Judy Schwank

Judy Schwank

Democratic Party

Pennsylvania State Senate District 11

Tenure

2011 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

14

Compensation

Base salary

$106,422.33/year

Per diem

$185/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Graduate

Penn State University, 1982

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Judy Schwank (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing District 11. She assumed office on April 5, 2011. Her current term ends on November 30, 2028.

Schwank (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Pennsylvania State Senate to represent District 11. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Schwank earned her B.S. and M.Ed. in Agricultural Education from Pennsylvania State University.

Her professional experience includes the following positions: Schwank is a former Berks County Commissioner and the former director of the Berks County Cooperative Extension Program and President of 10,000 Friends, promoting sustainability and agriculture. Schwank also serves as a member of the Girl Scouts of Southeast PA Board of Directors and as chair the Pennsylvania State Planning Board. She is the dean of agricultural and environmental sciences at Delaware Valley College.

In June 2011, Governing Magazine named Schwank one of 12 "Democratic Legislators to Watch." Each of the legislators was selected on the basis of qualities such as leadership, ambition, and political potential.

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.

2021-2022

Schwank was assigned to the following committees:

• Aging & Youth Committee
• Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, Minority Chair
• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Senate Game & Fisheries Committee
• Health & Human Services Committee

2019-2020

Schwank was assigned to the following committees:

• Aging & Youth Committee
• Senate Appropriations Committee, Minority Vice Chair
• Health & Human Services Committee
• Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, Minority Chair
• Senate Local Government Committee

2017 legislative session

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

Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2017
• Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Minority chair
• Health & Human Services, Minority chair

2015 legislative session

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

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Schwank served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Schwank served on these committees:

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 11

Incumbent Judy Schwank defeated Lisha Rowe in the general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Judy Schwank (D)	58.7	63,935
		Lisha Rowe (R)	41.3	45,000
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	68

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 109,003
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11

Incumbent Judy Schwank advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Judy Schwank	99.6	13,721
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	62

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,783
= 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 11

Lisha Rowe defeated Miguel Vasquez in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lisha Rowe	76.2	8,384
	Submit photo	Miguel Vasquez	23.0	2,528
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	88

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,000
= 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

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Schwank in this election.

2020

See also: Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11

Incumbent Judy Schwank defeated Annette Baker in the general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Judy Schwank (D)	58.4	66,735
		Annette Baker (R)	41.6	47,624

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 114,359
= 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 State Senate District 11

Incumbent Judy Schwank advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Judy Schwank	100.0	23,638

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,638
= 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 11

Annette Baker advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Annette Baker	100.0	16,769

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,769
= 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 State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate 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 Judith Schwank ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 general election.

Pennsylvania State Senate District 11, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Judith Schwank Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

Incumbent Judith Schwank ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 Democratic primary.

Pennsylvania State Senate District 11, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Judith Schwank Incumbent (unopposed)

2012

See also: Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2012

Schwank ran in the 2012 election for Pennsylvania Senate District 11. Schwank ran unchallenged in the April 24 primary and defeated Karen Mogel in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

Pennsylvania State Senate, District 11, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Judy Schwank Incumbent	64.4%	63,796
	Republican	Karen Mogel	35.6%	35,318
Total Votes				99,114

2011

See also: State legislative special elections, 2011

Schwank defeated Larry Medaglia (R) in the March 15, 2011, special election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Judy Schwank did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Judy Schwank did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2011

Schwank's 2011 special election Judy's Schwank's website emphasized several policy positions and campaign themes:

• Jobs: "Working with business and community leaders, she was instrumental in the development of the Berks Economic Partnership, which has created or retained over 6,000 jobs in Berks County."

• Lower Property Taxes: "She knows that we must find a better way to fund government and education than by relying on our property taxes."

• Cutting Red Tape: "She understands that reform in Harrisburg will revive and strengthen Pennsylvania's economy."

• Experience: "She worked with Senator O'Pake to protect our Berks County values and way of life."

• Agriculture: "She led the efforts to protect Berks County's agricultural base and increase the economic viability of our farms."

• Community: "She has served Berks County in the public and nonprofit sectors her entire career, working to create good-paying, permanent jobs right here."

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.

---

Judy Schwank campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Pennsylvania State Senate District 11	Won general	$313,452	$325,151
2020	Pennsylvania State Senate District 11	Won general	$240,614	N/A**
2016	Pennsylvania State Senate, District 11	Won	$219,719	N/A**
2012	Pennsylvania State Senate, District 11	Won	$93,407	N/A**
2011	Pennsylvania State Senate Special elections, District 11	Won	$192,829	N/A**
Grand total			$1,060,021	$325,151
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.

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].

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.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 7 through November 12. Pennsylvania Environmental scorecard: 2013-14 scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club: 2014 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on LGBT issues. Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Business: 2013-2014 Voting Record Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. The American Conservative Union: 2014 Legislative scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].

In 2013, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 2 to December 31. Pennsylvania Environmental scorecard: 2013-14 scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Business: 2013-2014 Voting Record Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. The American Conservative Union: 2013 Legislative scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].

In 2012, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 3 to November 30. Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale scorecard: 2011-12 scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Business: 2011-2012 Voting Record Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. The American Conservative Union: 2012 Legislative scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2011

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show].
In 2011, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 4 through November 30. Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale scorecard: 2011-12 scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Business: 2011-2012 Voting Record Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Schwank is married to her husband Jim. They have three children.

See also

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Pennsylvania State Senate District 11

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Pennsylvania State Senate District 11 2011-Present	Succeeded by -

[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)