Patricia McCullough

Patricia McCullough

Republican Party

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Tenure

2010 - Present

Term ends

2030

Years in position

15

Compensation

Base salary

$247,188

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2019

Education

Bachelor's

University of Pittsburgh, 1978

Law

University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1981

Contact

Official website

Patricia McCullough (Republican Party) is a judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. She assumed office on January 4, 2010. Her current term ends on January 7, 2030.

McCullough (Republican Party) ran for election for judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She lost in the Republican primary on May 16, 2023.

Biography

Patricia McCullough earned a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978 and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. McCullough's career experience includes working as a lawyer in private practice, an adjunct faculty member with the University of Pittsburgh, and an assistant general counsel with the University of Pittsburgh Office of General Counsel. She served as the executive director of the Catholic Charities Diocese of Pittsburgh and the chair and vice-chair of the Allegheny County Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review.

Elections

2023

See also: Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, 2023

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Daniel D. McCaffery defeated Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio in the general election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel D. McCaffery (D)	53.5	1,652,113
		Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio (R)	46.5	1,434,945

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,087,058
= 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 Supreme Court

Daniel D. McCaffery defeated Deborah A. Kunselman in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel D. McCaffery	60.2	633,845
		Deborah A. Kunselman	39.8	419,090

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,052,935
= 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 Supreme Court

Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio defeated Patricia McCullough in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio	53.6	441,413
		Patricia McCullough	46.4	382,512

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 823,925
= 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

This section contains campaign finance figures from candidates submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of State Campaign Finance Online Reporting during the primary election.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

2021

See also: Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, 2021

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Kevin Brobson defeated Maria McLaughlin in the general election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Brobson (R)	50.4	1,397,100
		Maria McLaughlin (D)	49.6	1,372,182

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,769,282
= 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 Supreme Court

Maria McLaughlin advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 18, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Maria McLaughlin	100.0	945,138

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 945,138
= 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

• Carolyn H. Nichols (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Kevin Brobson defeated Patricia McCullough and Paula A. Patrick in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 18, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Brobson	52.2	505,084
		Patricia McCullough	32.9	317,975
		Paula A. Patrick	14.9	144,291

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 967,350
= 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.

2019

See also: Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2019

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Incumbent Patricia McCullough won election in the general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia McCullough (Nonpartisan)	100.0	1,474,584

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,474,584
= 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.

2009

McCullough was elected to one of two open seats on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in 2009.

Candidate	Incumbent	Party	Primary %	Election %
Patricia McCullough A	No	Republican	37.2%	28.1%
Kevin Brobson A	No	Republican	35.1%	26.1%
Linda Judson	No	Democratic		23%
Barbara Ernsberger	No	Democratic		22.6%

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Patricia McCullough did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Patricia McCullough did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

Candidate forum

During a March 2021 candidate forum, McCullough said:

“

Look at our cases more than our registration. ... I am a conservative on the issues, but I am fair and impartial and uphold the rule of law.

”

2019

Patricia McCullough did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

Noteworthy cases

Kelly v. Pennsylvania (2020)

On November 21, 2020, a group of state Republican officials, candidates, and voters filed suit in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, alleging that the state law allowing all voters to cast their ballots by mail violated the state constitution. The plaintiffs asked the court either to order election officials "to certify the results of the election based solely on the legal votes" or to direct "that the Pennsylvania General Assembly choose Pennsylvania's [presidential] electors."

On November 25, 2020, Judge Patricia McCullough ordered election officials to temporarily halt "any further action to perfect the certification of the results of the 2020 general election ... for the offices of President and Vice President," pending an evidentiary hearing scheduled for November 27, 2020.

State officials appealed McCullough's order to the state supreme court. On November 28, 2020, the state supreme court ruled unanimously to vacate McCullough's order and dismiss the case with prejudice. In its unsigned opinion, the court wrote the following:

“

The want of due diligence demonstrated in this matter is unmistakable. Petitioners filed this facial challenge to the mail-in voting statutory provisions more than one year after the enactment of Act 77. At the time this action was filed on November 21, 2020, millions of Pennsylvania voters had already expressed their will in both the June 2020 primary election and the November 2020 general election and the final ballots in the 2020 general election were being tallied, with the results becoming seemingly apparent. Nevertheless, petitioners waited to commence this litigation until days before the county boards of election were required to certify the election results to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Thus, it is beyond cavil that petitioners failed to act with due diligence in presenting the instant claim. Equally clear is the substantial prejudice arising from petitioners’ failure to institute promptly a facial challenge to the mail-in voting statutory scheme, as such inaction would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of Pennsylvania voters.

”

Sean Parnell, a Republican congressional candidate who was a party to the lawsuit, said he and the other plaintiffs would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. On December 1, 2020, the plaintiffs petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily block the state supreme court's order pending appeal. However, the plaintiffs subsequently withdrew this application, and on December 2, 2020, they petitioned the state supreme court to stay its decision pending a determination by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether it would take up the case. The state supreme court declined to stay its decision on December 3, 2020.

In light of the state supreme court's December 3, 2020, order, the plaintiffs again petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the state supreme court's ruling. Associate Justice Samuel Alito, the justice assigned to consider emergency applications from the Third Circuit (which contains Pennsylvania), directed the defendants to respond to the plaintiffs' filing by 9 a.m. on December 8, 2020. Alito referred the matter to the full court, which, on December 8, 2020, declined to take up the case. The court made its decision without noted dissent.

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Officeholder

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Footnotes

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