Pa. election 2026: What to know about the 142nd House District race in Bucks County

All 203 seats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives are up for election in November. Democrats hold a three-seat majority in the lower chamber, following a Butler County special election upset in August.

The state House, like the state Senate, is responsible for drafting bills and helping the governor craft a budget. Each member is elected to serve a two-year term.

• Bucks County (part)
  • Langhorne Borough
  • Langhorne Manor Borough
  • Lower Southampton Twp.
  • Middletown Twp.
  • Northampton Twp.
  • Penndel Borough

Following the introduction of a new legislative map, Democrats wrested control of the state House in 2022 for the first time in more than a decade.

Many of Pennsylvania’s legislative races are non-competitive. Therefore, a handful of toss-up races will determine which party will control the chamber.

Democrats hold a 103-100 majority in the state House. Republican incumbent state Rep. Joe Hogan was elected to represent the 142nd district in 2022 after then-state Rep. Frank Farry ran a successful campaign to take the 6th Senatorial District seat that year.

Hogan defeated Democrat Mark Moffa by less than 100 votes in 2022, and was reelected in 2024 by a wider margin of nearly 10 percentage points over Democrat Anna Payne.

Hogan touted “historic funding” for school districts in his district as one of his top accomplishments as a state legislator.

That is “part of the bipartisan agreements,” Hogan said, but also due to his efforts to “get more and more money back for our school districts, lots of other local projects.”

Affordability, he said, has also been one of his focuses as a legislator.

In the fall of 2025, he introduced a bill to address rising utility costs. The legislation would create a new rebate program for senior citizens and people with disabilities, allowing utility costs to be used against the property tax and rent rebate calculation so that more people could qualify for relief.

He is also a prime sponsor of legislation to establish a youth activities tax credit, which would allow parents tax relief equal to the cost of extracurricular activities for their children.

Hogan also introduced a bill to establish the Pennsylvania Physical Health Improvement Tax Credit, which would provide a tax credit of up to $1,000 to each taxpayer to offset gym and health club memberships.

Constituent service is another vital focus, he said. His office handles thousands of cases from residents in the district, including everything from legal inquiries and questions about bills to information about laws and issues with PennDOT.

“That’s a reflection of my approach, that serving the people is the most important thing that we do,” Hogan said. “My team has been very aggressive, working in the community, going above and beyond for everybody that we possibly can, and that means a lot of events as well.”

His office works to educate people about scams and inform the community about what is happening in Harrisburg. They are looking into organizing new events and programs to reach out to specific populations within the community, Hogan said, including maintaining outreach to senior citizens and expanding work with young families and parents.

As a member of the Human Services Committee, Hogan said he wants to explore more ways to easily connect overwhelmed parents with resources and programs for their children.

He also serves as vice chair on the Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee and the Gaming Oversight Committee, as well as vice chair of the Children and Youth Committee.

To address affordability concerns, Hogan said he would like to reform Pennsylvania’s regulatory framework.

“[It] is just making things more expensive because it means products or services are slower to delivery, because more lawyers are having to review things, or more engineers are having to review things, and … ultimately, that’s all on the end user,” he said.

Some policies haven’t been updated since before the internet was created, Hogan said.

“Harrisburg doesn’t control monetary policy. We don’t control tariffs or anything like that. But what we do have is a Byzantine regulation system in a lot of spaces, especially early childhood education, that’s just making things more expensive for basically everybody, and that’s something that we can fix tomorrow,” he said.

The goal would be to ensure continued protections for people and the environment, but reform the process to make the state “desirable for businesses, desirable for families, so people stay here, so young people stay here,” he said.

Other key issues for residents that Hogan wants to focus on include cost of living concerns, such as utility prices, child care costs and housing affordability.

Hogan said he works across the aisle to build bipartisan consensus in Harrisburg. Dialogue is key, he said, to understanding political differences, and it starts close to home. His wife is a Democrat, Hogan said, and a range of political identities are represented in his neighborhood.

“Every vote that you take as an elected official, there’s probably a good reason to vote for it, and there’s probably a good reason not to vote for it,” Hogan said. “But … at the end of the day, you have to do what you think … is reflective, representative of the district. I am not an executive. I don’t have executive authority. I was not elected to have executive authority. I was elected to be a representative.”

Hogan said that in a district that is often “50/50” Democratic and Republican, that means regularly speaking with residents to gauge community concerns.

“I communicate a lot with my constituents,” he said. “I think it’s important for me to be reflective of that in my voting record because, again, I talk to a wide variety of people, backgrounds, organizations, and interests … I have to be comfortable with my voting record and the people I represent.”

Joe Hogan’s endorsements include:

• International Association of Firefighters’ Local 22
• Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 40
• PA Realtors PAC
• United Food and Commercial Workers 1776

Egan said her first priority in office is to “fairly fund education” so that the costs aren’t being passed on to residents.

Raising the minimum wage, protecting the environment and strengthening public safety, including police departments and emergency medical services, are also key parts of her platform.

The cost of living crisis, she said, is another issue she plans to address if elected.

“Child care costs are so expensive that people who want to start families, who want to buy a house and live independently from their parents, are unable to do so because there’s an affordability, a housing affordability crisis, as well,” Egan said. “People deserve to live their lives. They’re making good decisions. They’re working hard, and they’re not able to get ahead.”

Retired residents are also being impacted by rising property taxes and other cost-of-living concerns, she said.

“People are going back to work in their 70s, and it’s really unfortunate and we have to protect that, too,” Egan said.

Egan said she would work across the aisle on legislative solutions.

“I’ve never been a party-line person as a teacher,” she said. “I don’t know my students’ registration or their parents’. I work for all of my students, even as a chief negotiator. Right? There’s Republicans and Democrats who voted for me to be the elected negotiator.”

“We have to get past the party line politics and get into real policy that can help our communities,” she added.

Kristin Egan’s endorsements include:

• American Federation of Teachers PA
• Lead Locally
• Vote Mama Foundation
• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
• National Democratic Redistricting Committee
• Transport Workers Union of America
• Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 19
• Committee to Protect Health Care
• Sierra Club
• Neshaminy Federation of Teachers
• Everytown for Gun Safety
• Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Target Race
• Climate Cabinet
• Bucks County Democrats
• Planned Parenthood PAC
• Represent PA
• Kennedy Democrats
• ChangePA
• Emily’s List
• Turn Bucks Blue
• Moms Demand Action