Midterm Election Guide: Who’s on the ballot in Allegheny County?

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AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File

Election workers perform a recount of ballots from the Pennsylvania primary election at the Allegheny County Election Division warehouse on the North Side in June.

By Donata Massimiani, Senior Staff Writer

As residents of a key battleground state, Pennsylvania voters could determine Tuesday which party holds the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. All eyes are on Pennsylvania as the midterm elections approach, and here’s who and what’s on the ballot in Allegheny County.

U.S. Senate 

John Fetterman (D) 

Fetterman served as the mayor of Braddock from 2006 until 2019 and has served as Lieutenant Governor since 2019. His campaign focuses on bringing back American manufacturing, cutting taxes for working families, banning members of Congress from trading and holding stocks, protecting abortion access as well as cutting healthcare costs.

Mehmet Oz (R)

Oz hosted the television program “The Dr. Oz Show” from 2009 until 2022. His campaign focuses on energy independence, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, “protecting innocent life” regarding abortion access, increasing security at the U.S. border, opposing anti-gun laws and fighting inflation. 

Erik Gerhardt (L) 

Gerhardt’s campaign focuses on lowering taxes, police reform and decriminalizing marijuana and other non-addictive drugs. Gerhardt supports allowing states to individually decide on the issue of abortion and is the owner of ECG Carpentry — a carpentry contracting business he founded in 2015.

Richard Weiss (G) 

Weiss supports “Medicare for All,” gun regulation, restorative justice reforms, reproductive rights and a rapid transition to renewable energy. He opposes fracking and is an attorney at the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Daniel Wassmer (K) 

Wasserman is an attorney who supports reproductive rights, gun rights and justice reform. He opposes mass incarceration, war, over-policing and surveillance state tactics. 

U.S. House of Representatives — Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District 

Summer Lee (D) 

Lee currently serves as a Democratic legislator in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for District 34. She supports funding the replacement of all lead water lines in America, ending fracking, transitioning American society to 100% clean and renewable energy sources, protecting reproductive rights, eliminating cash bail and abolishing the death penalty.

Michael “Mike” Doyle (R)

Mike Doyle is a Plum Borough councilman and the vice president of Excalibur Insurance. He shares the same name as Congressman Mike Doyle (D) who currently holds the House seat. Doyle supports energy independence, cutting federal spending and increased border security. His campaign also focuses on education reform and supporting the military and police.

Pennsylvania Governor 

Josh Shapiro (D) 

Shapiro currently serves as Attorney General and formerly served as a democratic Pennsylvania state legislator and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners in Montgomery County. Shapiro’s campaign focuses on protecting reproductive rights, creating jobs by investing in infrastructure and clean energy, expanding vocational training, reducing taxes, data-driven criminal justice reform and expanding the Pennsylvania rent rebate program to relieve the pressure of property tax on senior citizens. 

Douglas “Doug” Mastriano (R)

Mastriano currently serves as a U.S. senator for Pennsylvania’s 33rd district and is a veteran. His campaign focuses on putting an end to COVID-19 vaccination requirements and restrictions, signing the “heartbeat bill” into law, banning the use of public benefits for illegal immigrants as well as banning public schools from teaching critical race theory and election fraud.  

Matt Hackenburg (L), Christina Digiulio (G) and Joe Soloski (K) are all running as third-party candidates. 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives – District 23 

Dan Frankel (Incumbent, D) 

Frankel is an advocate for civil rights and public health and currently serves as the Democratic chairman of the House Health Committee where he promotes science-based policies to protect and improve the public health of Pennsylvanians.

Jay-Ting Walker (G) 

Walker supports banning lobbyist gifts to legislators, banning fracking, single-payer healthcare, defunding the police and free state and community college tuition.  

Home Rule Charter Amendment 

Voters will also decide on whether or not they support repealing Article III, Subsection 6(b) of Allegheny County’s Home Rule Charter. This amendment would allow members of county council to run for other elected positions within local, state and federal government without having to first resign from county council.