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Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2025
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The terms of a judge on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and a judge on the Pennsylvania Superior Court will expire on January 5, 2026. The two seats are up for retention election on November 4, 2025. The last day to file for retention was January 6, 2025.
One seat on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and one seat on the Pennsylvania Superior Court are up for partisan election on November 4, 2025, to fill vacancies created by Ellen H. Ceisler and Daniel D. McCaffery, respectively.[1] A primary was scheduled for May 20, 2025. The filing deadline was March 11, 2025.
Candidates and results
Partisan election
Commonwealth Court
General election
Special general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
Stella Tsai and Matthew Wolford are running in the special general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Stella Tsai (D) | |
 | Matthew Wolford (R) | |
| ||||
 = 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
Special Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
Stella Tsai advanced from the special Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stella Tsai | 99.4 | 842,239 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 4,957 | ||
| Total votes: 847,196 | |||
| = 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
Special Republican primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
Matthew Wolford defeated Joshua Prince in the special Republican primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matthew Wolford | 61.6 | 405,704 |
 | Joshua Prince | 37.8 | 248,863 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 3,855 | ||
| Total votes: 658,422 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Superior Court
General election
Special general election for Pennsylvania Superior Court
Brandon Neuman, Maria Battista, and Daniel Wassmer are running in the special general election for Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Brandon Neuman (D) | |
 | Maria Battista (R) | |
 | Daniel Wassmer (Liberal Party) | |
| ||||
| = 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
Special Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court
Brandon Neuman advanced from the special Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Neuman | 99.3 | 843,400 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 5,590 | ||
| Total votes: 848,990 | |||
| = 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
Special Republican primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court
Maria Battista defeated Ann Marie Wheatcraft in the special Republican primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Maria Battista | 53.7 | 355,760 |
 | Ann Marie Wheatcraft | 45.7 | 302,592 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 4,266 | ||
| Total votes: 662,618 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Retention election
Wojcik's seat
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, Seat 5 - Michael Wojcik
Michael Wojcik is running for retention to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 4, 2025.
Retention Vote |
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Votes |
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No |
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Total Votes |
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Dubow's seat
Pennsylvania Superior Court, Seat 5 - Alice B. Dubow
Alice B. Dubow is running for retention to the Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 4, 2025.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
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Yes |
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No |
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Total Votes |
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Voting information
- See also: Voting in Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Court selection
The nine judges of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court are selected in partisan elections.[2]
Judges serve 10-year terms, after which they must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to remain on the court. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation.[2][3] To learn more about these elections, visit the Pennsylvania judicial elections page.
Qualifications
To serve on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court a judge must:
- have state residence for at least one year;
- be a member of the state bar; and
- be under the age of 75.[2][4]
President judge
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court selects its president judge by peer vote. The president serves in that capacity for five years.[2][5]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor who must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim judges stand for election at the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.[2]
By tradition, appointed interim judges of the supreme court, superior court, or court of appeals do not go on to run for permanent seats. In other words, the governor appoints these judges with the expectation that the judge will only fill the interim vacancy.[2]
Superior Court selection
The 15 judges of the Pennsylvania Superior Court are selected in partisan elections.[2]
Judges serve 10-year terms, after which they must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to remain on the court. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation.[2][3] To learn more about these elections, visit the Pennsylvania judicial elections page.
Qualifications
To serve on the Pennsylvania Superior Court, a judge must:
- have state residence for at least one year;
- be a member of the state bar; and
- be under the age of 75.[2][4]
President judge
The Pennsylvania Superior Court selects its president judge by peer vote. The president serves in that capacity for five years.[2][5]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor who must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim judges stand for election at the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.[2]
By tradition, appointed interim judges of the supreme court, superior court, or court of appeals do not go on to run for permanent seats. In other words, the governor appoints these judges with the expectation that the judge will only fill the interim vacancy.[2]
Campaign finance
The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.
Retention election
Wojcik's seat
Dubow's seat
Partisan election
Commonwealth Court
Superior Court
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania Press and Communications Office," February 5, 2025
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "In Re: Nomination Papers of Marakay Rogers, Christina Valente and Carl J. Romanelli," November 7, 2006
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 2018 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, "Title 42, Chapter 33, Section 3351," accessed August 25, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
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
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