Reclaim Philadelphia's 2025 General Election Ballot Guide
Reclaim Philadelphia's 2025 General Election Ballot Guide
Reclaim Philadelphia’s Citywide Committee invites you to support our member endorsed candidates for Philadelphia’s General Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. We’ve also detailed some recommendations in races that were not part of our member endorsement process. Recommended candidates will have a (*) next to their name.
Judge of the Superior Court
(#101) Brandon Neuman* (Democrat)
Brandon Neuman has been serving as a Washington County Common Pleas judge since 2018 and previously was elected as a State Representative. As State Representative, he championed legislation that sped up the processing of rape kits. As a Common Pleas judge, he ordered Washington County to notify voters if their mail-in ballots had errors. This would help voters cure their ballots making sure every vote counts. He is highly recommended by the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Bar Association. This court currently has a slim Democrat majority. The only judge up for retention vote for Superior Court this election is also a Democrat. We must fight both to elect Brandon Neuman and retain Alice Beck Dubow for Superior Court this November to protect the Democrat majority.
Judge of the Commonwealth Court
(#102) Stella Tsai* (Democrat)
Stella Tsai is a Philadelphian serving on the Court of Common Pleas since 2016 where she was first appointed and later ran and won a ten year term. In her court, we have seen Judge Stella Tsai be fair and impartial. When Committee People across the city had their petitions challenged by Philadelphia’s Democratic establishment, she erred to allow them to remain on the ballot because she believed we should make it easier, not harder, for people to run for local office. Currently there are no AAPI judges serving on Pennsylvania's higher courts and only 3 women of color. She is highly recommended by the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Bar Association and is the recipient of the nonpartisan Philadelphia Bar Association’s Sandra Day O’Connor award. PA’s Commonwealth Court is the only statewide court with a Republican majority. Additionally, the only judge up for retention vote for Commonwealth Court this election is also held by a Democrat. It is imperative that we vote to elect Stella Tsai and retain Michael H. Wojcik for Commonwealth Court this November to work towards a Democrat majority in the near future.
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
Bullet vote the following candidates
(#103) Will Braveman (Democrat)
(#104) Sarah Jones (Democrat)
(#106) Kia Ghee (Democrat)
(#107) Irina Ehrlich (Democrat)
(#108) Larry Farnese (Democrat)
(#110) Brian Kisielewski (Democrat)
Judge of the Municipal Court
Bullet vote the following candidates
(#114) Amanda Davidson (Democrat)
(#115) Sherrie Cohen (Democrat)
(#116) Cortez Patton (Democrat)
Since 2017, Reclaim Philadelphia has made endorsements for judicial candidates running for seats on Philadelphia’s Courts. Our communities deserve judges who understand public safety isn’t something we achieve by locking up enough people in cages. Judges are critical fixtures of the prison industrial complex, and in that system they hold a tremendous amount of power over our lives and our communities.
We recommend voters “bullet vote” the judicial candidates Reclaim Philadelphia members voted to endorse. Bullet Voting is a voting tactic when voters choose to vote for less candidates than the full number they are allowed to vote for. This leads to an increase in votes for more targeted candidates. There are no Republican candidates running for Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas or Municipal Court. So voting for fewer candidates will not threaten any Democrat candidates, but it will send a message to the Democratic establishment which candidates Philadelphians prefer.
Magic Seats/Golden Tickets
Did you notice that there are a few judicial candidate names on your ballot that didn’t run in the primary? When current judges seeking to be retained for another term in the November General Election decide to drop off the ballot after the primary it creates vacancies. They are often referred to as “magic seats” and “golden tickets” because the Democratic party can then place preferred candidates on the ballot – and with no Republicans running, these candidates are guaranteed to win a lucrative ten year position. None of the candidates selected by the Democratic City Committee participated in Reclaim Philadelphia’s endorsement process or received any votes from Democrat voters because they all chose not to run in the Primary Election. The candidates that have been added to the ballot for Court of Common Pleas are Joseph J. Russo and Jennifer Santiago. Michael Parkinson has been added to the ballot for Municipal Court.
