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HomeJudicial Candidates
Judicial Candidates
2025  

Information for Pennsylvania Voters
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In the 2025 General Election, Allegheny County voters will be choosing judges and justices at all levels of the PA Unified Court System.  In 2025, there are open judicial seats on:
  • Statewide Courts - PA  Superior Court and PA Commonwealth Court
  • Countywide Court - Court of Common Pleas
  • Local Courts - Magisterial District Courts
In addition, there are judges and justices running for retention at all levels.

For more information about Pennsylvania's court system, see our PA Courts page.
2025 Election Pages
Evaluating Candidates for Judge
Judicial Campaign Rules
Candidates for judge are not allowed to state their views on any issues that may come up in a court case.    Voters may care very much about recent court rulings on election law, reproductive rights, gun safety and other issues, but judicial candidates cannot answer questions about, or campaign on these issues.  

In some judicial races, it is hard to tell a candidate's political party.  In the Magisterial and Common Pleas races, candidates often run in both the Democratic and Republican primaries, and appear on the fall ballot with the party label of the primary they won... sometimes both.  And judicial retention candidates do not have any party listing  on the ballot. 

These election rules can make it challenging for voters to choose between candidates.  Here are some general tips and resources for evaluation the judicial candidates on your ballot.
Judicial Election "Explainers"


Help Choosing PA Judges
https://www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1604545

Judges- How We Elect Them and What They Do
https://www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1500969
Vote411.org

Visit Vote411.org and enter your address to see which candidates will be on your ballot. 

If they responded to our invitation, you will find biographical data and survey responses, along with website and social media contact information.

Use the  links provided to visit a candidate's campaign website or view their social media accounts for a fuller picture of the candidate.
Vote411 logo
Bar Association Ratings

Bar Associations are non-partisan, non-profit, professional organizations for lawyers and law students .  They evaluate candidates using a merit-based assessment of their professional conduct, knowledge, ability and character. 

The Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) and the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) rate candidates for county and state-wide courts.  You can also view the candidate's Personal Data Questionnaire that was submitted for review for a fuller picture of the candidate's work experience.  

Candidates are rated as Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended based on an interview and records review by a bipartisan committee of their peers.  You can find explanations of these ratings on the ACBA website.   

View the ratings and questionnaires from:

Candidate Endorsements

Advocacy groups and politicians may endorse judicial candidates.
Although candidates for judge cannot state their views on any issues, outside groups and other politicians can state their views on judges.   Single-issue interest groups often issue endorsements of judicial candidates based on their knowledge of the candidate's record.  Candidates may post these endorsements on their campaign websites, or the advocacy group may publish a list of endorsements. 

Try an internet search like "Jane McDoe Commonwealth Court endorsements." 
Retention Candidates

Accordion Widget
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)

Judicial retention is a way of re-electing judges without repeating the partisan competition and campaigning of a typical election. 


In Pennsylvania, judges are elected to the state courts for 10 year terms. When judges are elected to a state court for the first time, they run in partisan campaigns and may compete against other candidates. Then, when their 10-year terms are over, they are up for retention.  In a retention election:

  • No other candidates are permitted to run for the seat.
  • The judge's political party is not listed.
  • Voters are asked a simple yes/no question: Should we keep this judge for another 10-year term, or not? 

This is meant to keep judges out of partisan politics as much as possible. It is very unusual for a judge to lose a retention vote. 



How can you evaluate retention candidates? 

Judges who are up for retention do not have campaigns or participate in forums or candidate guides, which makes it even harder to find information about them.  But, they are rated by the State or County Bar Association.  You can read the ratings and supporting documentation at the links below. 

The Pennsylvania Bar Association recommends a "Yes" vote for all statewide retention questions.  PA Bar Association Ratings 2025.  

The  Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) has rated all of the retention candidates for Common Pleas Court. 

The ACBA recommends a "Yes" vote for all Allegheny County Common Pleas Court retention questions.  ACBA Ratings 2025
Candidate Information for Statewide Courts
Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth Courts
Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Candidates for Pennsylvania Supreme Court 
There are no open seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2025.  However, there are 3 Supreme Court justices who are up for retention.  

