WILKES-BARRE — As Luzerne County voters head to the polls in the April 23 Primary, there are only a few contested contests to be decided — the rest will be battled in the November General Election.
Here’s a look at the contested races:
117th Legislative District
• Michael Cabell, Republican incumbent
Age: 39
Residence: Butler Township
Education: BA Political Science, St. Joseph’s University
Job: State Representative
Family: Wife, Chelsea; Julian, 12; Theo, 4.
On the issues:
“In this primary, my focus remains on addressing the challenges posed by significant outside spending from special interest groups aimed at influencing our local politics,” Cabell said. “Despite these pressures, my conservative voting record is clear and impactful. I have consistently opposed the governor’s bloated budgets to combat inflation, rejected HB 300 to protect the integrity of women’s sports and the privacy of children in schools, and stood firm against overreaching gun control legislation. My proactive legislation on illegal immigration and my own bill that I introduced and am fighting to pass to enforce Voter ID laws are testament to my commitment to safeguarding the integrity of our elections.”
Cabell added that he was the first state representative in Pennsylvania to endorse former President Donald Trump.
“My alignment with America First policies is unwavering,” Cabell said. “My campaign is rooted in strong, principled leadership that prioritizes the needs and voices of our constituents.”
• Jamie Walsh, Republican
Age: 49
Residence: Ross Township
Education: High school graduate
Job: Small business owner
Family: Wife of 17 years, Nancy; son, Logan, 16; daughter, Ava, 10
On the issues:
Walsh said he is an advocate for parental rights and election integrity. He is the co-founder of Citizens Advisory of Pennsylvania, a parents rights organization, and he testified in Washington D.C., on behalf of Luzerne County voters that ran out of paper in the 2022 election.
“I am running because of my opponent’s promotion of a gender ideology program in our Luzerne County school districts, while I fought to keep it out and away from our children over the last 16 months.
“I am also running because my opponent’s voting record does not match the conservative region that he represents.
“I have full intention in addressing the illegal immigration population flooding Pennsylvania; I plan to support HB-13 which will address school property tax reform; I will be one of the leaders for parental rights and I plan to call out corruption in Harrisburg.
“These are the four biggest issues when I talk to people at the front door. My candidacy will truly represent the people once and for all and I will be honored to serve the people of the 117th District.”
During the last 11 years, Walsh has served as President of the Lake-Lehman Junior Knights (seven years), and Secretary of the Wyoming Valley Junior Football Conference (four years). Three years ago, he co-founded and then became president of the Citizens Advisory of Pennsylvania which is a parent’s rights organization that encompasses all of Pennsylvania.
120th Legislative District
• Brenda Pugh, Republican
Age: 57
Residence: Dallas Township
Job: Chief Executive Officer at AMP Global Strategies
On the issues:
Born and raised here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Pugh said she is a successful business owner, wife, mother and trusted community leader. She and her husband, Alan, a police officer, volunteer fire chief and regional EMA coordinator, their family and serving our community have also been among their top priories. The couple has three married children and they are proud grandparents of five grandchildren.
Today, as chief executive officer at AMP Global Strategies, she said she provides the leadership to create good paying jobs for families here in Luzerne County. Under her direction, Pugh said AMP is at the forefront of providing cutting edge technology that helps keep students, employees and first responders safer in their schools, universities and while on the job.
In the legislature, Pugh said she will use her experience to implement commonsense policies that create good paying jobs for Luzerne County workers, hold the line on taxes to enable taxpayers to keep more of their money, reform state government to make it work for our families, and support public safety initiatives and our police to keep our communities safe.
Pugh said she the entire Pugh family are well known in the community for their willingness to serve and their passion for helping others.
As state representative, Pugh said as a fiscal conservative with over 25 years of business experience she can be trusted to always fight for our needs and be our voice in the state House.
• LeeAnn McDermott, Republican
Age: 54
Residence: Kingston Township
Education: Dallas High School, attended Misericordia University.
Job: Owner of McDermott Real Estate Appraisals, Inc.; member of Luzerne County Council.
Family: Youngest of seven children; Married for 24 years, four children, two grandchildren and a rescue dog. Husband, John, is a retired Lt. Colonel from the U.S. Army and youngest son is actively serving overseas in the Air Force.
On the issues:
“I support funding law enforcement and prosecuting crimes, public safety is a high priority,” McDermott said. “I will vote to require voter ID at the polls. I will remain fiscally conservative and work diligently on the budget to cut wasteful spending like I have on county council. I will advocate to bring high paying jobs to the area by supporting economic growth. I will continue to work on getting more housing in our area, I am currently in the process of putting together a coalition in the county.”
McDermott said she learned the value of a hard days work from her father, a coal mine worker and her mom. She and her husband have owned their business for over 25 years and they know how to work a budget.
“My business and political transactions are based on honesty and integrity — I have upheld that in every capacity in which I served. I’m currently serving my second term on Luzerne County Council. I was elected and then re-elected, top vote-getter, which I believe is an expression of voter confidence in me.
McDermott said she is a community leader — and a member and past president of the Junior League of Wilkes-Barre; a founding and current member of the Luzerne County Republican Women; serves on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport board.
“I am a committed public servant and I believe in always responding to constituents which I will continue to do when elected.”
