Benson Fechter
From Ballotpedia
Benson Fechter (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Fechter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2026
See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2026
Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12
Adam Forgie, Benson Fechter, and James Hayes are running in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Adam Forgie (D)  | |
 | Benson Fechter (R) | |
 | James Hayes (R) | |
| ||||
| = 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
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released October 6, 2025 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Benson Fechter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fechter's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I'm Benson Fechter - husband to Bella, new dad to our baby girl Kirstina, a lifelong Western Pennsylvanian, and a small-business builder who believes faith, family, and freedom are the backbone of our country. I started my first painting company in 2020 and went on to found Legacy Paint Holdings, which now supports jobs across several local brands. I've signed paychecks, wrestled with regulations, and learned that Washington rarely understands how hard it is to make payroll and keep a business alive.
I'm running for Congress because the American Dream should still be possible for young families like mine - and too often it isn't. Groceries, housing, and energy keep getting more expensive. Crime and chaos are shrugged off while working people are told to accept less. I don't accept that. I want a government that lives within its means, a secure border, an economy that rewards work and ownership, and schools that partner with parents, not fight them.
I'm pro-life, pro-police, and unapologetically pro-America. I'll bring a builder's mindset to Washington: set clear goals, measure results, fix what's broken, and stop what doesn't work. Pittsburgh is my home. I'm running to serve my neighbors with common sense and conviction - so our kids inherit a safer, stronger country than we did.- Homeownership is the backbone of the American Dream. In Western PA, families are being priced out by inflation, high rates, red tape, and out-of-town investors. I'll fight to make it easier to buy a first home, keep it, and pass it on: stop Washington's inflation, restore stable and affordable mortgages, cut federal rules that drive up building costs, fast-track safe redevelopment of vacant lots, and back the skilled trades so we can build more starter homes. A teacher and a cop should be able to buy a home, raise a family, and retire with dignity - right here.
- Marriage and family are the heart of a healthy nation. As a husband and new dad, I'll champion policies that help families form, stay together, and thrive: lower the cost of living, expand the child tax credit for working families, make adoption faster and cheaper, protect parental rights in schools and healthcare, and strengthen skilled-trade paths to family-sustaining jobs. I'll defend the unborn, support mothers, and back faith-based and community groups that lift families up. Strong homes build strong neighborhoods - and a stronger America.
- Entrepreneurs are the engine of American prosperity. I started my first company with sweat equity and a shoestring budget - I know how red tape, taxes, and costly mandates choke growth. I'll fight to make it easier to start, hire, and build: lower the cost of doing business, cut needless regulations and fees, protect independent contractors, expand access to startup capital, and open federal contracting to local firms - not just well-connected. We'll champion the skilled trades, apprenticeships, and school-to-work paths so more people can own a business, not just work for one.
I'm passionate about rebuilding the American Dream for working families: lowering the cost of living; making homeownership attainable; defending life, marriage, and parental rights; restoring safety with strong policing and a secure border; unleashing small-business growth by cutting red tape and taxes; expanding skilled-trade and apprenticeship pathways; empowering transparent, high-standards schools; and honoring our veterans and first responders. My compass is simple: faith, family, freedom - and a government that lives within its means.
I look up to my grandfather, George Fechter, who built businesses the old-fashioned way - through grit, integrity, and keeping his word. I admire Jack Kemp's optimistic, pro-growth vision that invited everyone into ownership; Henry Hyde's moral courage on protecting life with compassion; and the quiet heroism of local teachers, cops, nurses, and small-business owners who show up every day for their families and communities. That's the example I want to follow: faith first, tell the truth, serve others, and build things that last.
Character matters more than charisma. An elected official should be anchored in integrity - telling the truth, keeping promises, and refusing special-interest strings. Servant leadership comes next: listen first, stay close to the people you represent, and admit when you're wrong. Courage and prudence must go together - willing to take tough votes, but disciplined with taxpayers' money. Fidelity to the Constitution, the rule of law, and equal justice is non-negotiable. Transparency, measurable results, and a bias for local solutions over federal micromanagement round it out. In short: character, competence, and accountability.
At its core, the job is to faithfully represent the people - rooted in the Constitution, not party bosses. That means writing and voting on laws that lower costs, strengthen safety, and expand opportunity; exercising real oversight of federal agencies; and guarding taxpayers' money in the budget and appropriations process. It also means relentless constituent service - and staying present in the district to listen, report back, and adjust. Results, transparency, and accountability to the voters are non-negotiable.
I want to leave a legacy of families who are freer, safer, and more prosperous because we chose responsibility over excuses. If I do my job, more young couples will own homes, more small businesses will grow into employers, more kids will learn the truth and become skilled, and fewer parents will lose a child to fentanyl or despair. I want my daughter to inherit a nation that keeps its word, lives within its means, protects life, honors faith, and believes the American Dream still belongs to anyone willing to work for it. That's the legacy worth fighting for.
