On Nov. 3, Pennsylvania voters will choose a governor and lieutenant governor to serve and represent them for the next four years.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, elected in 2022, is seeking a second term. He faces Republican nominee Stacy Garrity and Libertarian Ken Krawchuk.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, also elected in 2022, is running for a second term alongside Shapiro. Republican nominee Jason Richey and Libertarian John Thomas are challenging him.
As Pennsylvania’s chief executive, the governor oversees the executive branch, carries out state laws, signs or vetoes bills passed by the General Assembly and proposes the annual state budget.
Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, the state’s second-highest official, presides over the Senate and assumes the governor’s duties when needed. The lieutenant governor also chairs the Board of Pardons, the Emergency Management Council and other assigned boards.
Josh Shapiro, Austin Davis campaign highlights
Before becoming Pennsylvania’s governor, Shapiro served as a state attorney and representative, as well as a county commissioner in his home county of Montgomery.
Shapiro’s campaign highlights his support for funding public education, investing in law enforcement and community programs, creating statewide jobs to drive economic growth and protecting Pennsylvanians’ rights.
One of his most recent actions was signing an executive order to enforce stricter regulations and environmental protections against data centers in Pennsylvania, though he has previously said data centers can provide economic benefits.
In 2023, Shapiro included funding in the state budget to provide free breakfast to all K-12 students, regardless of income, and has continued that funding in every budget proposal since.
He is also working to make healthcare more affordable by lowering prescription drug prices, investing in treatment programs, eliminating costs for certain preventive cancer screenings, expanding access to mental health services and more.
“Through it all, Governor Shapiro continues – as he’s done throughout his career – to take on big fights, bring people together to get stuff done, and defend Pennsylvanians’ rights and freedoms,” his campaign site reads.
Alongside Shapiro is Davis, Pennsylvania’s first African American lieutenant governor and the nation’s youngest sitting lieutenant governor. He previously served as a state representative and led the Allegheny County House Democratic Delegation.
In office, Davis has focused on reducing gun violence, supporting local minority-owned businesses, advocating for working families and advancing economic equality across Pennsylvania.
Davis helped launch the Building Opportunity Through Out-of-School Time Program, which awards grants for structured after-school and summer programs that give students a safe environment.
In addition, he championed the Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program, which aims to reduce gun violence and crime statewide, distributing $85 million in grants to projects. He also helped secure a $4 million grant from the Department of Justice for hospital-level violence intervention programs.
Stacey Garrity, Jason Richey campaign highlights
Garrity served in the Army Reserves for 30 years, completed three deployments and attained the rank of colonel, during which she received two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit. She later became a businesswoman and rose to vice president of Global Tungsten & Powders.
As the current state treasurer, she focuses on eliminating wasteful spending, preventing taxpayer abuse and ensuring state transparency.
Her running mate, Richey, worked as a union steelworker while attending law school. After graduating, he returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh to practice law and later became a partner at K&L Gates, where he gained experience exposing government corruption.
Together, their campaign criticizes Shapiro’s current administration and pledges to “Turn Around PA” by making life more affordable, lowering property taxes, restoring government transparency and revitalizing Pennsylvania’s energy sector.
Garrity plans to loosen regulations, reform mandates and lift the ban on new drilling sites to increase energy production. She would then use the revenue generated to help the state recover from its $5 billion budget deficit.
By improving the state’s energy infrastructure and production, Garrity believes this will slash utility bills by up to 25%. Their administration would also cut taxes, end tax stacking and eliminate hidden costs on Pennsylvanians’ electric bills.
To ease property tax burdens, their administration would like to launch the Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere initiative, directing state funds toward property tax rebates. The initiative would also include a program to support first-time homebuyers.
Additionally, Garrity wants to require voter ID, invest more in students, protect girls’ sports and root out government waste and abuse to restore transparency and accountability.
“Our Turn Around PA plan is a promise worthy of the Commonwealth that gave birth to this nation. Together, we will unleash a new era of economic prosperity, make life more affordable for families, renew the American Dream, rebuild trust in our institutions, and put power back where it belongs — the PEOPLE,” a statement from her campaign site read.
Ken Krawchuk, John Thomas campaign highlights
Since registering as a Libertarian in 1993, Krawchuk has run three times for governor, as well as for state representative and commissioner in Abington Township.
He founded an IT consulting firm and works as a business architect in the pharmaceutical, insurance and financial sectors. Krawchuk is also a freelance writer and professional speaker, and was the lead inventor of a multi-patented database management system.
Thomas ran as the Libertarian candidate for Senate in 2024 and finished third. He has spent 20 years working in education at public, private and cyber charter schools. Based on this experience, he believes families should be free to choose how their children are educated.
Their campaign centers on privatizing public schools to improve student education and eliminate property taxes.
Krawchuk claims that public education isn’t helping Pennsylvania students and believes that the government should deposit funding into an education savings account for each student each year, letting parents decide how to spend it on education.
“I’m expecting the voters will be — and have been — very receptive to the Libertarian plan to eliminate the much-hated school property tax and to fix our failing schools,” he said in a press release.
To address rising tax rates, Krawchuk also supports vetoing all tax increases and what he considers unnecessary budget items, such as funding for sports stadiums, union wage laws, film subsidies and liquor stores.
During his term, he would also eliminate the state personal income tax and conduct a line-by-line budget audit to cut what he deems unconstitutional or wasteful.
On elections, Krawchuk wants to eliminate mail-in ballots, require voter ID, prohibit out-of-state campaign contributions and establish term limits. He has also called for defunding Pennsylvania’s primary elections.
“More than HALF the state senate, state rep and congressional candidates are unopposed, not to mention both governor candidates. It’s obvious our elections are demanding we institute immediate, badly-needed reform. And we Libertarians are just the ones to answer that call,” his campaign site read.
- Josh Shapiro Campaign website: https://joshshapiro.org/
- Austin Davis Campaign website: https://davisforpa.com/
- Stacy Garrity Campaign website: https://garrityforpa.com/
- Jason Richey Campaign website: https://richeyforpa.com/
- Ken Krawchuk and John Thomas Campaign website: https://www.kenk4pa.com/
