“ChangePA was the game-changer for my campaign.”
— Rep. Joe Webster
The thin majority Democrats have kept in the Pennsylvania House since 2022 means:
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There will be no constitutional amendment to ban abortion
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There will be no constitutional amendment to gerrymander the judiciary
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Rep. Joanna McClinton was the first black woman to be elected Speaker of the House
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Votes on issues like gun control, voting rights, fair funding for schools, taxing fracking, and protecting the environment could not be bottled up in committee
ChangePA
TIME FOR CHANGE
Hear Rep. Jennifer O’Mara explain how she flipped a traditionally GOP seat.
“ChangePA’s support gave me the financial boost I needed—to spend my time at the doors, listening and speaking with people, instead of having to ask for money.”
— Rep. Melissa Shusterman
Who We Are
Time for Change
We are a Political Action Committee dedicated to expanding the Democratic majority in the Pennsylvania State House.
ChangePA actively raises money year round because we believe early money is critical. Using a rigorous candidate selection process, ChangePA is able to contribute where funds will make the biggest difference and at the time the candidates most need help. We find and support strong candidates in Republican-held districts that have the potential to be flipped. We have no paid staff, so every dollar we raise above expenses goes to candidates.
ChangePA focuses on State House races because they receive less public attention and less funding than elections to the U.S. Congress—so ChangePA’s contributions have a big impact.
Great Job ChangePA!
We flipped the House! Now lets expand our majority!
We didn’t do it alone, but 16 Democratic legislators were elected with your help through ChangePA.
In 2022, Democrats ended 12 years of Republican power and achieved a one-seat majority in the State House. Eight ChangePA-supported challengers were elected along with all seven of the incumbents ChangePA supported.
“ChangePA helped us to level the playing field. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
— Rep. Danielle Friel Otten
We also supported the successful candidate in the special election held in May 2023 that preserved the Democratic State House majority.
Here is a map of the legislators your contributions helped to elect to change the Pennsylvania State House.
Now more than ever we need to continue our previous efforts to ensure support of our new Governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro. The election of 2024 is just around the corner!
Thank you for your support! You made the difference!!!
Donations by check should be made out to ChangePA and mailed to
ChangePA, 3006 Foxx Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19144.
Hon. Mark Bernstein (Ret.)
Laslo Boyd, Ph.D.
Deb Ciamacca
Anne Hagele
Margaret Harris
Peshe Kuriloff
Kim Oxholm
Dan Wofford
Hon. Flora Wolf (Ret.)
Candidates
Eight of the challengers ChangePA supported in the 2022 elections were victorious, as were all seven of the ChangePA-supported incumbents.
Through a rigorous evaluation process conducted by our Selection Committee and ratified by our Steering Committee, we identified districts that, by the data, appeared to be competitive and good candidates who fit their districts and had strong strategies for winning.
Following the conclusion reached in our post-2020 Election Report, these distributions came much earlier than in previous elections. We started contributing to candidates in June 2022 by supporting five challengers and the six incumbents we supported in previous elections. We thereafter contributed to an additional six candidates for the 2022 election, for a total of 17.
We raised over $300,000 for this cycle, and our contributions made a big impact in each race.
ChangePA also supported Heather Boyd, the successful candidate in the May 2023 special election that preserved the one-seat majority Democrats held in the Pennsylvania House.
Here are the candidates who received new donations from ChangePA and won:
Lisa Borowski, HD 168, Delaware County
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She was a Commissioner in Radnor for four years
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Previously on the School Board
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The House Democratic Campaign Committee called this a "Red to Blue" district (their highest recommendation)
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Attorney General Josh Shapiro won 56% of the vote in this district the last time he ran
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President Biden won 61% of the vote in this district in 2020
Tim Brennan, HD 29, Bucks County
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Doylestown Borough Council member
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Represents injured workers as specialist in workers’ compensation law
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“Red to Blue” district
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Shapiro 55%
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Biden 58%
Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, HD 129, Berks County
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President of Reading City Council
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Entrepreneur running Mi Casa Su Casa Café in multiple locations
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“Red to Blue” district
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Shapiro 62%
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Biden 60%
Melissa Cerrato, HD 151, Montgomery County
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District Director under State Representative Liz Hanbidge
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“Red to Blue” district
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Shapiro 62%
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Biden 62%
Paul Friel, HD 26, Chester and Delaware Counties
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Second time running
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President of local school board
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“Red to Blue” district
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Shapiro 53%
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Biden 56%
Joe Hohenstein, HD 177, Philadelphia County
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Incumbent first elected in 2018
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Immigration attorney who developed first immigration law clinic at Temple law school
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15 years service on board of Frankford Friends School
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Shapiro 65%
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Biden 64%
Christopher Pielli, HD 156, Chester County
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Democratic State Committee member
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West Goshen Township Supervisor
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First Democrat elected as Chester County Recorder of Deeds
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The incumbent Democrat retired so this was a district we needed to hold
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Shapiro 57%
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Biden 61%
Tarah Probst, HD 189, Monroe and Pike Counties
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Three term Mayor of Stroudsburg
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“Red to Blue” district
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Shapiro 56%
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Biden 61%
Paul Takac, HD 82, Centre County
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Member of College Township Council
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Vice-Chair of both the Spring Creek Watershed Commission and the Public Safety Committee of the Centre Region Council of Government
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No incumbent
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Shapiro 51%
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Biden 52%
Heather Boyd, HD 163, Delaware County
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Former chief of staff to Rep. Leanne Krueger (HD-161), who spearheads election efforts for the House Democratic Campaign Committee.
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District Director and Senior Advisor for Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon.
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The incumbent Democrat resigned so this was a district we needed to hold.
And, of course, each of the incumbents we helped to flip Republican seats in previous elections:
Nancy Guenst, HD 152, Montgomery County
Liz Hanbidge, HD 61, Montgomery County
Jennifer O’Mara, HD 165, Delaware County
Danielle Friel Otten, HD 155, Chester County
Melissa Shusterman, HD 157, Chester County
Joe Webster, HD 150, Montgomery County
Events & News
Latest News
Over 100 supporters of ChangePA came together on Sunday, June 11th, at the Fleisher Art Memorial. They were joined by our special guests, some of the state representatives who they helped to elect:
Lisa Borowski
Heather Boyd
Tim Brennan
Paul Friel
Liz Hanbidge
Joe Webster
We celebrated the remarkable achievement of having helped Democrats to win a majority in the Pennsylvania House.
That milestone was definitely worthy of a celebration! Even with a slim majority, important bills that previously had not received any consideration passed the chamber and were sent on to the Senate.
The path to protecting and expanding the Democratic majority starts right now. Please think about what commitment you are willing to make to support that goal for our 2023-24 campaign.
From the Archives: Our December 2019 Campaign Kickoff Event
Blog
by Laslo Boyd, Ph.D.
