LUZERNE
STATE REP CANDIDATES
2026
Three candidates have come forward to run for
State Representative.
117TH
JEREMY BENSCOTER: From the candidate website:
I’m Jeremy Benscoter and I grew up in
the 117th district. I lived in Hunlock Creek, went to Hunlock Creek Elementary,
and graduated from Northwest Area High School. I worked through college and
graduated with a BS in Computer Science from Bloomsburg University. I come from
a family that struggled to put food on the table and had little in the way of
disposable income. I know how a small increase in your utilities can have a
huge impact on your day to day. I have spent my whole life in Hunlock Creek and
have seen the changes that have happened over the years.
Today, I work in technology. I have been a
programmer for over 15 years and have a wide knowledge of the tech industry,
its successes and its failures. I currently work as Director of Information
Technology overseeing a small, privately owned company in Pittsburgh. The
website you are browsing was created by and is managed by me.
I understand that technology is
ever-changing. I will fight to protect us from corporations that want to impose
their expenses on us and take people’s homes. I want to make sure that the data
centers that are popping up across PA pay their fair share in utilities and
don’t pass it on to the rest of us. Just like you, I am tired of seeing my
electric bill go up every year.
Benscooter will have a big hill to climb in
this GOP district but he has drive, a personal message that can resonate as
well as a good presence that voters in that district might respond to.
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JAMIE WALSH Walsh is a first time Representative, but his road
was longer and more arduous than Pugh’s winning a primary by only 3 cotes.
Walsh has a good way of conversing with voters but some of his stances have
been MAGA like. His decision to vote against Black History month is troubling
but to give him the benefit of the doubt he might have been playing to his base
on that one. Walsh has been in the
remodeling and medical devices business and excelled in both. During the last 11 years, Jamie has served as
President of the Lake-Lehman Junior Knights (7 years), and Secretary of the
Wyoming Valley Junior Football Conference (4 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.
The organization provides parents with information and resources to help them
when dealing with issues and advocating for rights in their school districts.
In the last 3 years, Jamie has been to well over 2 dozen school districts
statewide to help parents fight for their rights, but his focus has been
primarily within Luzerne County.
Walsh is opposed by Bill Jones in the spring
primary.
BILL JONES: Bill has committed his entire
career to serving our community. After college, he spent 15 years in the
banking industry, gaining hands-on experience in financial management and
community development. As the Vice President and Community Development Officer
for PNC Bank in NEPA, Bill had state-wide responsibility to ensure the bank was
reinvesting in our communities.
He left banking to become the Chief Operating
Officer of Volunteers of America of PA. He developed and managed programs that
supported the elderly, at-risk children and families, individuals who were
homeless, Veterans, those with intellectual disabilities or mental health
needs, and more.
Most notably, for 12 years, Bill served as
President and CEO of the United Way of Wyoming Valley, where he led a major
transformation of the organization. Under his leadership, United Way focused on
addressing childhood poverty and improving coordination among local agencies
serving children, families, and others in need.
Bill is facing off against incumbent Jamie
Walsh who won by a mere 3 votes in the last election. Walsh has been very critical of the Luzerne County Bureau of
Elections and voted no to recognize Black History month.
Jones is the son of
former County Commissioner Red Jones who served as a commissioner in the 90s.
118TH
JIM HADDOCK Jim Haddock
is the Democratic candidate for the 118th House District and resident of
Pittston Township, and he has a record of proven leadership and delivering
results for our communities. As the former Mayor of Avoca, Jim fought for
residents when it came to quality-of-life issues, and his devotion to
responsible public service means that he will bring common sense solutions to
Harrisburg.
Jim took on the Kerr-McGee organization after
they created an environmental disaster and exposed our residents to deadly
carcinogens for decades. Jim spearheaded the effort to hold Kerr-McGee
accountable, filing an official complaint with the Department of Environmental
Protection and filing a lawsuit to bring justice for those in Avoca and beyond.
His work resulted in compensation of over 5,000 residents.
Jim will bring that same fighting spirit to
Harrisburg for the people of the 118th. His priorities include properly funding
our public education, fight to reduce property taxes, stop the constant
turnpike toll and property tax increases, create living-wage jobs, and secure
affordable healthcare for our families.
