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Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

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Pennsylvania State Senate District 22
Incumbent
Assumed office: June 9, 2021

Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 is represented by Martin Flynn (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Pennsylvania state senators represented an average of 260,237 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 254,698 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the Pennsylvania State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Pennsylvania legislators assume office on the first day of December after a general election.[1]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Article II of the Pennsylvania Constitution states:[2]

Senators shall be at least 25 years of age and Representatives 21 years of age. They shall have been citizens and inhabitants of the State four years, and inhabitants of their respective districts one year next before their election (unless absent on the public business of the United States or of this State), and shall reside in their respective districts during their terms of service.[3]


Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[4]
SalaryPer diem
$106,422.33/year$185/day

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election. There are no deadlines set in the state constitution on when a special election can be held.[5]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Pennsylvania Cons. Art. II, §2


2016 pivot county

206 Pivot Counties Logo.png
See also: Pivot Counties and Legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties

This district was one of 710 state legislative districts that, based on boundaries adopted after the 2010 census, intersected with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.

The 206 Pivot Counties were located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. At that time, the partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.[6]

District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in Pennsylvania after the 2020 census

On February 4, 2022, the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted 4-1 to approve new state House and Senate maps.[7] House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R) voted no, while Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R), state Rep. Joanna McClinton (D), state Sen. Jay Costa (D), and chairman Mark Nordenberg voted yes.[7] These maps took effect for Pennsylvania's 2022 legislative elections.

How does redistricting in Pennsylvania work? In Pennsylvania, the statutory authority to draw congressional district boundaries is vested with the Pennsylvania General Assembly. These lines are subject to gubernatorial veto.[8]

State legislative district lines are drawn by a politician commission. Established in 1968, the commission comprises five members:[8]

  1. The majority leader of the Pennsylvania State Senate appoints one member.
  2. The minority leader of the Pennsylvania State Senate appoints one member.
  3. The majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives appoints one member.
  4. The minority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives appoints one member.
  5. The first four commissioners appoint a fifth member to serve as the commission's chair. If the commission is unable to reach an agreement, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court must appoint a commission chair.[8]


The Pennsylvania Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and compact. Further, state legislative districts should "respect county, city, incorporated town, borough, township and ward boundaries." There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[8]

Pennsylvania State Senate District 22
until November 30, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Pennsylvania State Senate District 22
starting December 1, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2022

See also: Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

Incumbent Martin Flynn defeated Thomas Bassett in the general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Martin Flynn
Martin Flynn (D)
 
60.4
 
54,127
Image of Thomas Bassett
Thomas Bassett (R) Candidate Connection
 
39.6
 
35,480

Total votes: 89,607
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

Incumbent Martin Flynn advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on May 17, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Martin Flynn
Martin Flynn
 
98.4
 
26,977
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.6
 
434

Total votes: 27,411
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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

Thomas Bassett advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on May 17, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Thomas Bassett
Thomas Bassett (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
47.1
 
1,504
 Other/Write-in votes
 
52.9
 
1,691

Total votes: 3,195
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

2021

See also: Pennsylvania state legislative special elections, 2021

A special election for District 22 of the Pennsylvania State Senate was called for May 18, 2021. The candidate filing deadline was March 29, 2021.[9]

The seat became vacant after John Blake (D) resigned on March 8, 2021, to work for U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D).[10]

General election

Special general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

Martin Flynn defeated Chris Chermak, Marlene Sebastianelli, and Nathan Covington in the special general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on May 18, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Martin Flynn
Martin Flynn (D)
 
51.5
 
28,449
Chris Chermak (R)
 
38.0
 
20,989
Marlene Sebastianelli (G)
 
9.4
 
5,170
Image of Nathan Covington
Nathan Covington (L) Candidate Connection
 
1.2
 
643

Total votes: 55,251
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

Incumbent John Blake defeated Frank Scavo III in the general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Blake
John Blake (D)
 
61.3
 
59,249
Frank Scavo III (R)
 
38.7
 
37,363

Total votes: 96,612
(100.00% precincts reporting)
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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

Incumbent John Blake advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Blake
John Blake
 
100.0
 
19,552

Total votes: 19,552
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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22

Frank Scavo III advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Frank Scavo III
 
100.0
 
8,623

Total votes: 8,623
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.

2014

See also: Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in that election was March 11, 2014. Incumbent John Blake was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Joe Albert was unopposed in the Republican primary. Blake defeated Albert in the general election.[11][12][13]

Pennsylvania State Senate, District 22 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Blake Incumbent 68.3% 45,716
     Republican Joe Albert 31.7% 21,213
Total Votes 66,929

2010

See also: Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Pennsylvania State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 18, 2010, and a general election on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 9, 2010. John Blake (D) defeated Frank Scavo (R) in the general election and defeated five others in the Democratic primary. Scavo was unopposed in the Republican primary.[14][15]

Pennsylvania State Senate, District 22, General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Blake 62.6% 49,299
     Republican Frank Scavo 37.4% 29,432
Total Votes 78,731

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 raised a total of $9,377,233. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $407,706 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Pennsylvania State Senate District 22
Year Amount Candidates Average
2022 $348,632 2 $174,316
2021 $2,063,356 4 $515,839
2018 $606,683 1 $606,683
2014 $575,991 2 $287,996
2012 $264,915 1 $264,915
2010 $2,685,314 7 $383,616
2008 $711,276 1 $711,276
2006 $702,720 1 $702,720
2004 $641,273 1 $641,273
2002 $575,091 2 $287,546
2000 $201,981 1 $201,981
Total $9,377,233 23 $407,706


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Pennsylvania Constitution, "Article II, Section 2," accessed November 1, 2021
  2. The Constitution of Pennsylvania, "Article II, Section 5: Qualifications of members," accessed May 23, 2025
  3. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  5. State of Pennsylvania, "Pennsylvania Constitution," accessed February 15, 2021 (Article II, Section 2)
  6. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named dr
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 All About Redistricting, "Pennsylvania," accessed May 8, 2015
  9. Pennsylvania Department of State, "Calendar for the Special Election for the Senator in the General Election Assembly for the 22nd Senatorial District," accessed March 18, 2021
  10. The Citizens Voice, "Blake to resign state Senate seat for post with Cartwright," February 16, 2021
  11. Pennsylvania Department of State, "Official primary results for May 20, 2014," accessed July 9, 2014
  12. Pennsylvania Department of State, "2014 Official Candidate Listing," accessed March 19, 2014
  13. Pennsylvania Department of State, "2014 General Election," accessed December 5, 2014
  14. "Pennsylvania Secretary of State - Official General Election Results," accessed November 4, 2013
  15. "Pennsylvania Secretary of State - Official Primary Election Results," accessed November 4, 2013


Current members of the Pennsylvania State Senate
Leadership
Majority Leader:Joe Pittman
Minority Leader:Jay Costa
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
John Kane (D)
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
Patty Kim (D)
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
Gene Yaw (R)
District 24
District 25
Cris Dush (R)
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
Kim Ward (R)
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
Jay Costa (D)
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
Republican Party (27)
Democratic Party (23)