CeaseFire Pennsylvania Releases First Endorsements
Philadelphia, September 18, 2018 – CeaseFire Pennsylvania, the advocacy arm of CeaseFirePA, today released its first endorsements in races for the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. Endorsement decisions were based on an assessment of candidate surveys, voting records of incumbents, and the priority ascribed to the gun violence prevention agenda by the candidates in their public statements and actions. We anticipate releasing additional endorsements in the coming weeks.
Earlier in September, CeaseFire Pennsylvania designated candidates in many races across PA as Commonsense Candidates (the full list can be found here). Most of our endorsements fall in races where only one candidate earned that designation. Where both candidates earned the distinction, but we are still making an endorsement, we explain our decision below.
House of Representatives
HD 31 Perry Warren
HD 53 Steve Malagari
HD 74 Dan Williams
HD 150 Joe Webster
HD 156 Carolyn Comitta
HD 161 Leanne Kruger-Braneky
HD 163 Jamie Santora
HD 177 Joe Hohenstein
HD 178 Helen Tai
HD 181 Malcolm Kenyatta
The race in the 163rd House District features two candidates who earned the Commonsense Candidate distinction and who prioritize gun violence prevention. Incumbent Republican Representative Jamie Santora scored high on our survey and has been the prime sponsor of the background check expansion bill in the House. He has worked across the aisle to promote the bill and has signed on to several critical gun violence prevention bills. Challenger Mike Zabel scored 100% on our survey. We are endorsing Rep. Santora because of his commitment to this issue and his leadership on the background check expansion bill.
As noted above, we anticipate releasing additional endorsements in the coming weeks.
