Alyssa Cowan
Alyssa Cowan (Republican Party, Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Cowan (Republican Party) lost in the general election on November 4, 2025. She lost in the Democratic primary on May 20, 2025. She advanced from the Republican primary on May 20, 2025.
Cowan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Alyssa Cowan earned a bachelor's degree from American University in 1998, a graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2000, and a law degree from Temple University, Beasley School of Law in 2004. Her career experience includes working as a judge, attorney, and social worker.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Municipal elections in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2025)
General election
General election for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (8 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Amanda Green-Hawkins (D) | 10.5 | 237,025 |
| ✔ |  | Heather Schmidt Bresnahan (D) | 10.1 | 228,549 |
| ✔ |  | Quita Bridges (D) | 10.1 | 227,486 |
| ✔ |  | Jaime Hickton (D)  | 10.0 | 225,179 |
| ✔ |  | Matthew Rudzki (D) | 9.9 | 222,983 |
| ✔ | Anthony DeLuca (D / R) | 9.2 | 208,999 | |
| ✔ | Julie Capone (D / R) | 9.1 | 206,220 | |
| ✔ |  | Dan Miller (D / R) | 9.1 | 204,882 |
 | Michele Santicola (R) | 5.1 | 114,353 | |
 | Alyssa Cowan (R) | 4.5 | 101,289 | |
 | Bryan Neft (R) | 4.3 | 96,281 | |
| Jackie Obara (R) | 4.2 | 95,388 | ||
| Sarra Terry (R) | 4.0 | 90,563 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 3,343 | ||
| Total votes: 2,262,540 | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (8 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Amanda Green-Hawkins | 9.0 | 93,877 |
| ✔ | | Dan Miller | 7.7 | 80,797 |
| ✔ | | Quita Bridges | 7.7 | 80,713 |
| ✔ | Julie Capone | 7.5 | 78,093 | |
| ✔ | Anthony DeLuca | 7.3 | 76,295 | |
| ✔ | | Heather Schmidt Bresnahan | 7.0 | 72,780 |
| ✔ | | Jaime Hickton | 6.1 | 64,112 |
| ✔ | | Matthew Rudzki | 5.5 | 57,354 |
| Alyssa Cowan | 5.3 | 55,302 | |
 | Lauren Leiggi | 4.1 | 42,586 | |
| Amy Mathieu | 3.7 | 38,708 | ||
| Michele Santicola | 3.2 | 33,416 | |
| Carmen Robinson | 3.0 | 31,480 | ||
| Sarra Terry | 2.9 | 30,439 | ||
| Bryan Neft | 2.7 | 28,661 | |
 | Ilan Zur | 2.7 | 28,566 | |
| Craig Stephens | 2.7 | 27,713 | ||
| Hilary Wheatley | 2.6 | 27,488 | ||
 | Mike Sullivan | 2.6 | 27,277 | |
| Elizabeth Hughes | 2.5 | 26,114 | ||
| Jackie Obara | 2.4 | 25,210 | ||
| Dennis Very | 1.4 | 15,081 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,437 | ||
| Total votes: 1,043,499 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (8 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Julie Capone | 16.7 | 32,612 | |
| ✔ | | Michele Santicola | 16.0 | 31,361 |
| ✔ | Jackie Obara | 15.2 | 29,854 | |
| ✔ | Sarra Terry | 14.1 | 27,547 | |
| ✔ | | Dan Miller | 12.4 | 24,289 |
| ✔ | | Alyssa Cowan | 11.1 | 21,655 |
| ✔ | Anthony DeLuca (Write-in) | 3.3 | 6,397 | |
| ✔ | | Bryan Neft (Write-in) | 3.1 | 6,138 |
| Dennis Very (Write-in) | 3.1 | 6,001 | ||
| Ilan Zur (Write-in) | 3.0 | 5,792 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.1 | 4,148 | ||
| Total votes: 195,794 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Cowan received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Cowan's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.
