Aument exit will trigger special election in PA’s 36th Senate District

State Sen. Ryan Aument, the current majority whip in the Pennsylvania Senate, will be resigning from office prior to Jan. 3 to take a new role with U.S. Senator-elect Dave McCormick, his office confirmed on Tuesday. Aument, who has served in the state Senate since 2014, will join McCormick as his office’s state director, where he will be tasked with overseeing McCormick’s Pennsylvania offices and constituent service operations.

“I am humbled and honored that Sen.-Elect McCormick has trusted me to lead his statewide operation here in Pennsylvania,” Aument said Tuesday in a statement. “Dave’s transformational vision for our Commonwealth, commitment to conservative values, and exceptional leadership qualities will make him an excellent United States senator, and I am eager to begin working on building a stronger Pennsylvania with him.”

Following his resignation, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis will have 10 days to declare a special election to fill the 36th Senate District seat. His offices will remain open following his departure and be able to assist with constituent needs such as PennDOT paperwork, tax forms, birth and death certificates and other services. 

The 36th Senate District encompasses part of Lancaster County, including Conoy, Earl, East Donegal, East Hempfield, Elizabeth, Ephrata, Manheim, Mount Joy, Penn, Rapho, Warwick, West Donegal, West Earl and West Hempfield townships, as well as the boroughs of Akron, Columbia, East Petersburg, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Lititz, Manheim, Marietta, Mount Joy, Mountville and New Holland.

Republicans are likely to hold Aument’s seat in a special election for the seat. In the 2022 election cycle, Aument went unopposed in the general election, securing 91,710 votes en route to victory. 

Aument was first elected majority whip in 2022 and was reelected as whip in November 2024. Throughout his time in the Senate, he also served as chair of the Senate Education Committee and the Senate Communications and Technology Committee.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Aument was one of four state lawmakers to serve on a joint task force designed to communicate information about the COVID-19 vaccine and distribution efforts to members of the General Assembly. 

Aument received well wishes from members of the Senate Republican Caucus shortly after announcing his intent to leave the Senate. “Ryan has been an outstanding member of our caucus,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward wrote in a post on X. “Senator-elect McCormick could not have chosen a better person as state director.” 

GOP state Sen. Dan Laughlin called Aument an “excellent choice” for the state director role.

McCormick said he is “thrilled” to have Aument joining his team. 

“A fellow Army veteran, Ryan has been a fantastic representative for the constituents of Lancaster and whip for the Republican Majority, and I am so grateful that he will bring his deep experience serving the people of Pennsylvania to this new role,” McCormick said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Aument’s exit from the General Assembly’s upper chamber will require the Senate Republican Caucus to elect a new majority whip for the 2025-26 session, though it’s unclear when internal caucus elections will be held to fill that role.