Cris Dush

Cris Dush

Republican Party

Pennsylvania State Senate District 25

Tenure

2020 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

5

Predecessor: Joe B. Scarnati III (R)

Prior offices:

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66

Years in office: 2015 - 2020

Successor: Brian Smith (R)

Compensation

Base salary

$110,015.54/year

Per diem

$198/day

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Associates

Community College of the Air Force

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Years of service

1982 - 1990

Service / branch

U.S. Air National Guard

Years of service

2000 - 2016

Personal

Profession

Law enforcement

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

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Official Instagram

Official YouTube

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal X

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Cris Dush (Republican Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing District 25. He assumed office on December 1, 2020. His current term ends on November 30, 2028.

Dush (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Pennsylvania State Senate to represent District 25. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Cris Dush served in the U.S. Air Force from 1982 to 1990 and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard from 2000 to 2016. Dush earned an associate degree in criminal justice from the Community College of the Air Force. His career experience includes working as a corrections officer with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and as a law enforcement patrolman, hostage negotiator, and anti-terrorism program manager with the U.S. Air Force.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Dush was assigned to the following committees:

• Intergovernmental Operations Committee, Vice chair
• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Senate Game & Fisheries Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate State Government Committee, Chair
• Senate Local Government Committee
• Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee

2023-2024

Dush was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Senate Game & Fisheries Committee
• Intergovernmental Operations Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Local Government Committee
• Senate State Government Committee, Chair
• Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee

2021-2022

Dush was assigned to the following committees:

• Intergovernmental Operations Committee, Chair
• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Communications & Technology Committee
• Senate Game & Fisheries Committee
• Senate Labor & Industry Committee
• Senate Local Government Committee, Chair
• Senate State Government Committee, Vice Chair

2021-2022

Dush was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee

2019-2020

Dush was assigned to the following committees:

• House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, Secretary
• House Labor & Industry Committee
• House State Government Committee
• Urban Affairs Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2017
• Aging & Older Adult Services
• Human Services
• Labor & Industry
• State Government

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Dush served on the following committees:

Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2015
• Aging & Older Adult Services
• Commerce
• Labor & Industry
• State Government

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 State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25

Incumbent Cris Dush defeated William McGill in the general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cris Dush (R)	66.3	88,083
		William McGill (D)	33.5	44,514
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	175

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 132,772
= 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 Pennsylvania State Senate District 25

William McGill advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William McGill (Write-in)	59.2	1,802
		Other/Write-in votes	40.8	1,241

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,043
= 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 Pennsylvania State Senate District 25

Incumbent Cris Dush advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cris Dush	99.3	23,151
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	166

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,317
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Dush in this election.

2020

State Senate

See also: Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25

Cris Dush defeated Margie Brown in the general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cris Dush (R)	74.4	88,994
		Margie Brown (D)	25.6	30,608

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 119,602
= 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 State Senate District 25

Margie Brown advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Margie Brown	100.0	14,038

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,038
= 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 State Senate District 25

Cris Dush defeated John Herm Suplizio and James Brown in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cris Dush	59.0	23,087
		John Herm Suplizio	31.3	12,232
		James Brown	9.7	3,799

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,118
= 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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Auditor General

See also: Pennsylvania Auditor election, 2020

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Auditor General

Timothy DeFoor defeated Nina Ahmad, Jennifer Moore, and Olivia Faison in the general election for Pennsylvania Auditor General on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Timothy DeFoor (R)	49.4	3,338,009
		Nina Ahmad (D)	46.3	3,129,131
		Jennifer Moore (L)	3.1	205,929
		Olivia Faison (G)	1.2	78,588

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,751,657
= 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 Auditor General

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nina Ahmad	36.4	551,144
		Michael Lamb	27.1	410,556
		Christina Hartman	14.0	211,281
		Tracie Fountain	9.0	136,130
		H. Scott Conklin	7.5	112,952
		Rosie Davis	6.0	90,558

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,512,621
= 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 Auditor General

Timothy DeFoor advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Timothy DeFoor	100.0	1,042,092

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,042,092
= 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

• Cris Dush (R)

2018

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66

Incumbent Cris Dush defeated Kerith Taylor in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cris Dush (R)	79.6	17,007
	Submit photo	Kerith Taylor (D)	20.4	4,369

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,376
= 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 66

Kerith Taylor advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kerith Taylor	100.0	1,587

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,587
= 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 House of Representatives District 66

Incumbent Cris Dush advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cris Dush	100.0	4,928

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 4,928
= 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.

2016

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on April 26, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 16, 2016.