2021
See also: Municipal elections in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2021)
General election
General election for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (10 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Nicola Henry-Taylor (D) | 6.9 | 153,174 |
| ✔ | Tiffany Sizemore (D) | 6.8 | 151,134 | |
| ✔ |  | Elliot Howsie (D) | 6.8 | 150,872 |
| ✔ |  | Wrenna Watson (D) | 6.8 | 149,859 |
| ✔ | Chelsa Wagner (D) | 6.7 | 148,534 | |
| ✔ |  | Lisa Middleman (R / D) | 6.7 | 147,452 |
| ✔ | Thomas P. Caulfield (D) | 6.6 | 147,367 | |
| ✔ |  | Sabrina Korbel (R / D) | 6.6 | 147,303 |
| ✔ |  | Bruce Beemer (R / D) | 6.4 | 141,948 |
| ✔ | Jessel Costa (D) | 6.4 | 140,773 | |
| Anthony DeLuca (R) | 5.0 | 110,422 | ||
 | Joseph Patrick Murphy (R) | 4.6 | 103,004 | |
| Mark Patrick Flaherty (R) | 4.6 | 102,482 | ||
 | William Caye II (R) | 4.5 | 99,217 | |
| Daniel J. Konieczka Jr. (R) | 4.4 | 97,283 | ||
| Chuck Porter (R) | 4.3 | 95,305 | ||
| Rick Hosking (R) | 3.8 | 85,111 | ||
 | Richard Weiss (G) | 1.9 | 41,948 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 3,066 | ||
| Total votes: 2,216,254 | |||
| = 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 Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (10 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on May 18, 2021.
| Total votes: 1,148,248 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (10 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on May 18, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joseph Patrick Murphy | 7.2 | 26,247 |
| ✔ | | Bruce Beemer | 5.8 | 21,139 |
| ✔ | Anthony DeLuca | 5.6 | 20,567 | |
| ✔ | Daniel J. Konieczka Jr. | 5.5 | 20,266 | |
| ✔ | | William Caye II | 5.2 | 19,115 |
| ✔ | Chuck Porter | 5.2 | 18,989 | |
| ✔ | | Sabrina Korbel | 5.2 | 18,861 |
| ✔ | Mark Patrick Flaherty | 4.9 | 17,899 | |
| ✔ | | Lisa Middleman | 4.0 | 14,694 |
| Matt Rogers | 3.9 | 14,165 | ||
| Pauline Calabrese | 3.8 | 14,065 | ||
| Elliot Howsie | 3.5 | 12,810 | |
| Marc Daffner | 3.5 | 12,643 | ||
| Ryan Hemminger | 3.1 | 11,506 | ||
| Jimmy Sheets | 3.1 | 11,309 | ||
| Andrew Szefi | 3.1 | 11,211 | ||
| Thomas P. Caulfield | 3.0 | 10,957 | ||
 | Beth Tarasi Sinatra | 2.9 | 10,743 | |
| Albert Veverka | 2.9 | 10,559 | ||
 | Patrick A. Sweeney | 2.9 | 10,446 | |
| Jason Cervone | 2.6 | 9,545 | ||
| Chelsa Wagner | 2.6 | 9,330 | ||
| Jessel Costa | 2.2 | 7,886 | ||
| Ilan Zur | 1.9 | 6,921 | |
| Wrenna Watson | 1.7 | 6,167 | |
| Mik Pappas | 1.5 | 5,651 | ||
| Richard Thomas Ernsberger | 1.5 | 5,366 | ||
| Zeke Rediker | 0.9 | 3,205 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 3,188 | ||
| Total votes: 365,450 | |||
| = 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 themes
2025
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released March 4, 2025 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Alyssa Cowan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cowan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- As a dual degree professional with both a master’s degree in social work and a law degree, my interdisciplinary training has allowed me to develop skills in active listening and empathy. Families typically come to the court in crisis, and I believe they deserve to be given the attention and compassion they deserve as they navigate some of the most difficult times in their lives.
- Appointed by Governor Shapiro to the Court of Common Pleas, I have gone through a rigorous background check that has thoroughly vetted my qualifications and prior work. Judges are not given a training course or put through a class, and I have the knowledge gained over two decades of legal experience to continue fairly and accurately serving as a Judge in the Family Division.
- I have received the endorsements of dozens of elected officials and organizations, a full list of which can be viewed on my website VoteCowan.com. These groups and individuals come from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs, but are united in seeking to support the best candidates for the Court of Common Pleas. I am honored to have their endorsements, and encourage you to review them for yourself.
The musical has been popular for decades, but the novel is even better. The social commentary resonates through the centuries and across different cultures and countries. I encourage everyone to read it. It is long, but well worth the time and effort.
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.
2021
Alyssa Cowan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 9, 2025
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
