The Pennsylvania Supreme Court as of 2023.
On Nov. 4, in between the 2024 presidential and 2026 midterm election seasons, voters can head to the polls for the Pennsylvania judicial election.
Three judges of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are up for retention this November, where voters will be able to vote yes or no to keeping each of these judges in their current positions
If at least 50% of voters vote yes, the 5-2 Democrat-Republican split will stay in place in the highest PA court. If 50% or more vote no, the court will be left with 4 judges — 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans — putting it into a gridlock until PA Governor Josh Shapiro temporarily appoints someone new. Full-time replacements for the three positions would then be up for election again in 2027.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court judges serve a 10-year term after election. Once the 10 years are up, they go back on the ballot in order for voters to decide if the judges will be retained for another 10-year term, which they can do an unlimited number of times.
Justice Kevin Dougherty, David Wecht and Christine Donohue were each initially elected in 2015 and are up for retention into a second term.
These judges have ruled on topics like election litigation, where, leading up to the 2020 election, the court ruled mail-in ballots that came in after three days or ballots that weren’t dated would still be counted. This Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on other controversial political issues including congressional redistricting and abortion.
Other notable races for the upcoming election include a judge of the PA superior court and the vote for the new mayor of Pittsburgh.
Cortney Bouse, Pennsylvania state director with NextGen America, said college students should be paying attention to this election because of the large effects that either a Democrat-led or Republican-led state Supreme Court could have on the future.
“Young people have a huge stake in this,” Bouse said. “Their futures are [the] most impacted [in terms of] whether or not they will have fair elections, if their votes will be counted or if they will have access to reproductive healthcare in the state.”
For the Pittsburgh ballot, any retention votes are on the back side of the ballot. Bouse said all voters should double-check to make sure they have filled out their whole ballot.
“Unlike your typical midterm or presidential election, where your most important race is at the top of the ballot, because these are retention elections, those people are at the bottom or [are on the other side],” Bouse said. “So go through your entire ballot because that is a way that people can miss [the vote].”
Voters might choose not to retain the judges if they are unhappy with prior rulings. Jesse Milston, the treasurer of Pennsylvania Federation of College Republicans and junior political science major at Pitt, said college students should vote “no” on retaining.
“These are justices who are a little more ‘activist’ than they should be,” Milston said. “I think voting ‘no’ on the retention of them is incredibly important because it means we can actually have a choice and then vote on whether we should keep them, and not just give them a free 10 years to keep being a judge.”
Austin Wise, the president of Pennsylvania College Democrats and a senior political science major, said college voters should vote “yes” to retaining the justices in order to stop Pennsylvania from having another U.S. political branch that is Republican-led.
“We cannot afford a Republican-led Pennsylvania state Supreme Court, and if we do not get out there and vote, reproductive freedoms are going to be stripped away from Pennsylvanians,” Wise said. “Our generation cannot afford that. We’re already struggling enough.”
So, what does the PA judicial election ballot actually look like? Here is a sample ballot for Allegheny County and listed below are all candidates for the Nov. 4 election.
Judge of the Superior Court
Brandon Neuman (D)
Neuman is in his eighth year on the Washington County Court of Common Pleas after holding four terms as a state legislator in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He has experience presiding over the Civil and Veterans’ Speciality Court and Criminal and Family Law matters. He is endorsed by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Maria Battista (R)
Battista has 15 years of legal experience between working in criminal, civil and administrative law and as an assistant district attorney. She plans to establish an office that is “efficient, accountable and transparent,” according to Battista’s website.
Daniel Wassmer (Liberal)
Wassmer earned his J.D. at New York Law School and has worked as an attorney for 20 years. He is also an adjunct professor at Bucks County Community College and ran for U.S Senate in PA in 2022.
Judge of the Commonwealth Court
Stella Tsai (D)
Tsai has served on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas since 2016. She has worked across criminal, civil and orphans’ court and family court divisions. Tsai has exhibited a commitment to advocacy and equal access to justice.
Matt Wolford (R)
Wolford has practiced law for over 35 years and served as an adjunct professor at Gannon University for 20 years. He focuses on environmental law and currently has a private practice where he represents families, farmers, landowners and more.
Judge of the Alleghany Court of Common Pleas
Green-Hawkins is a current union lawyer and former Allegheny City Council member who has worked to “prohibit discrimination against people for their gender identity or expression,” according to Green-Hawkins’ website. Green-Hawkins represents herself as someone who has made a career representing working-class people.
Dan Miller (D)
Miller is a current member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He has worked as a county solicitor in family court, helping kids to have safe homes and a proper education, according to Miller’s website. During his time in the house he has advocated on the Judiciary, Labor, Education and Human Services committees.
Quita Bridges (D, Incumbent)
Bridges was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas by Governor Shapiro in 2025. She is running to keep her seat on the court. Before being appointed, Bridges served Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General for the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General for 10 years where she oversaw criminal prosecution for homicide, sexual assault and more.
