Jennifer O'Mara
Jennifer O'Mara (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 165. She assumed office on December 1, 2018. Her current term ends on November 30, 2026.
O'Mara (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 165. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
O'Mara was assigned to the following committees:
- House Labor & Industry Committee, Subcommittee Chair on Employment and Unemployment Compensation
- House Transportation Committee
- House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee
2021-2022
O'Mara was assigned to the following committees:
- House Labor & Industry Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee
- House Finance Committee
2019-2020
O'Mara was assigned to the following committees:
- Aging & Older Adult Services Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee
Elections
2024
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165
Incumbent Jennifer O'Mara defeated Liz Piazza in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jennifer O'Mara (D) | 59.5 | 24,659 |
| Liz Piazza (R) | 40.3 | 16,730 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 77 | ||
| Total votes: 41,466 | |||
 = 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 House of Representatives District 165
Incumbent Jennifer O'Mara advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on April 23, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer O'Mara | 99.4 | 7,228 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 46 | ||
| Total votes: 7,274 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 165
Liz Piazza advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on April 23, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Liz Piazza | 98.9 | 5,603 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.1 | 65 | ||
| Total votes: 5,668 | |||
| = 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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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for O'Mara in this election.
2022
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165
Incumbent Jennifer O'Mara defeated Nichole Missino and William Foster in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer O'Mara (D) | 61.1 | 21,145 |
 | Nichole Missino (R) | 37.7 | 13,056 | |
 | William Foster (Fostering Our Vote) | 1.2 | 403 | |
| Total votes: 34,604 | |||
| = 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 165
Incumbent Jennifer O'Mara advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer O'Mara | 100.0 | 8,675 |
| Total votes: 8,675 | |||
| = 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 165
Nichole Missino advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nichole Missino (Write-in) | 76.5 | 2,251 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 23.5 | 692 | ||
| Total votes: 2,943 | |||
| = 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
- Robert Jordan (R)
Campaign finance
2020
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165
Incumbent Jennifer O'Mara defeated Robert Smythe Jr. in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer O'Mara (D) | 51.6 | 21,529 |
| Robert Smythe Jr. (R) | 48.4 | 20,222 | ||
| Total votes: 41,751 | |||
| = 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 165
Incumbent Jennifer O'Mara advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer O'Mara | 100.0 | 8,343 |
| Total votes: 8,343 | |||
| = 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 165
Robert Smythe Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Robert Smythe Jr. | 100.0 | 7,632 | |
| Total votes: 7,632 | |||
| = 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 finance
Endorsements
To view O'Mara's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
2018
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165
Jennifer O'Mara defeated incumbent Alexander Charlton in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer O'Mara (D) | 50.8 | 16,627 |
 | Alexander Charlton (R) | 49.2 | 16,096 | |
| Total votes: 32,723 | |||
| = 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 165
Jennifer O'Mara advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer O'Mara | 100.0 | 4,314 |
| Total votes: 4,314 | |||
| = 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 165
Incumbent Alexander Charlton defeated Regina Scheerer in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alexander Charlton | 65.7 | 4,566 |
| Regina Scheerer | 34.3 | 2,382 | ||
| Total votes: 6,948 | |||
| = 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
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jennifer O'Mara did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Jennifer O'Mara did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Jennifer O'Mara completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by O'Mara's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I ran for office to give working people and working families a champion in Harrisburg. Since my victory in 2018, I have been working tirelessly for my constituents and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As a legislator I have fought for union protections, a living wage, and increased access to healthcare. In my first term I have written and passed legislation that fully funds the Veteran's Trust Fund and introduced a bill to ensure that workers who were laid off as a result of COVID-19 have access to full worker's compensation. I attended every single legislative session, co-sponsored over 200 pieces of legislation, and brought back nearly $4 million to my district in grant money.
- I campaigned on bringing the government back to the people. Since my victory in 2018, I have worked tirelessly for my constituents and for all Pennsylvanians. In my first year, I attended every single legislative session, co-sponsored over 200 pieces of legislation, and brought nearly $4 million to my district to support teachers, firefighters, and local municipal projects including infrastructure investments and park and trail improvements. I know that fundamentally, my role is one of serving my community - that's why I was honored to be named as one of the country's 11 most accessible legislators. With the critical issues facing our Commonwealth and our region, we need legislators who care about the communities and people they serve.
