March 21, 2022
City & State Pennsylvania
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WOMEN TO WATCH DURING THE MIDTERMS
These candidates could be responsible for some of the year’s biggest upsets. By Justin Sweitzer
WILD FOR CONGRESS
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INCE THE LATE 1980s, March has routinely been designated as a month to remember, honor and celebrate the contributions of women across the nation. In recent years, Pennsylvania has seen women shatter glass ceilings – from the election of the “Fab Four” to Congress in 2018 to the election of two female floor leaders in 2020, the state has seen progress in putting more women in positions of power, even if it has been incremental and short of what some would prefer to see. The state’s 2022 midterm elections, however, could represent a landmark moment for female representation in elected office. Women on both sides of the aisle are running for some of the state’s most coveted seats, and Pennsylvania voters could end up electing women to the U.S. Senate, the governor’s office and the lieutenant governor’s office, among other elected posts. The following is City & State’s look at five women candidates in this year’s midterm elections whose success could reshape the political landscape in Pennsylvania – and make history in the process.
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SUSAN WILD U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat, is under an intense spotlight after the state Supreme Court adopted a new congressional map that left Wild in a much more competitive district. Throughout her time in Congress, Wild has prioritized access to mental health care, lowering prescription drug costs, and workforce issues, but she is now attempting to fend off a challenge from Republican Lisa Scheller for the second time – and this time she
will have to do so in a red-tinged district. According to FiveThirtyEight, the 7th Congressional District has a 4-point Republican lean. The Cook Political Report gives Republicans a slight edge, rating the district as a “toss-up” while giving the GOP a 2-point advantage in its Partisan Voter Index score, meaning Wild will likely have to campaign against the political headwinds to keep her seat in November.