District Attorney
(#118) Larry Krasner (Democrat)
Eight years after his first election, Philadelphia voters have proven that safety doesn’t come from simply locking our neighbors up. Larry Krasner has shown us what is possible with a progressive vision built on using diversionary initiatives for low-level offenses so his office can focus its time and resources on the most serious of crimes. His office has taken a public health approach to the drug crisis and focused on the root causes. Instead of prosecuting people for simple drug possession, he’s sued Big Pharma for their role in this epidemic. He has held bad cops accountable, convicting police officers for crimes for the first time since 1978! His record exonerations of 18 innocent people unjustly incarcerated account for 10% of exonerations nationwide. Many had tried to build a narrative that this campaign was radical and would lead to increases in crime. But like Krasner’s campaign slogan in 2017 rightly predicted: Justice makes us safer. Even Krasner’s opponents cannot deny that violence and homicide rates in the city have gone down under his leadership with a murder rate 25% lower than the year he took office.
When Larry Krasner was first elected in 2017, it was seen as our movement’s first win following the election of President Donald Trump. A public defender elected as District Attorney in the most incarcerated city in America started a national dialogue around the need for progressive prosecutors. Since then, Krasner has won every primary election in landslides despite Philadelphia’s Democratic establishment either refusing to support or actively opposing him. This year for the third time, Reclaim’s leadership asks our members to stand with a proven winner and defender of our civil rights.
Today, we find ourselves politically in a moment even more precarious than when Krasner was first elected in 2017. Donald Trump is president again and Republicans control every branch of the federal government as well as the Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s office. Locally, our Mayor Cherelle Parker and the majority of City Council appear more aligned with Trump and Republican’s tough-on-crime policies than the vision of Philadelphia voters. Krasner has vowed to hold ICE agents accountable against the Mayor’s lukewarm commitments to upholding Philadelphia’s sanctuary city status.
What do New York and Philadelphia have in common this General election? Two sore losers that turned their back on Democrat voters. Like Andrew Cuomo, District Attorney candidate Patrick Dugan lost big to a popular progressive candidate in the Municipal Primary Election. Instead of respecting the will of the majority of Democrat voters, Dugan is now running again in the general election – but this time as a Republican. This was after he promised throughout the primary that he would never run as anything but a Democrat. What’s even more upsetting, is that Dugan who has run as a Democrat for state judge should know better. He knows that democratic turnout in Philadelphia is extremely important for the success of Democrats running for statewide office. This is even more precarious in a year where we are seeing the Republican party and Right wing billionaires investing millions to kick Democrats off our courts. Patrick Dugan will lose this election, but his ego-driven decision to run as a Republican could cost us Pennsylvania’s state courts. He risks boosting turnout for Republicans in Philadelphia who would’ve stayed home but will now turn out because they incorrectly think they have an opportunity to kick out Krasner. This is unforgivable.
City Controller
No Recommendation
Judge of Election & Inspector of Election
No Recommendation
The Judge of Elections and Inspector of Elections are very hyperlocal elections running in divisions typically covering just 4-6 blocks. They are responsible for making sure election day runs smoothly and the voting process is administered legally and fairly. Unfortunately, many times these seats remain vacant because no one knows about them. In last year’s general election, this created a vacuum that Republicans then used to appoint 200 Republicans to these vacant seats, mostly for Minority Inspector. Is there no one on your ballot for Judge of Election or Inspector of Election? Maybe this is your opportunity to run as a write-in and make sure Republicans don't get appointed to these seats. You can win with as few as ten of your neighbors writing-in your name for these vacant seats when they vote! Not a democrat? That’s okay – this is one of the few races that Independent or third party voters can actually win. Are you thinking of running as a write-in and would like support to think about how? Let us know!
Judicial Retentions - Supreme Court
“Shall the Justices listed below be retained for an additional term as Justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?”