- I'm not a typical politician. I wasn't groomed to run for politics or recruited. I came to this job because I believe in public service. Now that I'm in office, I work hard to be an independent voice and to represent my district, not my political party. In my first term, I created the bipartisan Student Debt Caucus with my fellow co-chair, Rep. Meghan Schroeder (R-Bucks), to enact meaningful reform for college students and graduates saddled with student loan debt. My bill to fund the Veterans trust fund received broad bipartisan support and I worked with Democrats and Republicans to ensure a broad government response to COVID-19. I reach across the aisle because I know that helping workers is not a partisan issue.
The role of relationships also extends beyond the Pennsylvania borders. I've formed relationships with legislators in other states, to learn about best practices for both getting legislation passed and challenges to implementation to ensure we aren't facing these same roadblocks.
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.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jennifer O'Mara completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by O'Mara's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
My top three priorities are fair funding for public education, fighting for working people, and protecting access to affordable healthcare. I made it because of public services that were there for me when the needed to be - services like pensions, public schools, and CHIP. I'm running to protect those services. We need to make Pennsylvania work for working people, by giving everyone the resources they need to succeed and support their families.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I've been knocking on doors for almost two years now. The number one issue I hear about, from both parents and kids, is what I'm going to do to keep their communities safe and their schools fully-funded. I know firsthand how important this is. I'm a certified teacher. I went through the Delco public school system - I'm here today because of public schools. We need to be prioritizing the education of our communities, and giving everyone an equal opportunity to succeed. But we also need to make sure students are safe and comfortable going to school, playing in their yards, walking the streets of our communities. That means we need common sense gun legislation. My father died by gun suicide; my husband is a two-time Purple Heart recipient with multiple gunshot wounds. Guns are causing irreparable damage to our children and our communities, and in Harrisburg, they haven't done anything about it. I'm running to fight for common sense gun legislation. It's absolutely essential to keeping our children safe.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
There's a reason we call our elected officials representatives. Their job, plain and simple, is to represent the people of our district and our communities. I've been knocking on doors for almost two years now. I've talked to thousands of voters on both sides of the aisle in every town in my district, and the first thing I ask at every door I knock is, "what issues are most important to you?" I've heard from my community on subjects ranging from healthcare to green space to common sense gun legislation, because I'm running to represent the people, not a party.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
When I was 13, we lost my father to gun suicide. It changed everything for our family. I struggled a lot in the years following to find my voice, to figure out how to process what had happened while still being strong for my mom and younger brother. It was one of my public school teachers who changed all of that for me. He helped my channel my emotions into student council, into making a positive change in my community, as small as it was. Without the support he gave me, I wouldn't be here today. That's why I want to continue my career in public service through representing the people of the 165th in Harrisburg.
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?
The problem with so many of our politicians is that they don't know what it's like to be a working-class person in their community. They don't understand real life problems because working in government is not comparable to working in the real world. They don't understand what we're going through, and they don't know what's important to us. We need representatives who are able to do just that - represent us. Some politicians can do this, and some of them can't.
Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.
It's absolutely beneficial to build relationships with other legislators. We need to end the partisan divisiveness in our country, and a huge first step forwards is forming relationship within the legislature, on both sides of the aisle. I wouldn't be running if I didn't have the support of current representatives and other candidates, because I know how important it is to build relationships and work together in Harrisburg.
Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?
A few months ago, I received a message from a young woman in my district named Kate. Kate is permanently disabled and contacted me because she wanted to meet me but attending events was a hardship for her. I offered to set up a meeting and within a week, I was heading over to her house for coffee. We talked for over an hour about the challenges Kate and her family are facing every day. She shared her struggles with the healthcare system, her confusion about how to get care, her fears about what would happen in the future. But she also told me about the experiences she has, nearly every day, as a disabled person. She told me she's had trouble voting because her polling place isn't ADA accessible. She's tried to attend political events, large and small, and had been unable to because of her disability. My conversation with Kate deepened the way I thought about these issues. I was able to tell her that her language and experiences had helped shape the way I phrased and thought about my own policies around these issues - that her voice had made a difference. Now, I'm working with the founders of the Philadelphia Women's March to make the event more ADA accessible, and I'm working to find a way to bring Kate with me. I'm running for office to fight for people like Kate.
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.
Scorecards
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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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Pennsylvania scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 2 to November 14.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 13.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 30.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 5 to December 31.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 7 to November 30.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 |
Officeholder Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Alexander Charlton (R) |
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 165 2018-Present |
Succeeded by - |
