The Democratic nominee for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Judge Daniel McCaffery of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, spoke at the Penn Democrats meeting to discuss his campaign.
Addressing around 30 attendees at the Penn Dems third deputy board meeting in Huntsman Hall, McCaffery highlighted the importance of voting in this election. McCaffery has served on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania since 2020.
McCaffery spoke about the unique power of the state Supreme Court to make decisions that affect Pennsylvanians.
“Josh Shapiro, John Fetterman, Joe Biden; not one of these elected politicians can take away your rights with a stroke of a pen, but a [state Supreme Court] judge can,” he said.
McCaffery spoke about his parents’ immigration to the United States, saying that he has lived in Northeast Philadelphia for his whole life. He also recounted his educational and professional career in detail — including his honorable discharge from the military, his completion of Temple University undergraduate and law degrees, and his service on public courts.
On Nov. 7, voters will decide between Democratic candidate Daniel McCaffery or Republican candidate Carolyn Carluccio to be elected as the seventh justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
No matter the party of the winner, there will be no immediate threat to the Democratic hold on the court — given that four of the six current justices are Democrats — but a Republican win would be a stepping stone for a future party flip within the high court. Contested issues in this election include reproductive rights and Medicaid coverage, according to The Hill.
“If I leave you with one thing tonight, I want you to remember this one thing," McCaffery said. "Majority matters."
McCaffery also introduced a surprise guest: Judge Timika Lane, who serves on the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County. Lane will be on the ticket as a Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s Superior Court, for which she comes heavily recommended by McCaffery.
Lane reiterated the importance of voting in the upcoming election and implored students to use the power of social media to empower their fellow students to show up. She mentioned personal anecdotes from her time as an undergraduate student at Howard University, where she said she would go door-to-door in her dorms to get her peers to vote, and encouraged Penn students to adopt the same spirit.
Lane told The Daily Pennsylvanian that she came to Penn to connect with the people she was running for.
“We’re running for our future generation," she said. "And we’re running with you to make sure that this world is a better place and ensure that everyone is treated with respect."
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