Bryan Neft

Bryan Neft

Republican Party

Candidate, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

University of Pennsylvania, 1986

Law

Boston University School of Law, 1989

Personal

Birthplace

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Religion

Judaism

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Bryan Neft (Republican Party, Democratic Party) is running for election for judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source] He lost in the Democratic primary on May 20, 2025. He advanced as a write-in from the Republican primary on May 20, 2025.

Biography

Bryan Neft was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986 and a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law in 1989. Neft's career experience includes working as an attorney and litigator in general practice, specializing in complex commercial litigation and product liability litigation.

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 are running in the general election for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Heather Schmidt Bresnahan (D)
		Quita Bridges (D)
		Amanda Green-Hawkins (D)
		Jaime Hickton (D)
		Matthew Rudzki (D)
	Submit photo	Julie Capone (D / R)
	Submit photo	Anthony DeLuca (D / R)
		Dan Miller (D / R)
		Alyssa Cowan (R)
		Bryan Neft (R)
	Submit photo	Jackie Obara (R)
		Michele Santicola (R)
	Submit photo	Sarra Terry (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed 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
✔	Submit photo	Julie Capone	7.5	78,093
✔	Submit photo	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
	Submit photo	Amy Mathieu	3.7	38,708
		Michele Santicola	3.2	33,416
	Submit photo	Carmen Robinson	3.0	31,480
	Submit photo	Sarra Terry	2.9	30,439
		Bryan Neft	2.7	28,661
		Ilan Zur	2.7	28,566
	Submit photo	Craig Stephens	2.7	27,713
	Submit photo	Hilary Wheatley	2.6	27,488
		Mike Sullivan	2.6	27,277
	Submit photo	Elizabeth Hughes	2.5	26,114
	Submit photo	Jackie Obara	2.4	25,210
	Submit photo	Dennis Very	1.4	15,081
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,437

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	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.
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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
✔	Submit photo	Julie Capone	16.7	32,612
✔		Michele Santicola	16.0	31,361
✔	Submit photo	Jackie Obara	15.2	29,854
✔	Submit photo	Sarra Terry	14.1	27,547
✔		Dan Miller	12.4	24,289
✔		Alyssa Cowan	11.1	21,655
✔	Submit photo	Anthony DeLuca (Write-in)	3.3	6,397
✔		Bryan Neft (Write-in)	3.1	6,138
	Submit photo	Dennis Very (Write-in)	3.1	6,001
		Ilan Zur (Write-in)	3.0	5,792
		Other/Write-in votes	2.1	4,148

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	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.
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Endorsements

Neft received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• The 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Beacon Coalition
• Pittsburgh 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club

2023

See also: Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2023

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Matt Wolf defeated Megan Martin in the general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Wolf (D)	52.5	1,602,116
		Megan Martin (R)	47.5	1,452,330

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,054,446
= 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 Commonwealth Court

Matt Wolf defeated Bryan Neft in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Wolf	57.2	577,470
		Bryan Neft	42.8	431,595

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,009,065
= 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 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Megan Martin defeated Joshua Prince in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Megan Martin	63.0	501,693
		Joshua Prince	37.0	294,979

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 796,672
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Harry Smail Jr. (R)

2021

See also: Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2021

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Superior Court

Megan Sullivan defeated Timika Lane in the general election for Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Megan Sullivan (R)	53.6	1,478,252
		Timika Lane (D)	46.4	1,278,771

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,757,023
= 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 Superior Court

Timika Lane defeated Jill Beck and Bryan Neft in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court on May 18, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Timika Lane	48.8	482,433
		Jill Beck	39.7	392,205
		Bryan Neft	11.5	113,393

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 988,031
= 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 Pennsylvania Superior Court

Megan Sullivan advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court on May 18, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Megan Sullivan	100.0	881,046

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 881,046
= 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

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bryan Neft has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Bryan Neft asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Bryan Neft, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 23,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Bryan Neft to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing info@VoteNeft.com.

2023

Bryan Neft completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Neft'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.

Bryan is a lifelong Pittsburgher, attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1989.

Bryan has spent more than 30 years litigating and trying cases, and counseling clients throughout Pennsylvania. He began his career as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Superior Court and has a first-hand understanding of the court's caseload. Bryan also served for nearly 15 years in a leadership role on the Allegheny County Bar Association's Board of Governors and as its president where he championed issues affecting women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ members of the legal profession. During his tenure on the board, he promoted changes to the rules of professional conduct to prohibit bias. That work led to The Pennsylvania Supreme Court appointing Bryan as a member, and later as chair, of its charitable arm, the IOLTA Board, which oversees funding of legal service agencies across the Commonwealth that provide legal services to those who cannot afford them. Bryan's long career in the law has prepared him to be a Superior Court Judge, and the values of hard work, fairness, and access to justice continue to guide him every day.

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?

