Two Philadelphia state lawmakers resign, setting up special elections for Pa. House seats

The Capitol building in Harrisburg on July 6, 2024 (Capital-Star photo by Ian Karbal)

Two Democratic Pennsylvania state representatives announced their resignations this week setting the stage for Sept. 17 special elections in their Philadelphia districts.

Rep. Donna Bullock (D-Philadelphia) was appointed in June to become CEO of the nonprofit homeless support group Project HOME but left uncertain whether she would resign from her state House seat to take the position. Bullock has represented the 195th Legislative District since 2016.

Rep. Stephen Kinsey (D-Philadelphia) announced in January that the current legislative session would be his last. Kinsey has served as state representative for the 201st Legislative District since 2013.

Both districts are considered safe for Democrats, who hold a 102-seat majority in the House, which they have maintained through a series of special elections this session.

House Republicans criticized the decision to hold special elections only weeks before the Nov. 5 presidential election, where the entire state House is on the ballot.

“Given that these members will only serve for a limited number of weeks before the General Election, the only need to hold these costly special elections at this late date is for House Democrats to continue to gerrymander the membership of the House so they can continue playing politics with the legislative agenda instead of uniting Pennsylvanians by advancing shared goals important to everyone,” Jason Gottesman, spokesperson for House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) said.

Bullock has served as chairperson of the House Children and Youth Committee and the House Ethics Committee. Kinsey served as chair of the House Human Services Committee.

Project HOME is a three-decade old organization that provides support and housing services to Philadelphia residents experiencing homelessness. Bullock told WHYY in June that she believes her experience as a lawmaker would directly translate to her role advocating for policies in support of solutions to housing insecurity.

Kinsey, who has an MBA in health administration, said he hopes to work to return to ensuring health care is available to those who need it most. 

Pennsylvania has held special elections for eight state House seats this session, with the most recent resulting in Rep. Jeffrey Olsommer’s (R-Pike) election to the 139th District seat vacated by Rep. Joe Adams (R-Pike) who resigned in February for health reasons. Olsommer also won the Republican primary for the northeast Pennsylvania district and will face Democrat Robin Schooley Skibber in November.

The special elections for Bullock’s and Kinsey’s seats will be the ninth and 10th of this session. 

(This article was updated at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 16, 2024, to include a comment from House Republicans.)

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