JOHN LOMBARDO: In
his second term as County Councilman Lombardo brings name recognition, service
on the Council as well as making sure he shows up at area events. He is
engaging, has outlined priorities that can register with voters and can
navigate any negativity directed at him from the national chaos engendered by
his party. If he faces no primary opposition, he will be a formidable candidate
for the 118th,
119TH
LAUREN MCGURDY McCurdy is filing petitions to run against Alex
Syncavage. In his second term, her opponent has demonstrated good customer
service to his constituents. But unlike the 120th, this district can be more
competitive. McCurdy comes with experience on the Crestwood area school board,
a long record of activism in the Democratic party and can be a reasonable
alternative to the two termer. McCurdy has pushed for more STEM education,
school security and more money allocated for the practical application of tools
needed for education. As a challenger she will need a committed team to focus
in on her candidacy because it appears from what we hear, Ryncavage has a head
start in this race which can with the right support, can be competitive.
ALEC RYNCAVAGE of Plymouth, is honored to bring his unique
experiences forging his own non-traditional pathway to define a new chapter for
the people of the 119th Legislative District in Luzerne County and deliver
prosperity for all of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Alec has been appointed to the following
committees for the 2025-26 Legislative Session: Consumer Protection, Technology
& Utilities, Finance, Gaming Oversight, Local Government, and
Transportation.
Ryncavage is running for a third term and has
beaten back two Democratic opponents handily.
120th
FERN LEARD:
Leard has announced her campaign for State Representative in the 120th
Legislative District. If nominated, Leard, 41, a Democrat from Dallas Township,
will try to unseat Rep. Brenda Pugh, R-Dallas Township. “I’m running because
the working class deserves more than promises,” Learn said. “We deserve a
fighter. We deserve a voice that comes from our communities and never forgets
who it represents. Leard said for too long, working families have been asked to
carry the weight of an economy stacked against them. “I know that struggle
personally,” Leard said. “I grew up in foster care. I worked multiple
service-industry jobs just to survive. I know what it’s like to worry about
bills, healthcare, and whether hard work will ever truly be enough.”
Leard said that lived experience is why she
spent over a decade fighting in Washington, D.C., to ensure that health
insurance covered lymphedema treatment, so millions of Americans could access
the care they deserve.
“And it’s why I’m running now — to bring that
same relentless advocacy back home,” Leard said.
The challenges facing the district affect
all, Leard said.
“But it’s also that shared struggle that
unites us and fuels my determination to build a future where families can
finally breathe easier,” she said. “A future where everyday necessities are
affordable, our rights are protected, and no one is pushed aside so powerful
interests can profit. This moment demands leadership that puts people first,
not politics, not corporations, not insiders.”
Leard said her campaign is grounded in the
belief that the community’s future can be fairer, strong120th er, and shaped by
the people who live here.
Leard is facing primary opposition from
Attorney Johann Bryn Smith. Leard has demonstrated that she can run an uphill
campaign on her own. Last year the state campaign committee did little to help
her efforts because the 120th has been primarily a Republican stronghold with
the exception of the Phyllis Mundy era. Both Bryn Smith and KLeard have already
lost in the district and to me, just my opinion a primary fight in this area
will not help in the uphill climb to unseat Rachel Pugh.
JOANNA BRYN SMITH The top voter in the 23 County Council race,
Bryn Smith has shown she could have voter appeal. Previously she had run
against Aaron Kaufer and was handily defeated. Why she has chosen to enter into
a primary battle with Fern Leard is not surprising. If the powers that they think
her primary opponent Fern Leard (who has also been previously defeated by GOP
Kaufer and Brenda Pugh) was intimated by
a Democratic Executive committee action, they have another thing coming. Leard
has a very hard core constituency and despite promises that a new transplant to
Kingston is going to guarantee that vote. This is going to be a hard climb for
both Leard and Bryn Smith but in the end might be futile.
This has always been a Republican seat. There
have been only two Democrats who had this west side seat. The late Frank Cossin
Senior (but he was gerrymandered out by a GOP legislature in 1964 and Phyllis
Mundy who beat an incumbent who was under an insurance fraud investigation.
(Mundy on the strength of her incumbency went on to serve for twenty plus
years) . Even though strides have been
made to turn the district blue, there is still a big registration gap that will
be hard to overcome.
