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Deborah Baughman
Deborah Baughman (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 78. Baughman lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Baughman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2018. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 78
Incumbent Jesse Topper defeated Deborah Baughman in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 78 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jesse Topper (R) | 79.2 | 18,937 |
Deborah Baughman (D)  | 20.8 | 4,971 | ||
| Total votes: 23,908 | |||
| = 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 78
Deborah Baughman advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 78 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Deborah Baughman | 100.0 | 1,573 | |
| Total votes: 1,573 | |||
| = 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 78
Incumbent Jesse Topper advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 78 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jesse Topper | 100.0 | 6,728 |
| Total votes: 6,728 | |||
| = 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
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Deborah Baughman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Baughman's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
1) Reduce the tax burden on average families I support a fair and balanced tax system. Average families are paying more than they should, while the wealthy and large corporations are paying less. I support comprehensive tax reform that includes reducing property taxes for most residents. 2) Ensure good healthcare options that families can afford I will work to ensure local hospital services (such as maternity) and patient care (safe staffing ratios) aren't sacrificed for corporate profits. High insurance and prescription drug costs are placing our residents at risk of not getting treatment they need. 3) Energize our rural economy Priorities: make reliable rural broadband and cell service a reality; establish fair and equitable school funding; create training opportunities for high-paying local jobs; support policies that allow farmers to adapt to a changing agricultural environment; support rural small businesses and reduce taxes in exchange for wage increases.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am particulary interested in rural issues. Our rural economy faces long-term challenges and has not fully recovered from the Great Recession. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania has identified an aging labor force, lower educational attainment levels, and limited broadband access as three factors challenging long-term growth. I would like to work on securing our future while preserving our small-town values.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I am a fresh political voice who puts people over party. I am a person who rolls up my sleeves and doesn't shy away from tough problems. I am driven by finding solutions, not building my political career prospects. Over the course of the campaign, I have knocked on thousands of doors and reached out to people of all political persuasions. I know and love the people of my district, and I will fight tirelessly for our forgotten people and communities- the people with mud on their boots. I spent 25 years in public service as a teacher. I taught all kinds of students from all kinds of families. My job was to help them achieve success. If one method didn't work, I had to find another that did. I didn't give up on students, I found solutions that worked for them. I did that for them, and I will do that for the people of the 78th District.
What process do you favor for redistricting?
I favor an independent commission as proposed by Fair Districts PA
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.
See also
- State legislative elections, 2018
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2018
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives
External links
Footnotes
