This November 8th is election day. All students are off of school that day, and all students 18 and older (hopefully) will be voting. Many of us have been berated by campaign ads, especially about the Pennsylvania Governor and Senate races; that being said, who are these people that thousands of Abington residents and millions of Pennsylvania citizens are voting for? What are the priorities and qualifications of the names on the ballot? These are important to know, and I did the research so you don’t have to.

In this, I am going to give a brief summary of the candidates and summarize the candidates’ issues on the following issues based on their campaign website:

• Economy
• Gun Violence & 2nd Amendment Rights
• Abortion
• Education
• Voting
• Healthcare
• Drugs (meaning substance use/abuse)

Whenever I note that a stance is vague, it is either a vaguely explained issue (ex. school choice), a very specific end goal without a clear path of getting there (ex: overturning Citizens United), or anything else which is mostly filler words without policy behind it (ex. build robust economy).

PA GOVERNOR:

Josh Shapiro

Shapiro is the Pennsylvania Attorney General who previously served as State Representative for the Abington area and as a Montgomery County Commissioner.

Stances:

• Economy: Expand jobs via infrastructure projects, cut job training red tape (vague)
• Gun Violence: Pro gun control (vague)
• Abortion: Pro-choice
• Education: Improve infrastructure, expand mental health services, end reliance on standardized testing
• Voting: Same-day registration, keep mail-in ballots accessible
• Healthcare: Increase state funding 
• Drugs: Expand addiction treatment centers, lower costs (vague)

Doug Mastriano

Mastriano is a Pennsylvania State Senator representing Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties. Mastriano previously served over 30 years in the US Army and ran for congress unsuccessfully in 2018.

Stances:

• Economy: Lower property tax burden (vague), audit and identify waste in State spending
• Gun Violence: Fund police departments, increase sentences for repeat offenders, expand gun rights
• Abortion: Pro-life, supports a “heartbeat bill”
• Education: “place an immediate ban on Critical Race and Gender Theory Studies in Pennsylvania schools,” expand “school choice” (vague)
• Voting: Voter ID laws, limit mail-in ballots accessibility, secure elections from fraud (vague)
• Healthcare: Lift mask and vaccine mandates
• Drugs: Unspecified on site

US SENATOR:

Mehmet Oz

Oz is a surgeon who is most known for his TV show, the Dr. Oz show. Mehmet Oz has not previously sought public or political office.

Stances:

• Economy: Reduce spending (vague), reduce outsourcing to China (vague)
• Gun Violence: Fund police departments, anti-gun control
• Abortion: Pro-life
• Education: Stop rising tuition (vague), teach financial literacy
• Voting: Voter ID laws
• Healthcare: Fight drug costs (vague)
• Drugs: Unspecified on site

John Fetterman

Fetterman is the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. Previously he served as the Mayor of Braddock and ran unsuccessfully for US Senate in 2016.

Stances:

• Economy: Fair tax code where the wealthy pay more (vague), reduce outsourcing (vague), suspend the federal gas tax
• Gun Violence: Pro gun control
• Abortion: Pro-choice
• Education: Tuition-free community college, universal Pre-K, reduce the burden of student debt (vague)
• Voting: Expand voting rights (vague), end gerrymandering (vague), ban congress members from stock trading
• Healthcare: Medicare-for-all or expanding medicare* (vague)
• Drugs: Legalize cannabis at the federal level

*The Fetterman website never refers to medicare-for-all or a universal healthcare system explicitly

US REPRESENTATIVE (PA-4)

Madeleine Dean

Dean is the current US Representative for Pennsylvania’s 4th district. She previously served as State Representative for the Abington area, following the retirement of Josh Shapiro to run for Attorney General. She also ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2018 but withdrew to run for congress instead.

Stances:

• Economy: Improve Infrastructure (vague)
• Gun Violence: Pro gun control
• Abortion: Pro-choice
• Education: 2-year, tuition-free community college, reduce the burden of student debt
• Voting: Unspecified on site
• Healthcare: Universal healthcare (vague)
• Drugs: Expand funding and access to opioid treatment 

Christian Nascimento

Nascimento is an American businessman who is the Vice President of Product at Comcast. Christian Nascimento also served previously as school board president.

Stances:

• Economy: Bring back manufacturing (vague)
• Gun Violence: Unspecified on site
• Abortion: Unspecified on site
• Education: School choice (vague)
• Voting: Unspecified on site
• Healthcare: Unspecified on site
• Drugs: Unspecified on site

STATE SENATOR (PA-4)

Todd Johnson

Johnson is a pastor and Philadelphia Ward Leader. His campaign does not have a website; thus, the issues section is based on this interview.

Stances:

• Economy: Lower taxes (vague)
• Gun Violence: Not discussed in interview
• Abortion: Pro-life (vague)
• Education: School choice (vague)
• Voting: Not discussed in interview
• Healthcare: End mandates (vague)
• Drugs: Not discussed in interview

Art Haywood

Haywood is the current Pennsylvania State Senator for the Pennsylvania 4th senatorial district who previously served as Cheltenham township commissioner.

Stances:

• Economy: Eliminate PA flat tax
• Gun Violence: Pro gun control (vague)
• Abortion: Pro choice
• Education: Increase education funding
• Voting: Unspecified on site
• Healthcare: Unspecified on site
• Drugs: Unspecified on site

STATE HOUSE DISTRICTS

STATE REPRESENTATIVE (PA-152)

John Weinrich

Weinrich is a realtor and baker who has worked in his family’s business Weinrich’s Bakery. 

Stances:

• Economy: Fight inflation (vague), privatize tax collection
• Gun Violence: Pro-gun rights (vague)
• Abortion: Unspecified on site
• Education: Separate school funding from property taxes (vague)
• Voting: Establish term limits for state legislature
• Healthcare: Unspecified on site
• Drugs: Unspecified on site

Nancy Guenst

Guenst is the current PA Representative for the 152nd district. She served previously as a member of the Hatboro Council person and as the Mayor of Hatboro.

Stances:

• Economy: Create energy sector jobs (vague)
• Gun Violence: Pro gun control
• Abortion: Pro-choice
• Education: Charter school oversight (vague), Expand funding (vague)
• Voting: Overturn Citizens United (vague), stop gerrymandering (vague), 
• Healthcare: Increase regulation of private healthcare, expand Medicaid
• Drugs: Expand addiction treatment centers, lower costs (vague)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE (PA-153)

Ben Sanchez

Sanchez is the current PA Representative for the 153rd district, succeeding Madeleine Dean after she retired to run for Congress. Sanchez previously served as an Abington Township Commissioner. Ben Sanchez’s website has not been updated since his initial run for the PA House seat back in 2018. The stances stated may not reflect accurately his views today. 

Stances:

• Economy: Balance the budget
• Gun Violence: Universal background checks
• Abortion: Pro-choice (vague)
• Education: Increase funding (vague)
• Voting: Stop gerrymandering (vague)
• Healthcare: Expand affordable healthcare (vague), fight rising costs (vague)
• Drugs: Unspecified on site**

**Ben Sanchez notes he was endorsed by the Opioid Crisis Action Network, despite not listing any policy on that page.

Larry Ulrich

Ulrich is a retired screen printer running to be the State Representative for Pennsylvania’s 153rd district. He has never sought public office prior.

Stances:

• Economy: Fight inflation (vague)
• Gun Violence: Unspecified on site
• Abortion: Unspecified on site
• Education: School choice (vague), parental bill of rights (vague) 
• Voting: Restore voter confidence (vague), establish term limits for state legislature
• Healthcare: Unspecified on site
• Drugs: Unspecified on site