I was born in 2001, just before 9/11, so my first clear national memory is the 2008 financial crisis and that election year's wall-to-wall news. I was 7, listening to my parents talk about jobs, mortgages, and gas prices at the kitchen table. It stuck with me how Washington's decisions ripple into real families' lives - and it shaped why I care so much about the cost of living, work, and ownership today.
My first job was mowing lawns and shoveling snow for neighbors - basic, honest work that taught me to show up on time and do the job right. I kept those gigs through middle and high school, then turned that hustle into my first painting company in 2020. Those early lessons still guide me today.
"Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis. It's clear, humble, and rooted in reason - challenging without being preachy. It helped shape how I think about right and wrong, forgiveness, and duty to others. In public life, that moral anchor matters: tell the truth, respect every person's dignity, and act with courage and charity even when it's hard.
Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. He isn't the loudest or the most powerful - he's the loyal friend who carries the load, keeps hope alive, and finishes the mission when others are spent. That's the kind of servant leadership I admire: quiet courage, faithfulness, and getting your neighbor up the mountain.
Balancing big ambition with being the husband and dad I'm called to be has been a real struggle. I started companies young and tried to outrun every problem with more hours. That works - until it steals hours your family needs. I've also carried grief; my mom passed when I was young, and some days it still sneaks up on me. As a small-business owner, there were months when payroll felt like a mountain and I had to swallow pride, ask for help, and make hard calls. Those seasons taught me discipline, prayer, and better boundaries: put faith and family first, build strong teams, say no to distractions, and measure results. I'm not perfect, but I'm accountable - and I'll bring that same honesty and perseverance to serving this district.
The House is the people's chamber - closest to the voters, elected every two years from equal-population districts, so it responds fast and often. It holds the "power of the purse,"' originates tax and spending bills, and can impeach federal officials. Its size and committee system let subject-matter experts dig deep and conduct aggressive oversight of agencies. Debate is governed by majority-set rules, so coalitions can actually move ideas to votes. In short, the House is designed for urgency, accountability, and fiscal control - reflecting the country as it is, in real time.
Experience can help - but it's not the only kind that matters. I value people who know how a budget works, how to build a team, and how to deliver results under pressure. My background is in starting and growing businesses, signing paychecks, and solving problems without excuses. In Congress, I'll pair that real-world perspective with a strong, experienced staff and committee partners. What matters most isn't a political resume; it's judgment, character, and the ability to get results for the people you serve.
America's biggest tests are stacked and intertwined: a crushing national debt and unsustainable interest costs; great-power competition with China (tech, trade, Taiwan) and rising global instability; a porous border fueling fentanyl and crime; de-industrialization and fragile supply chains; energy policy that drives prices up; and a collapse of trust - schools, media, and government - rooted in cultural and family breakdown. We need fiscal discipline, a secure border, energy abundance, US-made industry, world leading R&D and AI, school choice and skills training, and a moral renewal that rebuilds family and community.
Yes. Two-year terms keep representatives close to voters and accountable. The downside is "permanent campaign" mode, but we can fix that without lengthening terms: enact term limits, ban stock trading and post-service lobbying, adopt biennial budgeting with a real appropriations calendar, and require single-subject bills with 72-hour public text. Keep the House the people's chamber - responsive, not careerist - while still doing serious work.
I support term limits. Public service shouldn't be a lifetime career - it should be a season of work and then a return to real life. I back a constitutional amendment capping House members at three terms (six years), and Senators at two terms (twelve years). Term limits would break the seniority game, curb lobbyist power, and bring fresh energy and accountability to Congress. I'll co-sponsor term-limits legislation and pair it with tougher ethics: a lifetime ban on lobbying the chamber you served in, strict stock-trading rules, and transparent committee assignments. If Washington refuses to act, I'll hold myself to the standard I'm asking others to meet.
I don't chase a cult of personality, but I do have models. Jack Kemp for his optimistic, pro-growth focus on expanding ownership and opportunity. Henry Hyde for moral clarity on protecting life with compassion. And Pat Toomey for fiscal discipline and seriousness about free markets and debt (he started in the House before the Senate). I'd add the best of Western PA constituent service - relentless casework, constant town halls, and being present in the district. That blend - principled, hopeful, results-driven - is what I aim to bring.