Incumbent Cris Dush ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66 general election.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Cris Dush Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

Incumbent Cris Dush ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66 Republican primary.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 66 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Cris Dush Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 11, 2014. Robert Toby Santik was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Cris Dush defeated Paul L Corbin and Harry Glenn Bodenhorn in the Republican primary. Dush defeaeted Santik in the general election.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 66 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Cris Dush	72.1%	11,777
	Democratic	Robert Toby Santik	27.9%	4,567
Total Votes				16,344

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 66 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Cris Dush	50.5%	3,294
Paul L Corbin	46.1%	3,006
Harry Glenn Bodenhorn	3.4%	219
Total Votes		6,519

2012

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2012

Dush ran in the 2012 election for Pennsylvania House District 66. Dush and James Brown were defeated by incumbent Sam Smith in the April 24 Republican primary.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 66 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sam Smith Incumbent	49.1%	3,150
James Brown	9%	579
Cris Dush	41.9%	2,691
Total Votes		6,420

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cris Dush did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Cris Dush did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

In an electronic communication with Ballotpedia, Dush described his political philosophy as constitutionalist. He went on to explain this central theme of his campaign:

• "I believe the founders, as a group, understood human nature relative to governance in a way that has been unique in human history. The Constitution of the United States was written to address the tendency of those in power to seek to draw it unto themselves, and provided means to prevent it. It allowed the Federal Republic to operate effectively without trampling on the sovereign rights of either the states or the individuals. Pennsylvania's original constitutions of 1776 and 1790 benefited from the proximate date and essential authors of the United States Constitution. The fact that we've strayed from the founders' intent is reflected in the social and economic woes we face today."

He also detailed his policy goals:

• "Bring bureaucrats before open sessions of house committees to be held to account for:

Unfunded Mandates

Excessive, duplicative, and wasteful documentation requirements on municipal governments, schools, businesses and individuals

Regulatory abuses"

• "Cut Secretariat staffing levels to 1980 levels."

• "Constitutional Amendments defining life as beginning at conception and marriage as being between one man and one woman."

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.

---

Cris Dush campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Pennsylvania State Senate District 25	Won general	$92,999	$90,067
2020	Pennsylvania State Senate District 25	Won general	$564,637	N/A**
2018	Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66	Won general	$28,985	N/A**
2016	Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 66	Won	$8,290	N/A**
2014	Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 66	Won	$57,400	N/A**
Grand total			$752,311	$90,067
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
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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.

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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.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 30. ACLU Pennsylvania Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil rights and civil liberties issues. 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. Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The Institute for Legislative Analysis Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 5 to December 31. 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. Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 7 to November 30. 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. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 2 through November 30. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Conservation Voters of PA Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Humane PA Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animals. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].
In 2017, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31. PennEnvironment Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 5 through November 30. American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania: 2016-2016 legislative scorecard Legislators are scored based on their voting record for bills relating to civil liberties. Marijuana Policy Project Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to medical marijuana. Pennsylvania Environmental scorecard: 2015-2016 scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Business: 2016 voting record Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].

In 2015, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 6 through December 31. American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania: 2016-2016 legislative scorecard Legislators are scored based on their voting record for bills relating to civil liberties. Pennsylvania Environmental scorecard: 2015-2016 scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

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Pennsylvania State Senate District 25

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Joe B. Scarnati III (R)	Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 2020-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 66 2015-2020	Succeeded by Brian Smith (R)

[show]

Current members of the Pennsylvania State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Joe Pittman

Minority Leader:Jay Costa

Senators

District 1

Nikil Saval (D)

District 2

Christine Tartaglione (D)

District 3

Sharif Street (D)

District 4

Art Haywood (D)

District 5

Joe Picozzi (R)

District 6

Frank Farry (R)

District 7

Vincent Hughes (D)

District 8

Anthony Williams (D)

District 9

John Kane (D)

District 10

Steve Santarsiero (D)

District 11

Judy Schwank (D)

District 12

Maria Collett (D)

District 13

Scott Martin (R)

District 14

Nick Miller (D)

District 15

Patty Kim (D)

District 16

Jarrett Coleman (R)

District 17

Amanda Cappelletti (D)

District 18

Lisa Boscola (D)

District 19

Carolyn Comitta (D)

District 20

Lisa Baker (R)

District 21

Scott Hutchinson (R)

District 22

Martin Flynn (D)

District 23

Gene Yaw (R)

District 24

Tracy Pennycuick (R)

District 25

Cris Dush (R)

District 26

Timothy Kearney (D)

District 27

Lynda Culver (R)

District 28

Kristin Phillips-Hill (R)

District 29

David Argall (R)

District 30

Judith Ward (R)

District 31

Dawn Keefer (R)

District 32

Patrick Stefano (R)

District 33

Doug Mastriano (R)

District 34

Greg Rothman (R)

District 35

Wayne Langerholc (R)

District 36

James Malone (D)

District 37

Devlin Robinson (R)

District 38

Lindsey Williams (D)

District 39

Kim Ward (R)

District 40

Rosemary Brown (R)

District 41

Joe Pittman (R)

District 42

Wayne Fontana (D)

District 43

Jay Costa (D)

District 44

Katie Muth (D)

District 45

Nick Pisciottano (D)

District 46

Camera Bartolotta (R)

District 47

Elder Vogel (R)

District 48

Chris Gebhard (R)

District 49

Daniel Laughlin (R)

District 50

Michele Brooks (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (23)