Two U.S. Senators represent each state in Congress. After Senator Pat Toomey announced he would not run for election after serving in Congress for over a decade, it opened the door for politicians across the state to begin their campaigns.
There are four Democrats and seven Republicans running in this year's primary election.
Democrats
John Fetterman
Fetterman has held the position of Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania since 2019. He held the position of Mayor of Braddock from 2006 until 2019. As mayor, Fetterman was known for creating youth and community-based programs. While serving as lieutenant governor, he criticized the former president and discredited Trump's claims about voter fraud in Pennsylvania.
Fetterman wrote in a statement emailed to the DP that his platform centers around the legalization of marijuana.
"The war on drugs has been racist, costly, and ineffective," Fetterman wrote. "It is not just a failure — it's a national disgrace. We have known for decades that Black and brown communities are disproportionately prosecuted and harmed because of the criminalization around marijuana."
His other platforms points include reforming the criminal justice system to include more rehabilitative options and expanding access to healthcare across the state.
Malcolm Kenyatta
Kenyatta has served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 181st district since 2019. Endorsed by the Working Families Party among others, Kenyatta's platform points center around his lived experiences growing up in a poor, working-class Philadelphian household. He is championing more affordable health care options, a $15 minimum wage, and initiatives that aim to increase voting access for marginalized citizens.
Alexandra Khalil
Khalil is a former small business owner and educator. She told the DP that her lived experiences as a mother, daughter of immigrants, and business owner set her apart from other candidates. Khalil's platform focuses on protecting the rights of those with disabilities, providing healthcare for all, prioritizing worker safety and labor rights, and transitioning to alternative energies.
Conor Lamb
Lamb, a 2006 College graduate and 2009 Penn Law graduate, is a Marine and former federal prosecutor. He serves as the current representative of Pennsylvania’s 17th District in Congress – a position he has held since 2019.
He was recently endorsed by the Philadelphia Democratic Party. Lamb believes in reforming the criminal justice system through focusing on the rise in violent crime, lowering prescription drug prices, and creating more thorough background checks for gun purchases.
Republicans
Kathy Barnette
Barnette served in the U.S. Army and later worked in finance before deciding to run for office. She has openly criticized Biden's foreign policy decisions, calling him weak and blaming him for the war in Ukraine. Barnette's policy positions center around job creation, a decentralized healthcare system, and the right to medical freedom – the idea that patients should have autonomy over their treatment options.
Jeff Bartos
Bartos is the co-founder of the Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund, a nonprofit focused on protecting local jobs and small businesses in light of hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes his experience raising money for small businesses during the pandemic will help him defeat a Democrat in November, as he has experience helping people during the pandemic rather than focusing on lockdowns. Bartos' central policy goals include helping small businesses and creating jobs for Pennsylvania residents.
George Borchetto
Borchetto has been an attorney in Philadelphia for 50 years. He wrote in a statement emailed to the DP that he will “promote public safety by supporting the police and policies that allow them to remove criminals from the streets, while holding any cops who break the law accountable.” Borchetto's campaign focuses on the ideas of public safety and crime reduction, as well as the protection of personal freedoms – especially regarding COVID-19 precautions.
Sean Gale
Gale is a healthcare and business attorney. Gale aims to bring "a much needed conservative backbone to a federal government" to counter the "globalist agenda of never-Trump Republicans, radical left-wing Democrats, and their friends overseas in socialist Europe and communist China," according to his website.
David McCormick
McCormick was the former CEO of Bridgewater Associates and served as the Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs under former President George W. Bush's administration. He has been endorsed by Senator Ted Cruz (R.-Texas), former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
His platform includes ending COVID-19 mandates, lowering taxes on working-class Americans, growing the economy through the support of small businesses, and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US.
Mehmet Oz
Oz is a former talk show host and an attending physician at N.Y. Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center. He received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Oz's main platform points include strengthening domestic energy production, securing the country's borders, and pushing back against "cancel culture" to ensure Americans' right to free speech is protected.
Carla Sands
Sands is the CEO and chairwoman of Vintage Capital Group and the country's Ambassador to Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands under the Trump administration. Sands's "America First" platform centers around fighting against inflation, banning Critical Race Theory, and "shredding Joe Biden's Socialist agenda."
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