Julie Capone (D/R)
Capone has been an Assistant District Attorney for 23 years and has focused on elder law and advocating for senior citizens. Capone said she has a “commitment to fairness and equality in the justice system,” according to her website. Capone is also “highly recommended” by the Allegheny Bar Association.
Anthony DeLuca (D/R)
DeLuca is a former union lawyer and has worked for the past 20 years as a criminal defense attorney. He focuses on helping those with mental health issues.
Schmidt Bresnahan is currently a family lawyer and hopes to create a courtroom environment where every individual is “heard, respected, and treated fairly” if she is elected, according to her website.
Hickton has advocated for “vulnerable populations” and has fought for reproductive healthcare and women’s rights throughout her legal career as an attorney, according to her website. Hickton is on the board for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.
Rudzki has worked to increase community education through organized legal workshops. As a Magisterial District Judge for the Fox Chapel communities, Rudzki has put policies into place such as night court for juvenile cases, which allows parents to attend court with their children and not miss work.
Santicola is a current Magisterial District Judge of Corapolis and Crescent, Moon and Neville Townships. She has shown an interest in helping senior citizens and victims of fraud.
Jackie Obara (R)
Obara has worked on the Court of Common Pleas Family Division as a Discovery Master and Divorce Hearing Officer for over 15 years, where she mainly works on family and divorce cases. She has been an adjunct member of the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Duquesne University since 2013.
Sarra Terry (R)
With twelve years working in judiciary as both a defense attorney and judicial law clerk, Terry’s focus is “on creating a court that works with mental health issues and advocates for healing,” according to her website. She hopes to build a court that has a strong relationship with the community.
Alyssa Cowan (R)
Cowan has worked as a supervisory assistant county solicitor at the Allegheny County Law department for the past 7 years. She has worked to train judges and attorneys on how to deal with difficult family matters in the courtroom.
Bryan Neft (R)
Neft has 30 years of experience in the legal field working at the Allegheny County Court and has fought for the rights of women, minorities and the LGBTQ+ community. He is also a longtime member of the Mount Lebanon Democrats.
Sheriff
Kevin M. Kraus (D, Incumbent)
Kraus has been the Allegheny County Sheriff since 2022. Since then, he has worked to “promote transparency” of the office with body cameras and requiring training for mental health response of the public and de-escalation tactics, while operating under budget.
Brian Weismantle (R)
Weismantle has over 55 combined years of experience in both the military and law enforcement. If elected, he hopes to rebuild Allegheny County’s Emergency Response Team.
Member of County Council At-Large
Mike Embrescia (R, Incumbent)
Embrescia is a county councillor and co-owner of Carnegie Robotics. He says he is against raising county taxes and is pro-union.
Alex Rose (Labor)
Rose has worked on multiple political campaigns, including Pennsylvania Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Governor Josh Shapiro. He says his priorities are protecting the environment in Allegheny County and building more affordable housing.
Mayor
Corey O’Connor (D)
O’Connor has been the Allegheny County Controller since 2022. He says he is committed to reworking the permitting and zoning system of Pittsburgh, adequately staffing public safety services and encouraging the building of new affordable housing units.
Tony Moreno (R)
Moreno has been a member of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for 24 years. Moreno hopes to use AI data storage to create jobs and manufacturing growth in Pittsburgh. He also has supported mental health care and the homeless.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retention
Three Supreme Court Justices are up for retention. If they are retained, they will serve out another 10-year term. If they are not, they will no longer serve on the court.
Christine Donohue – Elected in 2015, seeking a second term. Throughout her career, Donohue has worked to give young lawyers court experience, according to her website. She teaches ethics for attorneys at Duquesne University School of Law.
Kevin M. Dougherty – Elected in 2015, seeking a second term. Dougherty previously worked in family court and has worked to help “vulnerable citizens and troubled youth,” according to his website.
David Wecht – Elected in 2015, seeking a second term. Wecht previously worked for a family division of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, at the Allegheny County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’ Court where he created free will consultations for the public.
Pennsylvania Superior Court Retention
One Superior Court Justice is up for retention.
Alice Beck Dubow – Elected in 2015, seeking a second term. Beck Dubow has worked for judicial reform in positions like Deputy General Counsel at Drexel University and education as a member of the American Law Institute.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Retention
One Commonwealth Court Justice is up for retention.
Michael H. Wojcik – Elected in 2015, seeking a second term. Wojcik previously worked as an attorney across different law firms and is recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Court of Common Pleas Retention, 5th Judicial District
Seven Court of Common Pleas Justices are up for retention.
Edward J. Borkowski
Alan Hertzberg
Beth A. Lazzara
Jennifer Staley McCrady
Hugh Fitzpatrick McGough
Dan Regan
Dwayne D. Woodruff
Unopposed Race
The following races’ candidates are running unopposed or have no one running.
Member of City Council (District 8)
Erika Strassburger (D, unopposed)
School Director (District 3)
Erikka Grayson (D, unopposed)
Judge of Election (Ward 4, District 10)
Inspector of Election (Ward 4, District 10)
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