• Patrick Musto
Age: 74
Residence: Dallas Township
Education: Graduate of King’s College. B.A. Education and American Literature
Job: Owner Tuft-Tex Flooring Plains Township
Family: Wife, Valerie Hayden for 35 years; two daughters; one granddaughter.
On the issues:
“Certain issues require attention to bring back the standard of living and quality of life,” Musto said. “One such issue is the matter of parental rights and school choice. The introduction of the Kooth program into schools in Pennsylvania is seen as an attempt to take away parents’ authority in raising their children. Specifically, prescribing transgenderism as a solution for managing a child’s mental health is viewed as a leftist ideology that has no place in educational institutions.
“It is imperative that we expand the school choice program in Pennsylvania to allow for a student-centric education system, wherein education tax dollars follow the child. This would enable us to provide an education that caters to the unique needs of each student and prepares them for a successful future.
“Over the past 15 years, the issue of property tax elimination has been noticeably absent from election discussions. It appears that the political elite has been collaborating with special interest groups to endorse any proposed legislation aimed at eliminating property taxes. It’s unjust for property owners to lose their valuable investments due to exorbitant property taxes.
“The First and Second Amendments are currently facing attacks. It is important to honor and believe in our Constitutional guarantee of freedoms, as they are the foundation of our exceptional country that serves as an example of freedom to the world.”
John Morgan, Democrat
Age: 48
Residence: Exeter Borough
Education: Graduate of Wyoming Area High School; Luzerne County Community College, associate’s degree; Marywood University, Bachelor of Science degree
Job: Councilman (had to resign from his state job to run for this office)
Family: Wife, Michelle, 24 years; sons, John, 20; Jacob, 16
On the issues:
Public education: “I support Governor Shapiro’s historic plan to increase funding for public education. My wife Michelle has been a public school teacher for 25 years so I am well aware of the needs, including equitable school funding, increased student mental health services and staff, and addressing the critical staff shortages in our public schools.”
Minimum wage: “I do support an increase to the minimum wage. Living on $7.25 per hour is not sustainable and is hurting our working families and our economy.”
Gun ownership: “I support responsible gun ownership. I believe we can reduce gun violence while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners. I believe background checks should be expanded.”
Abortion: “It is a woman’s right to make choices regarding her body and health decisions — not the government.”
Marijuana: “I believe we need to first evaluate the pros and cons of the medical marijuana treatment program.”
Election administration: “I do not support any substantive changes to laws affecting election administration and mail in ballots. Mail in ballots have been proven to be secure, convenient, and efficient. Voting needs to be made easier not more difficult.”
Public safety: “I am a strong supporter of our police and first responders. We need to make sure they have all the resources they need in order to be able to do their jobs safely and effectively.”
Fern Leard, Democrat
Age: 39
Residence: Dallas Township
Education: Certified Nursing Assistant Training, Marywood University
Experience: I held a variety of positions in the financial sector before transitioning into the health care field where I spent several years working in pediatrics as well as with our elderly communities in facility/home settings. As a political advocate, I earned a 10-plus year education on the inner-workings of government and successfully advocated for the passage of healthcare legislation in Washington D.C.
Job: Committeewoman
Family: Twin boys, 12, Logan and Trevor; Life partner, Daniel
On the issues:
Cost of living: “Many Pennsylvanians are struggling to make ends meet while everything but our wages go up,” Leard said. “Our minimum wage needs to be a family sustaining wage. We are losing a lot of tax revenue by allowing companies operating in PA, that have incorporated their business out-of-state, avoid paying state taxes while leaving small and local businesses to shoulder that bill, we must close that tax loophole.
Reproductive freedoms: “I am a strong advocate for reproductive freedoms and I will continue to fight tirelessly to protect access to birth control, IVF, and abortion care. I support removing the spousal notice provision and the 24hr waiting period from Pennsylvania’s Abortion Law.
Education: “Pennsylvania currently ranks #36 in the nation for public education and we have a lot of work to do to change that. All children deserve a quality education and that begins with our teachers and it’s long-past time for us to address the ever-increasing teacher shortage. It is our responsibility to provide our children with a foundation that allows them the opportunity to succeed and we need equitable and adequate funding to provide that to Pennsylvania’s students.”
Uncontested Primary races
U.S. Senate
Bob Casey, D-Scranton (Incumbent)
William Parker, D-Pittsburgh
Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh
Joseph Vodvarka, R-Robinson Township
Brandi Tomasetti, R-Lancaster Township
U.S. House of Representatives
• 8th District
Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic (Incumbent)
Rob Bresnahan, R-Dallas Township
• 9th District
Dan Meuser, R-Dallas (Incumbent)
Amanda Waldman, D-Mill Creek Township
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• 116th District
Deborah Adoff, D-East Union Township
Dane Watro, R-Kline Township (Incumbent)
• 118th District
Jim Haddock, D-Pittston Township (Incumbent)
McKayla Kathio, R-Jenkins Township
• 119th District
Megan Kocher, D-Plymouth
Alec Ryncavage, R-Plymouth (Incumbent)
• 121st District
Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre (Incumbent)
(No Republican candidate)
Pennsylvania Senate
• 27th District
Patricia Lawton, D-Hemlock Township
Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-Rockefeller (Incumbent)
• 29th District
John Zugarek, D-White Haven
Dave Argall, R-Rush Township (Incumbent)