• Increase Access to Justice for individuals who cannot afford legal representation.
• Ensure a thorough, fair and expedient review of cases before the court.
• Ensure transparency by working to publish all decisions of the Superior Court.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am particularly passionate about ensuring that everyone has access to the judicial system, regardless of their disposition in life, and free from discrimination based on wealth, gender, sexuality, race, disability, or any other considerations. Everyone is entitled to equal and fair treatment in front of the Commonwealth Court.
I have worked hard to expand Access to Justice as a member of the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board where we stretched every dollar to maximize the availability of legal services to those who could not afford them. As a member of the Commonwealth Court, I commit to doing more to expand access to justice.

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

For a Commonwealth Court Judge, it is important to have someone that can work expeditiously, with attention to detail, and integrity that ensures everyone is treated fairly. Judges are charged with applying the law to the facts of a case without consideration of personal or political beliefs.

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

The core responsibilities of this office are to review the record of each case on appeal to determine whether the lower court committed an error that affected the outcome of a case, to research the applicable law, and to write a succinct and reasonable opinion expressing the proper application of law to the facts of the case for the parties and for the people of the Commonwealth.

What legacy would you like to leave?

The legacy that I would like to leave on the bench is that I ruled fairly.

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

I was a little kid in the mid and late 1960s and I remember hearing on the radio or watching on the news all of the civil rights protests that were going on. I did not have video games or more than three channels of TV to distract me. therefore I watched the protest, the marches, and the speeches. I was an impressionable kid and that is why I believe, and Pennsylvania State law will back me up on this, Judges should be bending over backward to count votes and should not be looking for ways to throw them out.

Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?

I was rated Recommended by PA State Bar and Highly Recommended by the Alleghany County Bar Association

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Sen. Jay Costa

Sen. Wayne Fontana
Sen. Santarsiero
Sen. John Kane
Rep. Tim Brennan
Rep. Emily Kinkead
Rep. Arvind Venkat
Rep. Mandy Steele
Rep. Dan Miller
Rep. Anita Kulik
Rep. Justin Fleming
Rep. Dan Frankel
Rep. Ben Sanchez
Rep. Bridget Kosierowski
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta
PA AFL-CIO
PA Building and Construction Trades Council
PSEA-PACE
Philadelphia 15th Ward
Philadelphia 8th Ward
Great Lakes Building & Construction Trades Council
Communications Workers of America
AFSCME District 47
Ironworkers Local 3
Operating Engineers Local 542
Monroe County Young Dems
Lancaster County Democratic Committee
Dauphin County Democratic Committee
Murrysville Export Democratic Club
Steel City Stonewall Democrats
Philadelphia AFL-CIO (recommendation)
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council (recommendation)
Westmoreland County Labor Council (recommendation)

Delaware County Labor Council (recommendation)

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

Bryan Neft completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Neft'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.

Bryan is a lifelong Pittsburgher, attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1989.

Bryan has spent more than 30 years litigating and trying cases, and counseling clients throughout Pennsylvania. He began his career as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Superior Court and has a first-hand understanding of the court's caseload.

Bryan also served for nearly 15 years in a leadership role on the Allegheny County Bar Association's Board of Governors and as its president where he championed issues affecting women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ members of the legal profession. During his tenure on the board, he promoted changes to the rules of professional conduct to prohibit bias. That work led to The Pennsylvania Supreme Court appointing Bryan as a member, and later as chair, of its charitable arm, the IOLTA Board, which oversees funding of legal service agencies across the Commonwealth that provide legal services to those who cannot afford them.

Bryan's long career in the law has prepared him to be a Superior Court Judge, and the values of hard work, fairness and access to justice continue to guide him every day.

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?

• Increase Access to Justice for individuals who cannot afford legal representation.
• Ensure a thorough, fair and expedient review of cases before the court.
• Ensure transparency by working to publish all decisions of the Superior Court.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am particularly passionate about ensuring that everyone has access to the judicial system, regardless of their disposition in life and free from discriminiation based on wealth, gender, sexuality, race, disability, or any other considerations. Everyone is entitled to equal and fair treatment in front of the Superior Court.

I have worked hard to expand Access to Justice as a member of the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board where we stretched every dollar to maximize the availability of legal services to those who could not afford them. As a member of the Superior Court, I commit to doing more to expand access to justice.

I have worked hard to eliminate bias in the judiciary and the profession of law. I advocated for rules governing lawyers that prohibit discrimination and bias. I fought for compulsory implicit bias components in continuing education programs approved for judges. I have served, and continue to serve, on our bar association’s Gender Bias Subcommittee. That committee not only educates regarding bias and discrimination, but fields confidential complaints of gender bias that, with the approval of the complainant, we demand that the offending party cease and desist conduct that constitutes gender bias.

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

For a Superior Court Judge, it is important to have someone that can work expeditiously, with attention to detail, and an integrity that ensures everyone is treated fairly. Judges are charged with applying the law to the facts of a case without consideration of personal or political beliefs.

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

The core responsibilities of this office are to review the record of each case on appeal to determine whether the lower court committed an error that affected the outcome of a case, to research the applicable law and to write a succinct and reasonable opinion expressing the proper application of law to the facts of the case for the parties and for the people of the Commonwealth.

Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?

I am highly recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association and recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

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.

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Footnotes

Pennsylvania courts

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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