Vote YES - Christine Donohoue*
Vote YES - Kevin M. Dougherty*
Vote YES - Dave Wecht*
Judicial Retentions - Superior Court
“Shall the Judge listed below be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?”
Vote YES - Alice Beck Dubow*
Judicial Retentions - Commonwealth Court
“Shall the Judge listed below be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Commonwealth Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?”
Vote YES - Michael H. Wojcik*
The most important races in the November 4 General Election are the judicial retention races for statewide courts. Judges for all 3 appellate state court races run in partisan elections to serve ten year terms. After those ten years, judges run in retention elections for an additional ten year term until they age out at 75. These elections are nonpartisan, so there will be no party listed next to a candidate name, and they also aren’t competing against any other candidates. Voters are simply asked to vote yes or no to give a judge another ten year term. Although it won’t be listed on the ballot, all 5 candidates up for retention this election are Democrats.
Right wing billionaires Elon Musk (richest man in the world) and Jeffrey Yass (richest man in Pennsylvania) have invested millions of dollars trying to kick Democrats off state courts. Jeff Yass has been spending more and more money trying to buy our elections. In 2018 he spent $3.2 million and it went all the way up to $35 million in 2024. Voters are already receiving misleading mailers from PACs funded by Yass urging voters to vote no on judicial retention. This is similar to what we saw in Wisconsin earlier this year, when Elon Musk and the right wing attempted to take over their Supreme Court.
In the PA Supreme Court, Democrats have a majority with 5 seats and Republicans having 2. But all 3 judges up for retention (Christine Donohue, Kevin M Dougherty, and David Wecht) are Democrats. If Republicans are successful with kicking them out, they could take control of the court in the near future. Some notable rulings from PA’s Supreme Court include overturning the 2018 gerrymandered congressional map and then voting 4-3 to pick a new map. All Democrats on the court voted to allow a challenge to the state’s education funding which resulted in a lower court finding it unconstitutionally inequitable. They opened the door for gig workers to become full-time employees and voted against Trump’s allegations that poll watchers hadn’t been able to get close enough to Philadelphia’s ballot counting in the 2020 election. The PA Supreme Court is our last line of defense against a MAGA and billionaire takeover.
The right wing’s Vote NO campaign could also impact the judicial retention for Superior Court and Commonwealth Court, where Democrats Alice Beck Dubow and Michael H. Wojcik respectively, are running. As was previously mentioned, the Superior Court has a slim Democrat majority and Commonwealth Court has a Republican majority. Voting YES for both will help us either maintain a Democrat majority or help us work to achieve a majority in the near future.
That’s why we are encouraging all Pennsylvania voters to VOTE YES NOT YA$$ whether by mail or at the polls on Tuesday, November 4!
Judicial Retentions - Court of Common Pleas
No Recommendation
Judicial Retentions - Municipal Court
No Recommendation
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT VOTING
Verify your voter Registration: Even if you are a regular voter, it’s always good to verify your registration. You can only vote where you are currently registered to vote. You can register to vote or update your registration by the Monday October 20 registration deadline.
You can register to vote: if you will be 18 by November 4, have been a US citizen and Philly resident for a month by November 4, and are not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction.
If voting by mail: You can apply to vote by mail by the Tuesday October 28 application deadline. Once you receive your mail-in ballot, we advise you to drop it off as soon as possible ONLY at the Board of Elections in City Hall, the closest 24/7 Ballot Drop Off Box, or the closest Satellite Election Office by 8pm on Tues November 4 Election Day, not your polling place.
Make your mail-in ballot count: 1) Mark your ballot with a black or blue pen. 2) Seal it in the secrecy envelope. 3) Seal the secrecy envelope into the return envelope. Ballots without the secrecy envelope will not be counted! 4) Sign and date the return envelope.
Get all your voting resources for the upcoming election and reclaim your vote here!
Take Action with us: 1) Sign up here to join us and knock doors to get out the vote for our endorsed and recommended candidates 2) Invest in our canvass program by making a donation here!