket if they choose.

The lieutenant governor’s responsibilities include presiding over the state Senate, where they also have the power to cast tie-breaking votes in some situations. The person in the role chairs the Board of Pardons and is involved in several state entities, including the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council. The lieutenant governor also succeeds the governor, should the governor be unable to finish his or her term for any reason. The annual salary as of 2026 is $213,248.

The candidate for the Democratic Party is incumbent Austin Davis. Davis, who is from McKeesport, is Pennsylvania’s first Black person to hold the role and the youngest in the country, according to his office.

Davis has been involved in politics since he was a teenager, when he launched a youth advisory council for the mayor of his hometown after a shooting near his home. He entered elected office in a 2018 special election for Pennsylvania’s 35th House District. He also served as vice chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee before resigning, and ran for lieutenant governor with Shapiro’s support in 2022.

Throughout his time as lieutenant governor, Davis has made gun violence prevention a central focus of his work, helping to increase funds for violence prevention programs and relaunching the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Under his tenure as chair of the Board of Pardons, the board began to accept online applications.

The candidates for the Republican Party are Jason Richey and John Ventre.

Richey is a construction, real estate and commercial law attorney at a Pittsburgh-based firm, where he has worked for almost three decades and is a partner. Garrity formally backed his run for lieutenant governor in hopes of him becoming her running mate for the fall.

In 2022, he mounted a bid for governor but withdrew before the primary. He has said that “all the reasons” he ran for governor are still relevant this year. In particular, he has expressed a desire to expand Pennsylvania’s infrastructure to extract natural gas and says he wants to get rid of the state’s flat 3.07% income tax, saying on PCN, “I absolutely hate income tax.” Richey did not confirm whether cutting that tax would be a part of his and Garrity’s policy platform.

Ventre is running without endorsement from Garrity or the state GOP.

Ventre says he oversaw security, crisis management and public affairs at UPS in six states, including Pennsylvania, for more than 30 years. He is also a prominent UFO enthusiast — he hosted Pittsburgh’s annual UFO conference in April — and is an author whose novels cover topics including fictional accounts of UFO sightings, prophecies and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has never held public office, though he unsuccessfully ran twice for commissioner of Westmoreland County and once for governor.

Pennsylvania General Assembly

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislative branch of the commonwealth, and like Congress, it has a lower and upper chamber: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The state Senate consists of 50 members and the state House has 203, making it the largest full-time legislature in the country.

The General Assembly is mainly responsible for proposing and passing state laws, and developing the state budget.

There will be 228 state legislative races on the ballot this year — this includes all of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives and half the state Senate.

U.S. House

The U.S. House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected lawmakers. The number of members from each state is based on its population — Pennsylvania has 17 representatives.

Members of the U.S. House serve two-year terms and are up for reelection during even years.

All but one of the 17 members of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation are seeking reelection in 2026.

Here is a look at who is on the ballot for local offices:

• 12th Congressional District: Incumbent U.S. Rep. Summer Lee of Swissvale will face William Parker of Pittsburgh for the Democratic nomination. James Hayes of Pittsburgh was the lone Republican to file a petition.

• 14th Congressional District: Incumbent U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican from Peters Township, is seeking reelection. He will face Donora native and Democrat Alan Bradstock in the fall.

Pennsylvania Senate and House

• 32nd state Senate District: Incumbent state Sen. Pat Stefano of Bullskin Township, Fayette County, and former state Rep. Harry Young Cochran of Connellsville are both seeking the Republican nomination. The winner will face Democrat Jacob H. Cecil of Windber, Somerset County, in the fall.

• 46th state Senate District: Incumbent state Sen. Camera Bartolotta of Carroll Township, Washing- ton County, and Al Buchtan of Canonsburg will face each other Tuesday for the Republican nomination. Evan Snyder of Nottingham, Washington County, is the lone Democrat on the ballot.

• 35th state House District: Rep. Dan Goughnour, a McKeesport Democrat, will face Republican challenger Jim Edwards in the fall.

• 39th state House District: Dylan Altemara and Kellianne Frketic, both of Elizabeth Township, are both seeking the Democratic nomination. The winner will face incumbent state Rep. Andrew Kuzma, R-Elizabeth Township, the fall.

• 48th state House District: Incumbent Rep. Tim O’Neal, a Republican, will face Democratic challenger Rebecca Mactaggert in the fall.

• 50th state House District: Incumbent state Rep. Bud Cook of West Pike Run Township, Washington County, is facing a challenge for the Republican nomination by Ben Humble of Waynesburg. Lois Bower-Bjornson of North Bethlehem, Washington County, is the lone Democrat on the ballot.

• 58th state House District: Rep. Eric Davanzo, a Smithton Republican, will face Democratic challenger Cherri Rogers in the fall.