My big fear for the Dems is this. They might
become the Luzerne GOP of the 90s when
the party was content to battle it out in the primary with multiple candidates
only to be beaten by the GOP. There were entertaining primaries but had no
effect in the General.
BRENDA PUGH Born
and raised here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Brenda is a successful business
owner, wife, mother, and trusted community leader. She shares our priorities,
strong values, and is best prepared to use her proven experience and skills to
serve as our next State Representative. Brenda is seeking the Republican
nomination for the State House seat currently held by retiring State
Representative Aaron Kaufer.
"As State Representative, I will use my
proven 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.”
As a candidate Pugh is formidable with that
huge registration lead and has continued the important aspects of constituent
service through a response team in her local office. She kicked off her
campaign on the 17th of this month.
121rst
JESSICA McCLAY: She has served on various
city boards, was elected as a city Council woman in ’23 and is now City Council
Chair. Prior to taking her seat on council, McClay served as a volunteer on the
city’s Planning and Fire/Civil Service Commission as well as the Traffic Committee. Prior to
taking her seat on council, McClay served as a volunteer on the city’s Planning
and Fire/
Civil Service Commission, During her service on the Wilkes-Barre City
Council, McClay said she has championed fiscal responsibility and public safety
investments. She said she has earned a reputation with city residents as a
hard-working, responsive councilwoman who listens to their concerns and acts
promptly to address them.
McClay said she collaborated with the Mayor’s
administration to pursue more grants to secure essential resources, while
shifting the financial burden away from taxpayers. McClay said she supported
funding for crucial equipment to keep city firefighters safe and for new,
state-of-the-art police vehicles for city officers to modernize the
Wilkes-Barre Police Department’s fleet. As a member of the Fire Civil Service
Commission, she said she worked closely with the city fire department to
streamline the hiring of qualified firefighters.
McClay said her campaign will focus on making
life more affordable for working Pennsylvanians, attracting high-paying union
jobs to the region, and investing in our schools and small businesses. Her
other priorities include expanding access to affordable healthcare and
supporting our first responders.
DENISE THOMAS: The 4 term Wilkes-Barre Area
School Director has put her hat in the ring for the 121rst. Thomas has good
name recognition and will have a base of support in the school district as well
as Rolling Mill Hill. According to a
press release, Thomas highlighted her goals as state representative.
• Working to ensure state funding supports
our communities in ways that ease financial pressure on families and strengthen
local budgets.
• Expanding access to affordable healthcare,
including strengthening community-based and mental health services.
• Fully, fairly funding public education so
districts are not forced to choose between quality education and raising taxes.
• Responsible budgeting in Harrisburg, ensuring
taxpayer dollars are managed with discipline and transparency.
As a proud member of a family with five
generations rooted in the community, Thomas says public service is personal and
was instilled in her thanks to her parents, Anthony and Terry Gonda Thomas.
ANN MARIE MONTIONE: of South Wikes-Barre has entered the race to succeed
Eddie Day Pashinski. Mantione is the Pupil Services Director at the Hanover
Area School District. Montione has been associated with the District and can
leverage her educational background into an issue that constantly comes before
the State Legislature.
With her entry the race now has three Democratic women
from virtually three sections of the city. Jessica McClay from the Northend has
received the endorsement from Democratic heavy weights and School Director Denise
Thomas has a built-in contingency of voters familiar with her work on the
Wilkes-Barre Area School Board. As a newcomer to the electoral process,
Mantione has to make the case as to how her school experience can equal that of
two individuals who have governed. Mantione’s task now is to get her name on
the ballot through petitions and make the rounds.
MIKE HAROSTOCK the lone Republican has announced his
candidacy for State Representative in Pennsylvania’s 121st Legislative
District, challenging the Democratic nominee and citing a
need for forward-looking leadership in Harrisburg. Harostock, 41, is the mayor
of Bear Creek.
Harostock said his campaign is rooted in a
deep commitment to the people of Luzerne County and a belief that state
government must better reflect the voices, values, and priorities of the
communities it serves.
Harostock said he will unite the community by
focusing on bringing new energy, innovation, and accountability to Harrisburg,
while protecting the values and traditions that make our communities strong.
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