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Joanna McClinton
2015 - Present
2026
10
Joanna McClinton (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 191. She assumed office on August 25, 2015. Her current term ends on November 30, 2026.
McClinton was elected House speaker on February 28, 2023, becoming the first woman to serve in that position. Democrats won a 102-101 majority in the 2022 elections, but vacancies meant they temporarily ceded a 101-99 majority to Republicans. In the interim, all the chamber's Democrats and 16 Republicans elected Mark Rozzi (D) as speaker, who promised not to caucus with Democrats and act as an independent. When those vacancies were filled, Rozzi resigned as speaker and said he wanted to make way for McClinton to become speaker. Click here to learn more.[1] McClinton also served as House Democratic Caucus Chair from 2018 to 2020 and as House Democratic Leader from 2020 to 2023.[2]
McClinton received her B.A. in political science from LaSalle University and her J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law.[3] Her professional experience includes working as an assistant public defender and as chief counsel to state Sen. Anthony Williams (D).[2] McClinton was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives with 71% of the vote in a 2015 special election following the resignation of Ronald Waters (D). She was re-elected in every election cycle with no opposition in either the primary or general election.
McClinton told the National Conference of State Legislatures in 2024 that her legislative priorities would be changing the criminal justice system and ending a cycle of underinvestment in communities of color. She said that her experience as a public defender and working in the legislature contributed to her desire to run for public office: "As a public defender, I was a firsthand witness to how underinvestment in my community impacted our neighbors, our outcomes and our opportunities. I was helping them tackle their challenges one case at a time. I went to work for my state senator immediately after leaving the public defender’s office and my perspective broadened in a major way. I also got to see who was making those laws and recognize that many of them, unlike myself, did not have recent courtroom experience in the criminal justice system."[4]
In a December 2023 summary of McClinton's first legislative session as speaker, The Pennsylvania Independent's Anna Gustafson wrote: "Under McClinton’s leadership, the House has passed more progressive bills than it had for the previous decade. The House has greenlit legislation that would address gun violence prevention, protect abortion care, end discrimination based on sexual identity and hair style, increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, and set minimum staffing levels in hospitals . . . Those bills, among other legislation, were championed by a speaker who has consistently managed to secure not only Democratic backing but GOP votes as well, including on bills that would provide for increased background checks for purchasers of firearms and protect people traveling to Pennsylvania to access abortion care."[5]
Sponsored legislation
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
McClinton was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
McClinton was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
McClinton was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Children & Youth |
| • Human Services |
| • Judiciary |
| • Liquor Control |
| • Professional Licensure |
Elections
2024
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton won election in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Joanna McClinton (D) | 99.4 | 23,939 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 133 | ||
| Total votes: 24,072 | |||
 = 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 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on April 23, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanna McClinton | 99.7 | 6,461 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 20 | ||
| Total votes: 6,481 | |||
| = 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 McClinton in this election.
2022
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton won election in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanna McClinton (D) | 100.0 | 17,359 |
| Total votes: 17,359 | |||
| = 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 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanna McClinton | 100.0 | 7,208 |
| Total votes: 7,208 | |||
| = 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
2020
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton won election in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanna McClinton (D) | 100.0 | 25,065 |
| Total votes: 25,065 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanna McClinton | 100.0 | 10,535 |
| Total votes: 10,535 | |||
| = 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
2018
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton won election in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanna McClinton (D) | 100.0 | 20,447 |
| Total votes: 20,447 | |||
| = 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 191
Incumbent Joanna McClinton advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joanna McClinton | 100.0 | 4,933 |
| Total votes: 4,933 | |||
| = 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
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 Joanna McClinton ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 general election.[6][7]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Joanna McClinton Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State | ||
Incumbent Joanna McClinton ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 Democratic primary.[8][9]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 191 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Joanna McClinton Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2015
A special election for the position of Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 was called for August 11. Candidates were nominated by parties rather than chosen in primaries.[10]
The seat was vacant following Ronald Waters' (D) resignation on June 1, 2015, after he pleaded guilty to accepting $8,750 in cash payments in exchange for political actions.[11]
Joanna McClinton (D) defeated Charles Wilkins (R) and Tracey Gordon (Tracey Gordon Party) in the special election.[12][13]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 191, Special Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Joanna McClinton |
70.6% | 1,806 | |
| Tracey Gordon Party | Tracey Gordon | 22.2% | 568 | |
| Republican | Charles Wilkins | 7.2% | 184 | |
| Total Votes | 2,558 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joanna McClinton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Joanna McClinton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Joanna McClinton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
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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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 2 through November 30.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 5 through November 30.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 6 through December 31.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 |
Officeholder Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Spotlight PA, "Joanna McClinton elected first female speaker of the Pa. House as Mark Rozzi steps down," February 28, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 PA House Democrats, "Rep. Joanna McClinton's Biography," accessed May 23, 2025
- ↑ Pennsylvania House of Representatives, "Joanna E. McClinton," accessed May 23, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Leading With a Minister’s Touch and a Public Defender’s Insight," January 9, 2024
- ↑ The Pennsylvania Independent, "Joanna McClinton reflects on being the first Black woman to serve as PA House speaker," December 15, 2023
- ↑ Pennsylvania Voter Services, "Candidate listing," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "November 8, 2016, official election results," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Secretary of State, "Election Information," accessed February 18, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2016 Presidential Primary," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ philly.com, "Want to represent Phila.? Three state House seats up for grabs," accessed June 16, 2015
- ↑ pennlive.com/, "Pa. State Rep. Ron Waters pleads to accepting cash for official action; will resign seat today," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Unofficial candidate list," accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Results for the 191st Legislative Special Election," accessed August 12, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 191 2015-Present |
Succeeded by - |
