State’s 2024 primary election features contests for attorney general and Congress

Pennsylvania’s 2024 primary election may lack drama in the high-stakes races for president and U.S. Senate, but the fields for lower-ballot contests filled up for the state’s attorney general’s office and a handful of its 17 seats in the U.S. House.

The deadline was Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. for Republicans and Democrats to submit voter signatures to get on the April 23 primary ballot.

The battleground state’s primary election is relatively late — and, by then, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden may have locked up the delegates they need to become their parties’ nominees in the November general election for president.

Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey appears unlikely to face a primary opponent while Republican challenger David McCormick may face just token opposition. Control of the U.S. Senate is on the line in 2024, and Casey’s bid for a fourth term is expected to be one of the nation’s most expensive and closely watched races.

Still, primary voters will have choices in other races.

The state allows one week to file court challenges to a candidate’s paperwork, and courts have one more week after that — until Feb. 27 — to render a decision. April 8 is the last day to register to vote before the primary, and April 16 is the last day to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot.

Independents and minor party candidates file paperwork on a different timeline, with a deadline of Aug. 1.

A look at who has filed in each race, according to information from state election officials:

President

Biden and Trump filed to run for president, as did their remaining nationally known primary opponents, Trump’s former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on the Republican ballot and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota on the Democratic ballot.

U.S. Senate

McCormick and Casey filed, as did perennial candidate Joe Vodvarka, a retired spring manufacturer from the Pittsburgh area who is making at least his fifth bid and second as a Republican.

Congress

All 17 incumbents — nine Democrats and eight Republicans — are running for reelection in Pennsylvania’s 17 congressional seats.

Only a handful of the seats are expected to be competitive in the November general election. For the primary, 47 candidates filed to run, including 16 Democratic challengers and 13 Republican challengers.

Most notable are challengers in two districts. In the 7th District in eastern Pennsylvania, there are three Republicans vying for the nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild of Allentown. They are state Rep. Ryan MacKenzie, IT firm owner Kevin Dellicker and lawyer Maria Montero.

Meanwhile in southcentral Pennsylvania’s 10th District, six Democrats are seeking the nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry of York County. They are former public radio executive Blake Lynch, business consultant John Broadhurst, former TV news personality Janelle Stelson, Harrisburg City Council member Shamaine Daniels, retired Marine Corps pilot Michael O’Brien and Rick Coplen, a teacher and retired army officer.

Every incumbent has a general election challenger, except for Democratic U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans of Philadelphia.

In the primary, just four have a challenger: Evans, Pittsburgh-area Democratic U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly of Butler and Bryan Fitzpatrick of Bucks County.

Attorney General

Five Democrats filed for the party’s primary. They include state Rep. Jared Solomon of Philadelphia, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, former state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former federal prosecutor Joe Kahn and Keir Bradford-Grey, the former head of Philadelphia’s and Montgomery County’s public defense lawyers.

On the Republican side, York County’s district attorney, Dave Sunday, and state Rep. Craig Williams of Delaware County filed to run.

Treasurer

Stacy Garrity, the Republican incumbent, filed to run for a second four-year term. On the Democratic side, two filed to run: state Rep. Ryan Bizarro of Erie and Erin McClelland, a two-time congressional candidate in suburban Pittsburgh who has helped run various human services organizations.

Auditor General

The Republican incumbent, Tim DeFoor, filed to run for a second four-year term. On the Democratic side, two filed to run: state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley.