Elections (Archived)

A complete list of every new member of the General Assembly

New PA Sen. Sharif Street, left, with PA Rep. Brian Sims – photo by Bonnie Squires for City&State PA

New PA Sen. Sharif Street, left, with PA Rep. Brian Sims – photo by Bonnie Squires for City&State PA

Members of the PA General Assembly assembled in Harrisburg for swearing-in ceremonies, inaugurating a legislative session that is notably younger, more Republican and representative of women than before.

The state House picked up 22 new members out of 202 representatives. The party split is 121 Republicans to 81 Democrats, with one vacancy (the seat recently abandoned by convicted Democratic state Rep. Leslie Acosta). Eight newish members who won special elections last year were also sworn in yesterday at the first so-called “full-scale” ceremony of its kind.

With 30 members elected over the past year, the number of House members elected prior to the year 2000 dropped to just 38. Although they make up less than one-fifth of state House members, 40 female representatives now serve in Harrisburg – the highest number in PA history. 

According to Bill Patton, a number-crunching spokesman for the Democratic House Caucus – which provided the statistics in this article – the average House district now represents just 63,000 Pennsylvanians.

50 state senators also returned to Harrisburg, including a veto-proof majority of 34 Republicans and a paltry 16 Democrats. In contrast to the House, only six women will serve in the PA Senate in 2017 – all six new senators sworn in yesterday were men. The average Senate district represents around 256,000 Pennsylvanians.

Republican majorities in both chambers are now the largest they’ve been since the 1950s.

PA House Members
Aaron Bernstine (R-10) Lawrence County
Morgan Cephas (D-192) Philadelphia
Alexander Charlton (R-165) Delaware County
Carolyn Comitta (D-156) Chester County
Bud Cook (R-49) Washington County
Michael Corr (R-150) Montgomery County
Matthew Dowling (R-51) Fayette County
Carol Hill-Evans (D-95) York County
Isabella Fitzgerald (D-203) Philadelphia
Jonathan Fritz(R-111) Susquehanna County
Kevin Haggerty (D-112) Lackawanna County
Dawn Keefer (R-92) York County
Brian Kirkland(D-159) Delaware County
Anita Astorino Kulik (D-45) Allegheny County
Maureen Madden (D-115) Monroe County
Zachary Mako (R-183) Northampton County
Thomas Mehaffie (R-106) Dauphin County
Christopher Rabb (D-200) Philadelphia
Eric Roe (R-158) Chester County
Francis X. Ryan (R-101) Lebanon County
Jared Solomon (D-202) Philadelphia
Justin Walsh (R-58) Westmoreland County
Perry Warren (D-31) Bucks County

PA Senate Members

John DiSanto (R-15) Perry County
Wayne Langerholc (R-35) Cambria County
Daniel Laughlin (R-49) Erie County
Scott Martin (R-13) Lancaster County
Mike Regan (R-31) Cumberland County
Sharif Street (D-3) Philadelphia