Paul Friel

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Paul Friel
Democratic Party
Candidate, Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26
Tenure
2022 - Present
Term ends
2026
Years in position
3
Predecessor: Timothy Hennessey (R)
Prior offices:
Owen J Roberts School District, At-large
Compensation
Base salary
$110,015.54/year
Per diem
$198/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
May 19, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
Temple University, 1993
Personal
Birthplace
Gilbertsville, PA
Profession
Business owner
Contact
Official website
Official Facebook
Official X
Official Instagram
Personal Facebook
Personal X
Personal Instagram
Personal LinkedIn

Paul Friel (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 26. He assumed office on December 1, 2022. His current term ends on November 30, 2026.

Friel (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 26. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on May 19, 2026.[source]

Biography

Paul Friel was born in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. Friel graduated from St. Pius X High School in 1987. He earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University in 1993. Friel's career experience includes owning and managing PACE Environmental and working in executive management. He has served on the boards of the Philadelphia Boys' Choir and Camp Rainbow.[1][2]

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Friel was assigned to the following committees:


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

2026

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Paul Friel (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on May 19, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Paul Friel
Paul Friel

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Paul Friel defeated Shawn Blickley in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Friel
Paul Friel (D)
 
57.2
 
22,421
Image of Shawn Blickley
Shawn Blickley (R) Candidate Connection
 
42.6
 
16,675
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
68

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 39,164
Candidate Connection = 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 26

Incumbent Paul Friel advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on April 23, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Friel
Paul Friel
 
99.3
 
5,605
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
38

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,643
Candidate Connection = 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 26

Shawn Blickley advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on April 23, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Shawn Blickley
Shawn Blickley (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
87.7
 
1,583
 Other/Write-in votes
 
12.3
 
223

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,806
Candidate Connection = 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 Friel in this election.

2022

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26

Paul Friel defeated incumbent Timothy Hennessey in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Friel
Paul Friel (D)
 
57.0
 
17,853
Image of Timothy Hennessey
Timothy Hennessey (R)
 
43.0
 
13,463

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 31,316
Candidate Connection = 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 26

Paul Friel advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on May 17, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Friel
Paul Friel
 
100.0
 
7,003

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,003
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26

Incumbent Timothy Hennessey advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on May 17, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Timothy Hennessey
Timothy Hennessey
 
100.0
 
6,732

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,732
Candidate Connection = 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 26

Incumbent Timothy Hennessey defeated Paul Friel in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Timothy Hennessey
Timothy Hennessey (R)
 
53.5
 
19,769
Image of Paul Friel
Paul Friel (D) Candidate Connection
 
46.5
 
17,180

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 36,949
Candidate Connection = 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 26

Paul Friel defeated Frank Gillen in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Friel
Paul Friel Candidate Connection
 
68.1
 
2,721
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Frank Gillen
 
31.9
 
1,276

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,997
Candidate Connection = 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 26

Incumbent Timothy Hennessey advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Timothy Hennessey
Timothy Hennessey
 
100.0
 
5,306

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,306
Candidate Connection = 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 Friel's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Paul Friel has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Paul Friel, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Paul Friel did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Paul Friel did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Candidate Connection

Paul Friel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Friel's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

I'm a business owner, school board member, and advocate for public education and environmental stewardship. I will use my 25 years of executive experience to ensure greater investment in our communities and fight for common-sense, progressive policy that will allow families to thrive. As a public school parent and member of the Owen J. Roberts School Board, I will fight for greater, more equitable funding of public education, and I'm committed to environmental advocacy and clean jobs that will protect our communities and improve the economy. I believe that sound policy, reflective of our shared values and the considerations of our local community, will lead to sound government actions - this core belief combined with my priorities has pushed me to run for office.
  • Strengthening Education
  • Environmental stewardship and protecting natural lands
  • Economic recovery from COVID-19 that prioritizes local businesses
I am personally passionate about education. I am a public school parent and school board member, and I believe strongly that improving our schools will help create equality of opportunity for all our kids. I believe it's time that our state put the investment into education that we need, which will give our kids the resources they need to thrive and create equity across the state. I am also passionate about the environment. I love the outdoors and the open lands here in Chester County, and I want to protect it for our families as well as future generations. As the owner of a small business, I also believe strongly in helping local businesses thrive here in Pennsylvania.
I believe relevant experience is necessary. As a business owner with over 25 years of executive management experience in private, publicly-traded, and small businesses, I have the leadership experience and acumen to effectively represent my community. As a member of the Owen J. Roberts School Board, I also am accustomed to elected office.

However, I believe there are too many long-time legislators in Harrisburg who are out of touch with their communities, and do too little with the office while collecting taxpayers' money. I'm not a career politician, and I pledge to take action to fix the issues affecting Pennsylvanians from the day I am sworn in.
I believe rebuilding our economy in a way that will support our environment and local economies is the greatest challenge that I am committed to tackling in the State House.
Pennsylvania is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, and this damages our citizen engagement and cohesion in the political process. Communities should be able to vote together, and our current system splits them up for political gains. All parties should have a fair chance to govern, and legislators should be able to represent geography- and community-based districts, which will make both the campaigning and legislative processes more effective. I'm committed to ensuring that communities can vote together and be governed by a common legislator, rather than being split up to advance partisan political needs.

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.

Paul Friel campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26Won general$65,129 $76,756
2022Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26Won general$917,003 $369,195
2020Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26Lost general$1,218,473 N/A**
Grand total$2,200,606 $445,951
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, 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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2025.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2016.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2015.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2014.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2013.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2012.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2011.

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External links

Officeholder

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26
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    Personal

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 14, 2020
    2. ↑ PA House of Representatives, "Paul Friel," accessed February 3, 2023

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Timothy Hennessey (R)     		Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 26
    2022-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Owen J Roberts School District, At-large
    		Succeeded by
    -


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