Natasha Taylor-Smith
Natasha Taylor-Smith (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. She assumed office on January 1, 2024. Her current term ends on January 2, 2034.
Taylor-Smith (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. She won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Education
Taylor-Smith received her undergraduate degree from Hampton University and her J.D. from Temple University Law School.[1]
Career
Taylor-Smith is a municipal attorney for Montgomery County. She previously ran her own private law practice. She has also been an adjunct professor at Temple University Law School.[1]
Elections
2023
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judges Genece E. Brinkley, Joel S. Johnson, and Rayford A. Means filed to run for retention in 2023 but later withdrew.[2] As a result, 10 seats on the court were up in the primary election, but 13 seats were up in the general election on November 7, 2023. The Democratic Party nominated candidates James Eisenhower, Elvin Ross, and Raj Sandher to run for the additional three seats in the general election.[3]
See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2023)
General election
General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tamika Washington (D)  | 9.5 | 204,468 |
| ✔ |  | Natasha Taylor-Smith (D) | 9.4 | 201,305 |
| ✔ |  | Samantha Williams (D) | 8.9 | 190,770 |
| ✔ |  | Kay Yu (D) | 8.6 | 184,310 |
| ✔ |  | Brian McLaughlin (D) | 8.4 | 181,161 |
| ✔ | Chesley Lightsey (D) | 8.2 | 175,248 | |
| ✔ | John Padova Jr. (D) | 7.7 | 165,392 | |
| ✔ |  | Jessica Brown (D) | 7.2 | 155,170 |
| ✔ |  | Caroline Turner (D) | 7.1 | 152,850 |
| ✔ | Damaris Garcia (D) | 6.6 | 141,108 | |
| ✔ | James Eisenhower (D) | 6.5 | 138,927 | |
| ✔ | Elvin Ross (D) | 6.0 | 128,519 | |
| ✔ | Raj Sandher (D) | 5.8 | 124,315 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 3,961 | ||
| Total votes: 2,147,504 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on May 16, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Natasha Taylor-Smith | 10.3 | 145,242 |
| ✔ | | Tamika Washington | 9.3 | 130,896 |
| ✔ | | Samantha Williams | 8.6 | 121,340 |
| ✔ | | Kay Yu | 7.8 | 109,961 |
| ✔ | John Padova Jr. | 7.2 | 100,946 | |
| ✔ | Chesley Lightsey | 6.5 | 91,646 | |
| ✔ | | Brian McLaughlin | 6.2 | 87,367 |
| ✔ | Damaris Garcia | 6.2 | 86,824 | |
| ✔ | | Caroline Turner | 6.1 | 86,095 |
| ✔ | | Jessica Brown | 5.8 | 81,517 |
 | Will Braveman | 5.6 | 78,447 | |
 | Wade Albert | 5.5 | 78,124 | |
 | Kenneth Joel | 5.0 | 69,900 | |
| Qawi Abdul-Rahman | 3.9 | 54,810 | ||
| Melissa Francis | 3.5 | 48,868 | ||
| Joe Green | 2.7 | 38,524 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 865 | ||
| Total votes: 1,411,372 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- MK Feeney (D)
- Colleen McIntyre Osborne (D)
- Aaron Bell (D)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Taylor-Smith in this election.
2015
- See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2015
Pennsylvania's judicial elections included a primary on May 19, 2015, and a general election on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates was March 11, 2015.
The following candidates ran in the general election.
| Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Three seats, General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Risa Vetri Ferman |
18.3% | 84,008 | |
| Democratic | Dan Clifford |
17.8% | 81,978 | |
| Democratic | Todd Eisenberg |
17.7% | 81,466 | |
| Democratic | Natasha Taylor-Smith | 16.3% | 74,916 | |
| Republican | Gregory Cirillo | 15.4% | 70,906 | |
| Republican | Stephen Heckman | 14.5% | 66,732 | |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 | ||
| Total Votes | 460,006 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "Unofficial General Election Results," November 3, 2015 | ||||
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary.
| Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Three seats, Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Natasha Taylor-Smith |
25.8% | 22,576 |
| Todd Eisenberg |
23.9% | 20,961 |
| Dan Clifford |
21.0% | 18,345 |
| Risa Vetri Ferman | 16.1% | 14,097 |
| Stephen Heckman | 6.6% | 5,803 |
| Gregory Cirillo | 6.6% | 5,740 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes | 87,522 | |
| Source: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, "2015 Primary Election Unofficial Report 2015," May 19, 2015 | ||
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary.
| Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Three seats, Republican Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Risa Vetri Ferman |
30.7% | 23,318 |
| Gregory Cirillo |
22.0% | 16,725 |
| Stephen Heckman |
21.7% | 16,470 |
| Todd Eisenberg | 10.2% | 7,774 |
| Dan Clifford | 10.1% | 7,693 |
| Natasha Taylor-Smith | 5.3% | 3,994 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes | 75,974 | |
| Source: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, "2015 Primary Election Unofficial Report 2015," May 19, 2015 | ||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Natasha Taylor-Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Natasha Taylor-Smith for Judge, "About Natasha," accessed April 7, 2015
- ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Three key Court of Common Pleas judicial seats are now up for grabs in Philly’s general election," September 8, 2023
- ↑ The Legal Intelligencer, "3 New Candidates Added to Ballot for 'Magic Seat' Spots on Phila. Bench," September 19, 2023
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
