MEET YOUR DEMOCRATIC 2022 CANDIDATES!
Republican extremism is at an all-time high. Their candidates embrace extreme rightwing issues such as banning abortion, de-funding public education with school vouchers, opposing sensible gun reforms, making it harder to vote and continue to push 2020 election conspiracy theories, drawing a clear contrast of what Democrats and Republicans are all about in this election. Please be sure to vote for these outstanding candidates!
John Fetterman for United States Senator
Together, John and his wife Gisele, have fought for causes they believe in, from immigration reform to LGBTQ+ rights. When Pennsylvania lawmakers continued to push outdated discriminatory policies banning marriage equality, John stood up and officiated one of the first same-sex marriages in the commonwealth. And when they wanted to build a four-lane interstate highway through Braddock, a town that’s more than 80% Black and already suffered historically high asthma rates, John was the only elected official in Western Pennsylvania who opposed it on the grounds that it was environmental racism.
Chrissy Houlahan for United States House of Representatives (Incumbent)
Chrissy earned her engineering degree from Stanford with a ROTC scholarship and received her M.S. in Technology and Policy from MIT. She served three years active duty as a Captain in the US Air Force, and 13 years in the Reserves.
After the military, she became Chief Operating Officer of the sportswear company AND1. She was founding COO of B-Lab (a nonprofit that promotes B Corporations and good business practices) and President and COO/CFO for Springboard Collaborative (a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focused on improving early childhood literacy in underserved communities).
A resident of Easttown Township, she was first elected to the PA-06 seat in November 2018 by a margin of 18% and was the first woman ever to be elected to Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District and the first Democrat in 160 years. In the House of Representatives, she serves on the Committees on Armed Forces, Foreign Affairs, and Small Business.
Josh Shapiro for Governor of Pennsylvania
Throughout his career as a public servant, Josh Shapiro has taken on the status quo, brought people together to solve tough problems, and delivered results for the people of Pennsylvania. Since 2017, he has served as the People’s Attorney General, working every day to stand up to powerful institutions and protect Pennsylvanians’ rights. Now, Josh is running to be Pennsylvania’s next Governor — to move our Commonwealth forward and tackle our biggest challenges.
Josh Shapiro was sworn in on January 17, 2017, as Pennsylvania’s top lawyer and chief law enforcement officer with a mandate to ensure integrity and be the people’s Attorney General. Some of his top priorities include protecting seniors, veterans, small businesses and consumers from scams and fraud; implementing a comprehensive integrity agenda to ensure people from across the Commonwealth are heard and have faith in the justice system; and directing an aggressive fight against the heroin and opioid epidemic, including treatment for those suffering from addiction.
As the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, his work on behalf of victims and for criminal justice reform earned him the trust of law enforcement leaders from across the ideological spectrum. Earlier, as Chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Josh led an historic fiscal turnaround, helped the first LGBT couples in Pennsylvania marry, protected voting rights and fired Wall Street money managers to protect pensions and save retirees millions.
As State Representative for Pennsylvania’s 153rd House District he passed some of the toughest ethics laws in state history. Josh graduated magna cum laude from the University of Rochester and earned his law degree at night from Georgetown University Law Center, and was in private practice for over a decade. Josh was raised in Montgomery County, where he met his high school sweetheart, Lori, and where they are raising their four children.
Austin Davis for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
Growing up in the Monongahela Valley in western Pennsylvania – a longtime industrial center outside Pittsburgh – Austin Davis saw the struggles of working families firsthand. Austin knew from an early age he wanted to dedicate his life and career to public service. Throughout his career, he has fought for economic equality, worked to lift people out of poverty and secure fair funding for education, and has been committed to bettering the lives of people in western Pennsylvania.
Austin is a first generation college graduate in his family, and after studying political science at the University of Pittsburgh, he began pursuing a career in public service. By the age of 21, the Tribune-Review called him “a veteran at the politics of helping others.”
Beginning in 2012, Austin joined Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s team, spearheading the office’s vision and transition teams in the early days of the administration and serving as Fitzgerald’s representative on the Jail Oversight Board; the Kane Foundation; the Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Advisory Board; and the Shuman Detention Center Advisory Board.
Then in 2018, Austin successfully ran for the state House of Representatives to represent the Mon Valley and his hometown of McKeesport. When he was sworn in, Austin became the first African American to serve as state representative for the 35th Legislative District in Allegheny County, and he became one of only four African American lawmakers to represent a majority-white district.
Currently, Austin serves as chair of the Allegheny County House Democratic Delegation and vice chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee, as well as serving on the House Appropriations Committee, House Consumer Affairs Committee, House Insurance Committee, and House Transportation Committee. Austin is also a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, Climate Caucus, and PA SAFE Caucus.
Austin remains committed to the Mon Valley and McKeesport, serving as a board member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh, and Auberle.
Austin currently resides in McKeesport, a town near Pittsburgh, with his wife, Blayre Holmes Davis.
Melissa Shusterman for State Representative of Pennsylvania General Assembly, 157th District (Incumbent)
Melissa, who grew up in Easttown Township, graduated from Lafayette College in 1989 with a degree in Russian Studies (History) and a minor in Chinese Literature. She worked for large networks like FX and Food Network before returning to Pennsylvania to raise her son as a single mother and starting her own video production company, a successful business that gives her a unique perspective.
She was prompted to campaign in 2018 by special interests that block progress on important issues in Harrisburg. She knocked on tens of thousands of doors while campaigning on government transparency and accountability, education equity, environmental sustainability, and gun control reform. She went on to defeat a four-term Republican by over 4,000 votes, in a historic year when women increased their representation in the Pennsylvania legislature.
Melissa serves on the Judiciary, Aging & Older Adult Services, and Tourism & Recreational Development Committees, and has authored legislation dealing with small business loans, gun control, reduction of single-use plastics, and animal protections. She was selected as the Secretary of the Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Caucus, and is the first freshmen legislator to serve as a Deputy Whip.