At a meet-and-greet in Brentwood, a young couple handed me a folded Zillow printout. They've been married three years, both work full-time - a nurse and a lineman - and have saved every spare dollar. They've put in nine offers on starter homes and lost all nine to cash buyers - often LLCs that never turn on a porch light. "We just want a yard and a nursery," she said, tearing up. That moment crystallized why I'm running: tame inflation, build more attainable homes, crack down on predatory bulk purchases, and back skilled trades so supply meets demand. The American Dream shouldn't be a bidding war families can't win.
Yes - when it serves the people and stays within clear principles. Compromise is how you turn ideas into laws in a divided country, but it can't mean surrendering core convictions: the Constitution, the sanctity of life, public safety, parental rights, or fiscal sanity. I'll negotiate on the "how" (timelines, pay-fors, pilots, bipartisan oversight) to deliver results that lower costs, strengthen families, and keep America safe. I won't trade away first principles for photo-ops or lobbyist wins. Results with integrity - that's the standard.
It's a core lever for the agenda I'm running on. If all revenue bills must start in the House, then we set the terms: pro-growth, pro-family, and honest with taxpayers. I'll use that power to advance a simpler, flatter tax code that rewards work and ownership; permanent full expensing for small businesses and the skilled trades; a child tax credit focused on working families; and the removal of hidden "junk fees" and stealth taxes that raise prices. Just as important, I'll pair tax policy with spending discipline - single-subject bills, 72-hour public text, no omnibus cram-downs, and tough oversight of every dollar. The goal is straightforward: lower the cost of living, make it easier to start and build a business, and put Washington back on a budget so families in Western PA can get ahead.
The House should use its investigative power to defend taxpayers, the rule of law, and the truth - not to chase headlines. That means following evidence wherever it leads, exposing waste, fraud, and abuse, and reining in agencies that exceed their authority or target citizens for their beliefs. It means rooting out corruption and conflicts of interest, protecting whistleblowers, and demanding real fixes, not just soundbites - clear timelines, public reports, and legislative remedies. Subpoenas and contempt should be used when stonewalled, not as props. Oversight done right lowers costs, restores trust, and ensures government serves the people, not itself.
At a coffee shop in Carrick, I met a Marine veteran - I'll call him "Dave." He'd been waiting 14 months for a VA appointment to get new hearing aids. In the meantime, he lost a warehouse job because he couldn't safely hear forklifts backing up. He wasn't angry; he was embarrassed to ask for help. We sat with his paperwork, called the caseworker hotline, and finally got him on a faster track. That conversation stuck with me. It's why I'm obsessed with constituent service and why I'll push for VA accountability, faster scheduling, and portability so veterans can use local providers when the VA can't deliver. No one who served should fall through the cracks.
I'm proud of building a business from nothing into a group of locally run painting companies that support good-paying jobs and careers. I started in 2020 with a beat-up ladder and a borrowed van; today we've trained apprentices, promoted foremen into managers, and put dozens of paychecks into Western PA families' hands. We've paid our bills on time, fixed mistakes when we made them, and earned repeat customers the old-fashioned way. Creating jobs, not just talking about them - and doing it while being a present husband and new dad - is the accomplishment that means the most to me.
AI is strategic - economically and for national security. Government's role: set clear light-touch guardrails and invest in US strength, not micromanage innovation. I'd back: tough privacy and data-security rules; transparency and accountability for high-risk uses (health, finance, elections); bans on CCP-style social-credit scoring and viewpoint targeting; strong IP and anti-deepfake protections (especially for kids); transparent standards for government use; liability clarity for real harms; and major R&D, workforce, and domestic chip/manufacturing incentives. Keep America first in AI - free, secure, and pro-innovation.
Free and fair elections need both access and integrity. I'd back a national floor of commonsense standards while leaving states to run their systems: photo voter ID with free IDs for anyone who needs one; accurate voter rolls with routine list maintenance; paper ballots or auditable paper trails; uniform deadlines - no ballots accepted after Election Day except timely postmarked military/overseas; clear chain-of-custody and bipartisan observers; risk-limiting audits and fast public reporting of results; real penalties for intimidation or fraud; a ban on private funding of election offices; and secure, accessible options for seniors, people with disabilities, and our military.
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.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 |
Personal |
Footnotes
Senators
John Fetterman (D)
David McCormick (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Brendan Boyle (D)
District 3
Dwight Evans (D)
District 4
Madeleine Dean (D)
District 5
Mary Scanlon (D)
District 6
Chrissy Houlahan (D)
District 7
Ryan Mackenzie (R)
District 8
Rob Bresnahan (R)
District 9
Dan Meuser (R)
District 10
Scott Perry (R)
District 11
Lloyd Smucker (R)
District 12
Summer Lee (D)
District 13
John Joyce (R)
District 14
District 15
Glenn Thompson (R)
District 16
Mike Kelly (R)
District 17
Chris Deluzio (D)
Republican Party (11)
Democratic Party (8)
