From top left, clockwise: U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman; U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz; gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro; gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano
ELIZABETH ROBERTSON, JOSE F. MORENO, HEATHER KHALIFA, STEVEN M. FALK / PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Pa. election 2022: A basic guide to vetting candidates for U.S. Senate, governor, and more
Want to learn more about Pennsylvania’s 2022 election candidates? Learn how to research who is on your ballot, their stances, and who is funding their campaigns.
Government Reporter
Email: ecoston@spotlightpa.org
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Focus: Legislature, county and local governments
Disinformation has a broad impact on politics and public opinion. Monitoring schools and local government as well as elections and state politics, Coston covers the impacts of disinformation on policy making, elections, and public life. They track false statements from politicians and political organizations, what motivates legislation, and the goals of political movements.
Originally from Southern California, Coston (he/they) got their start covering higher education as a reporting fellow for CalMatters, a nonprofit newspaper. They sued the University of California twice for access to public records in college, and won local journalism awards for their subsequent reporting. Coston graduated from UC San Diego in 2020.
ELIZABETH ROBERTSON, JOSE F. MORENO, HEATHER KHALIFA, STEVEN M. FALK / PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
From top left, clockwise: U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman; U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz; gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro; gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media.
All eyes will be on Pennsylvania this November election as a number of contentious races on the ballot will determine the state’s political future.
In the race for governor, voters will pick between Democrat Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general; Republican Doug Mastriano, a state senator; and a handful of third-party candidates.
In the U.S. Senate, where Democrats’ slim margin hangs in the balance, voters here could determine which party controls the chamber in 2023. Representing them will be either Democrat John Fetterman, the current lieutenant governor, or Republican Mehmet Oz, a retired surgeon and TV personality.
While those races may be getting the most media attention, Pennsylvanians will also vote for their U.S. House representatives and lawmakers in the state legislature, where Democrats seek to chip away at the Republican majority in both the state House and Senate.
It’s vital to thoroughly research the candidates on your ballot, and we’re here to help. Here are a few steps you can take to prepare for Nov. 8:
At least two people are running write-in campaigns for U.S. Senate: Ron Johnson of the Constitution Party and Independent Everett Stern.
All voters will also choose their representative to Congress and to the state House. Half of the lawmakers who serve in the state Senate — those in even-number districts — will be up for reelection.
News articles can offer an in-depth look at a candidate, detail how a community perceives them, and raise any potential red flags about the candidate’s beliefs or affiliations. But it’s important to vet the trustworthiness and accuracy of the news source.
Use candidates’ names and a search engine to learn more about them. Campaign websites usually provide background on a candidate, list their platform, and detail endorsements they’ve received.
Social media accounts sometimes give a more personal look into a candidate’s views and why they’re running for office. Candidates often use social media to engage with voters like you and dive deeper into the policies they support. To find a social media account, search for a candidate’s name plus a social media platform, typing a phrase such as “Jane Smith Twitter” or “Jane Smith Facebook.”
You can look up the legislative history of current and former state lawmakers — the bills they’ve authored, supported by becoming a co-sponsor, or voted for — to get an idea of their values and priorities.
Users can search using the legislature’s “Bills by Sponsor” page, selecting the chamber, session, and lawmaker’s name. Sessions refer to the two-year periods between elections. For example, the current legislative session is from January 2021 to November 2022.
To find a lawmaker’s profile page, you can find their name from the roster pages for the state House and Senate.
Find out who is funding their campaign
Under federal and state campaign finance laws, all candidates are required to regularly file paperwork that shows who has given them money and how they spent it. Donations from political committees, organizations, or even individuals can be an indicator of who influences the candidate, and the policies they might support once elected.
Pennsylvania’s Department of State publishes the financial filings for the governor, lieutenant governor, and legislative candidates. The agency has a special website for people to search for and view filings for candidates and political committees. Using the search function, people can search for specific candidates or committees and choose an election year or filing deadline, called cycles, to view.
Candidate profile pages have all the documents they filed to run for office. From there, you can select their committee, and view all of their financial information.
The campaign finance filings list donors, split between small donations and large donations (greater than $250) from individuals and other political committees, plus a list of the campaign’s expenses during that filing period.
For governor, lieutenant governor, and state legislature candidates, the last filing deadline before the election is in late October.
For U.S. Senate and congressional races, candidates’ finances are available on the Federal Election Commission’s website, which also has a searchable database of candidates and committees. The candidate’s profile lists political committees affiliated with them and a breakdown of their finances. Viewers can click on the committee to view the committee’s finances and their campaign finance reports.
Here are the pages for some of the top candidates in the general election: