Abigail Salisbury - Ballotpedia

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Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

2

Predecessor: Summer Lee (D)

Abigail Salisbury (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 34. She assumed office on February 21, 2023. Her current term ends on November 30, 2026.

Salisbury (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 34. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Abigail Salisbury was born in Conneaut, Ohio. Salisbury graduated from Fairview High School in 2000. She earned a bachelor's degree from Case Western Reserve University in 2004, a master's degree in public policy and management from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007, and a juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013. Salisbury's career experience includes working as an attorney with Salisbury Legal, LLC, the head of operational functions of Track Up Bookkeeping, LLC, and the program director of the Pittsburgh Haiti Symposium.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Salisbury was assigned to the following committees:

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Abigail Salisbury won election in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abigail Salisbury (D)	97.5	30,209
		Other/Write-in votes	2.5	789

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 30,998
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Abigail Salisbury defeated Ashley Comans in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abigail Salisbury	62.9	8,111
		Ashley Comans	36.9	4,756
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	36

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,903
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Salisbury in this election.

Pledges

Salisbury signed the following pledges.

U.S. Term Limits

2023

See also: Pennsylvania state legislative special elections, 2023

General election

Special general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34

Abigail Salisbury defeated Robert Pagane in the special general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34 on February 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abigail Salisbury (D)	87.9	10,282
		Robert Pagane (R)	12.1	1,416

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,698
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Bhavini Patel (D)

2022

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Summer Lee won election in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Summer Lee (D)	100.0	22,990

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,990
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Summer Lee defeated Abigail Salisbury in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Summer Lee	65.8	9,178
		Abigail Salisbury	34.2	4,768

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,946
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Abigail Salisbury did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2023

Abigail Salisbury did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Abigail Salisbury completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Salisbury's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Abigail Salisbury is a solo attorney in Swissvale Borough, where she provides affordable, accessible legal services to nonprofits and small businesses. Abigail has worked abroad in Kosovo, Ethiopia, and Senegal, as well as locally at Pitt, where she served as Executive Director of JURIST.org and taught First Amendment Law to undergraduates. Now in her fifth year on Swissvale Council, Abigail spent the past two years as Council President, working to improve resident services, change police hiring practices, and implement many free programs, including food scrap composting, junior council membership, kids’ theater camp, and a children’s event with Allegheny Goatscape and Swissvale Library. Abigail brings the “Service, Safety, Success” principles she developed as Council President to her campaign for PA State House in District 34, and she wants to be a Representative in the truest sense of the word, listening to residents and representing their needs and views in Harrisburg, all for the betterment of the community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Service: Constituent services are key, with a strong emphasis on actively listening to residents
Safety: Smart approaches to police policies (body camera implementation and changed hiring processes), environmental health, organic drug legalization, and asset forfeiture reform
Success: Building and assisting small businesses and nonprofits, reality-based education reform and greater emphasis on trades as career possibilities

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Our infrastructure is literally crumbling (our collapsed borough building and Fern Hollow Bridge are just two recent examples) from decades of neglect, and much of it will not be up to the task of withstanding the demands of climate change. Another type of infrastructure is education, and we have neglected it and allowed wildly differing experiences for children based simply on where their parents can afford to live, which is unacceptable. Our state must emphasize improvements to this infrastructure to help individuals, businesses, and organizations to thrive. We must stop the foolish "war on drugs" and legalize marijuana and psilocybin in the state as soon as possible. Strong civil and human rights must be maintained for our state in a time when many states are rolling back both.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I try not to identify individuals to look up to, because people are fallible beings and if the person fails in some way or disappoints us, sometimes it is tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater and stop valuing what one saw in that person to begin with. I think it is better to identify principles and try to follow those.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Listening, advocacy, honesty, hard work.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a good listener and strong advocate.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

It is called a representative for a reason. One is there to listen to residents and represent their needs and concerns, then do the best that can be done for them.

What legacy would you like to leave?

“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first big historical event I can remember was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. I was 7.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was mucking out horse stalls at a local barn near my house outside of Erie, PA. As a horse-obsessed teenager, somehow I actually loved this job. I worked there for a summer.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Tie between Mason & Dixon and The Chess Garden. I'm a sucker for slightly-surreal travelogues.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The Doctor from Dr. Who, but only for a bit, not forever, because I don't have the patience of a Time Lord.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Good Morning Baltimore

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I am always working on improving my resilience.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

An open line of communication.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Infrastructure, education, economic opportunity in an equitable way.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

I don't live in Nebraska, so this is unlikely to come up in my race.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I think that all experience in life informs our decisions and approaches to problems and opportunities, so while it is not necessary, I think it can sometimes be helpful to have previous experience in government and/or politics.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

I think building relationships with other legislators is essential. As a borough council member, I have seen the ways in which people's ideas get sharper by working on them with others and the ways in which more things get done when people have strong working relationships instead of distrustful squabbles.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

One which provides the most equitable opportunities for representation.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Liquor Control because we have had issues with nuisance bars in my community and I want to work on ways to prevent and manage those situations. Local Government, Commerce, and Agriculture are also all appealing to me.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Per a previous answer, I don't believe in idolizing people.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Right now this is my focus.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I've spoken to a great many older residents who really have come to rely on constituent services from their elected officials, and they speak about the ways in which their Representative in Congress was able to get their elderly husband's VA benefits straightened out, or how their State Senator's office helped them with their taxes. It is these day-to-day affairs that most attract me to this type of service.

Tell us your favorite joke.

A Jew is shipwrecked on an island. To pass the time, he slowly constructs an entire town's worth of buildings.

One day he is rescued and the rescuers ask why if there’s only one of him, he’s built two separate synagogues.

“That synagogue,” the man sneers, pointing at one of the synagogues, “that’s the one I would never step foot in!”

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

This is situation-dependent and the common law developed on the subject must now be followed.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I think that politics has come to make "compromise" a dirty word. As an attorney, we often hear the maxim that the best settlement to a dispute is one that leaves both sides unhappy.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Abigail Salisbury campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34	Won general	$143,010	$165,239
2023	Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34	Won general	$87,973	$50,586
2022	Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34	Lost primary	$42,346	$35,498
Grand total			$273,329	$251,322
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Pennsylvania

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Pennsylvania scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 2 to November 14.

ACLU Pennsylvania

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil rights and civil liberties issues.

Americans for Prosperity Pennsylvania

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

CeaseFirePA

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to gun safety.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

PA Chamber of Business and Industry

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 13.

ACLU Pennsylvania

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil rights and civil liberties issues.

PA Chamber of Business and Industry

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

See also

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34

Officeholder

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 11, 2022.
↑ Pennsylvania House of Representatives, "Abigail Salisbury," accessed March 15, 2023
↑ LinkedIn, "Abigail Salisbury," accessed March 15, 2023

Political offices
Preceded by Summer Lee (D)	Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34 2023-Present	Succeeded by -

Current members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Joanna McClinton

Majority Leader:Kerry Benninghoff

Minority Leader:Jesse Topper

Representatives

District 1

Patrick Harkins (D)

District 2

Robert Merski (D)

District 3

Ryan Bizzarro (D)

District 4

Jake Banta (R)

District 5

Eric Weaknecht (R)

District 6

Bradley Roae (R)

District 7

Parke Wentling (R)

District 8

Aaron Bernstine (R)

District 9

Marla Brown (R)

District 10

Amen Brown (D)

District 11

Marci Mustello (R)

District 12

Stephenie Scialabba (R)

District 13

John Lawrence (R)

District 14

Roman Kozak (R)

District 15

Joshua Kail (R)

District 16

Robert Matzie (D)

District 17

Tim Bonner (R)

District 18

K.C. Tomlinson (R)

District 19

Aerion Abney (D)

District 20

Emily Kinkead (D)

District 21

Lindsay Powell (D)

District 22

Joshua Siegel (D)

District 23

Dan Frankel (D)

District 24

La'Tasha Mayes (D)

District 25

Brandon Markosek (D)

District 26

Paul Friel (D)

District 27

Daniel Deasy (D)

District 28

Jeremy Shaffer (R)

District 29

Tim Brennan (D)

District 30

Arvind Venkat (D)

District 31

Perry Warren (D)

District 32

Joe McAndrew (D)

District 33

Mandy Steele (D)

District 34

Abigail Salisbury (D)

District 35

Dan Goughnour (D)

District 36

Jessica Benham (D)

District 37

Mindy Fee (R)

District 38

John Inglis (D)

District 39

Andrew Kuzma (R)

District 40

Natalie Mihalek (R)

District 41

Brett Miller (R)

District 42

Dan Miller (D)

District 43

Keith Greiner (R)

District 44

Valerie Gaydos (R)

District 45

Anita Kulik (D)

District 46

Jason Ortitay (R)

District 47

Joe D'Orsie (R)

District 48

Timothy O'Neal (R)

District 49

Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D)

District 50

Bud Cook (R)

District 51

Charity Grimm Krupa (R)

District 52

Ryan Warner (R)

District 53

Steven Malagari (D)

District 54

Greg Scott (D)

District 55

Jill Cooper (R)

District 56

Brian Rasel (R)

District 57

Eric Nelson (R)

District 58

Eric Davanzo (R)

District 59

Leslie Rossi (R)

District 60

Abby Major (R)

District 61

Liz Hanbidge (D)

District 62

James Struzzi (R)

District 63

Josh Bashline (R)

District 64

R. James (R)

District 65

Kathy Rapp (R)

District 66

Brian Smith (R)

District 67

Martin Causer (R)

District 68

Clint Owlett (R)

District 69

Carl Metzgar (R)

District 70

Matthew Bradford (D)

District 71

Jim Rigby (R)

District 72

Frank Burns (D)

District 73

Dallas Kephart (R)

District 74

Dan Williams (D)

District 75

Mike Armanini (R)

District 76

Stephanie Borowicz (R)

District 77

Scott Conklin (D)

District 78

Jesse Topper (R)

District 79

Louis Schmitt (R)

District 80

Scott Barger (R)

District 81

Richard Irvin (R)

District 82

Paul Takac (D)

District 83

Jamie Flick (R)

District 84

Joe Hamm (R)

District 85

David Rowe (R)

District 86

Perry Stambaugh (R)

District 87

Thomas Kutz (R)

District 88

Sheryl Delozier (R)

District 89

Rob Kauffman (R)

District 90

Chad Reichard (R)

District 91

Dan Moul (R)

District 92

Marc Anderson (R)

District 93

Mike Jones (R)

District 94

Wendy Fink (R)

District 95

Carol Hill-Evans (D)

District 96

Nikki Rivera (D)

District 97

Steven Mentzer (R)

District 98

Tom Jones (R)

District 99

David Zimmerman (R)

District 100

Bryan Cutler (R)

District 101

John Schlegel (R)

District 102

Russell Diamond (R)

District 103

Nate Davidson (D)

District 104

Dave Madsen (D)

District 105

Justin Fleming (D)

District 106

Thomas Mehaffie (R)

District 107

Joanne Stehr (R)

District 108

Michael Stender (R)

District 109

Robert Leadbeter (R)

District 110

Tina Pickett (R)

District 111

Jonathan Fritz (R)

District 112

Kyle Mullins (D)

District 113

Kyle Donahue (D)

District 114

Bridget Malloy Kosierowski (D)

District 115

Maureen Madden (D)

District 116

Dane Watro (R)

District 117

Jamie Walsh (R)

District 118

James Haddock (D)

District 119

Alec Ryncavage (R)

District 120

Brenda Pugh (R)

District 121

Eddie Pashinski (D)

District 122

Doyle Heffley (R)

District 123

Tim Twardzik (R)

District 124

Jamie Barton (R)

District 125

Joe Kerwin (R)

District 126

Jacklyn Rusnock (D)

District 127

Manuel Guzman (D)

District 128

Mark Gillen (R)

District 129

Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (D)

District 130

David Maloney (R)

District 131

Milou Mackenzie (R)

District 132

Michael Schlossberg (D)

District 133

Jeanne McNeill (D)

District 134

Peter Schweyer (D)

District 135

Steve Samuelson (D)

District 136

Robert Freeman (D)

District 137

Joe Emrick (R)

District 138

Ann Flood (R)

District 139

Jeff Olsommer (R)

District 140

Jim Prokopiak (D)

District 141

Tina Davis (D)

District 142

Joseph Hogan (R)

District 143

Shelby Labs (R)

District 144

Brian Munroe (D)

District 145

Craig Staats (R)

District 146

Joseph Ciresi (D)

District 147

Donna Scheuren (R)

District 148

Mary Daley (D)

District 149

Tim Briggs (D)

District 150

Joseph Webster (D)

District 151

Melissa Cerrato (D)

District 152

Nancy Guenst (D)

District 153

Ben Sanchez (D)

District 154

Napoleon Nelson (D)

District 155

Danielle Friel Otten (D)

District 156

Christopher Pielli (D)

District 157

Melissa Shusterman (D)

District 158

Christina Sappey (D)

District 159

Carol Kazeem (D)

District 160

Craig Williams (R)

District 161

Leanne Krueger (D)

District 162

David Delloso (D)

District 163

Heather Boyd (D)

District 164

Gina Curry (D)

District 165

Jennifer O'Mara (D)

District 166

Gregory Vitali (D)

District 167

Kristine Howard (D)

District 168

Lisa Borowski (D)

District 169

Kate Klunk (R)

District 170

Martina White (R)

District 171

Kerry Benninghoff (R)

District 172

Sean Dougherty (D)

District 173

Patrick Gallagher (D)

District 174

Ed Neilson (D)

District 175

Mary Isaacson (D)

District 176

Jack Rader (R)

District 177

Joseph Hohenstein (D)

District 178

Kristin Marcell (R)

District 179

Jason Dawkins (D)

District 180

Jose Giral (D)

District 181

Malcolm Kenyatta (D)

District 182

Benjamin Waxman (D)

District 183

Zachary Mako (R)

District 184

Elizabeth Fiedler (D)

District 185

Regina Young (D)

District 186

Jordan Harris (D)

District 187

Gary Day (R)

District 188

Rick Krajewski (D)

District 189

Tarah Probst (D)

District 190

Roni Green (D)

District 191

Joanna McClinton (D)

District 192

Morgan Cephas (D)

District 193

Torren Ecker (R)

District 194

Tarik Khan (D)

District 195

Keith Harris (D)

District 196

Seth Grove (R)

District 197

Danilo Burgos (D)

District 198

Darisha Parker (D)

District 199

Barbara Gleim (R)

District 200

Christopher Rabb (D)

District 201

Andre Carroll (D)

District 202

Jared Solomon (D)

District 203

Anthony Bellmon (D)

Democratic Party (102)

Republican Party (101)

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