PA Supreme Court
Retention Questions           

Three Justices of the PA Supreme Court are up for retention:

Shall Christine Donahue be retained for an additional term as Justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
Shall Kevin M. Dougherty be retained for an additional term as Justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
Shall David Wecht be retained for an additional term as Justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?

 
Accordion Widget
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)

Judicial retention is a way of re-electing judges without repeating the partisan competition and campaigning of a typical election. 


In Pennsylvania, judges are elected to the state courts for 10 year terms. When judges are elected to a state court for the first time, they run in partisan campaigns and may compete against other candidates. Then, when their 10-year terms are over, they are up for retention.  In a retention election:

  • No other candidates are permitted to run for the seat.
  • The judge's political party is not listed.
  • Voters are asked a simple yes/no question: Should we keep this judge for another 10-year term, or not? 

This is meant to keep judges out of partisan politics as much as possible. It is very unusual for a judge to lose a retention vote. 


"Fireside" Chat with Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices

Monday, September 8, 5:00 pm


Join us for a special Fireside Chat with the three Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices up for retention in the upcoming election. This unique event offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from the justices about their roles, experiences on the bench, and what retention means for our judicial system.


Fireside Chat PA Supreme Court Retention 2025

Register here
Sponsored by

- Committee of Seventy
- Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
- League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania

In partnership with:
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- Montgomery County Bar Association
- Allegheny County Bar Association
- Berks County Bar Association
- Delaware County Bar Association
- PA Youth Votes
- Forum of Executive Women
- Vote That Jawn
- New PA Project Education Fund



Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Candidates for PA Superior Court



View this race on Vote 411:
 
PA Superior Court Information 

Judge of the Superior Court
1 opening


Democratic Candidate: 

  • Judge Brandon Neuman

Republican Candidate:

  • Judge Maria Battista

Liberal Candidate: 

  • Daniel Wassmer

 

Vote411 "Mini-Guide" Coming Soon...

We're working on it!

PA Superior Court
Retention Candidates           

There is one retention candidate for PA Superior Court:
Shall Alice Dubow be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
 
Accordion Widget
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)

Judicial retention is a way of re-electing judges without repeating the partisan competition and campaigning of a typical election. 


In Pennsylvania, judges are elected to the state courts for 10 year terms. When judges are elected to a state court for the first time, they run in partisan campaigns and may compete against other candidates. Then, when their 10-year terms are over, they are up for retention.  In a retention election:

  • No other candidates are permitted to run for the seat.
  • The judge's political party is not listed.
  • Voters are asked a simple yes/no question: Should we keep this judge for another 10-year term, or not? 

This is meant to keep judges out of partisan politics as much as possible. It is very unusual for a judge to lose a retention vote. 

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Candidates for PA Commonwealth Court



View this race on Vote 411:

 PA Commonwealth Court Information  

Judge of the Commonwealth Court
1 opening


Democratic Candidate

  • Judge Stella Tsai

Republican Candidate

  • Judge Matt Wolford


 

Vote411 "Mini-Guide" Coming Soon...

We're working on it!

PA Commonwealth Court
Retention Candidates           

There is one retention question for PA Commonwealth Court:
Shall Michael Wojcik be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
 
Accordion Widget
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)
What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)

Judicial retention is a way of re-electing judges without repeating the partisan competition and campaigning of a typical election. 


In Pennsylvania, judges are elected to the state courts for 10 year terms. When judges are elected to a state court for the first time, they run in partisan campaigns and may compete against other candidates. Then, when their 10-year terms are over, they are up for retention.  In a retention election:

  • No other candidates are permitted to run for the seat.
  • The judge's political party is not listed.
  • Voters are asked a simple yes/no question: Should we keep this judge for another 10-year term, or not? 

This is meant to keep judges out of partisan politics as much as possible. It is very unusual for a judge to lose a retention vote. 

Countywide Courts
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
8 Openings

There are 13 Candidates for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. 
Please visit our Common Pleas webpage for information on these candidates.  www.lwvpgh.org/common-pleas 
View a short video message from each candidate in our 
Common Pleas Video Gallery
Candidates for Magisterial District Courts
Allegheny County has 46 Magisterial District Courts.   7 of these Magisterial District Judge seats are up for reelection in 2025.  In each case, only one candidate is running for the position. 


"The Voter" - Newsletter of LWVPGH