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September 20th , 2025 Len’s Political Note #754 Retain Pennsylvania’s Three Democratic Supreme Court Justices
2025 General Election
Three states and our largest city have crucial elections THIS NOVEMBER: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York City. New Jersey will elect a governor. Virginia will elect a governor, a lt. governor, and an attorney general. New York City will elect a mayor. Pennsylvania voters will decide whether three of the seven members of their Supreme Court will be retained for another ten-year term.
In an ordinary year in an ordinary world, there would be no need for me to write this piece. Over the course of the years electing and retaining judges was a non-partisan, orderly process. This year, the Republicans are spending a lot of money to persuade the voters of Pennsylvania not to retain three Democratic Justices. I am writing this Note to persuade you and others to spend a little money to help these three Democratic Justices stay in office.
Pennsylvania is among the minority of states to elect Supreme Court Justices using party labels. That number has been growing. And even where elections are still non-partisan consciousness of party affiliation and viewpoint or ideology has increased.
According to Jason White of WITF (a central Pennsylvania radio station), the Republican organized opposition in Pennsylvania to retaining any of the three Justices up for retention began in early 2025. My Note describing each of the three Justices and urging readers to make donations to each of the three of them was published in early March, 2025. As a sign of the extent to which these three do not coordinate anything, let alone opinions, it took until September 8 for the three Democratic Justices to appear together to urge that all three be retained.
In proper judicial fashion, the three of them held a Forum, not a campaign rally. The three of them sat on stage at Philadelphia’s Central High School and answered questions. They did not focus on the specific complaints Republicans had against them – the Court’s support for anti-Covid public lockdowns and the state’s no-excuse mail-in ballot. Nor did they address what really rankles the Republicans – the redistricting decisions that let to what had been a 9-8 Democratic advantage in the state’s delegation to the House of Representatives before two seats were flipped in 2024 from blue to red.
They also did not address the Court’s role in selecting the deciding vote on the state legislative redistricting commission which has given Pennsylvania a House of Representatives with a 102-101 Democratic majority and a Senate with a 27-23 Republican majority. It could also be the Republicans want to make an example of the Supremes in a state they could not budge over the 2020 election. It is a fundamental tenet of Donald Trump’s revisionism to create an official history that tells us he won the 2020 election.
At the Forum Justice Kevin Dougherty stated “The Constitution required us to run as a partisan, but the moment we were elected, when we put that black robe on, we hung up that partisan title and we have watched ourselves accordingly. And when you look at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, you’ll never hear us say it’s how many Democrats, how many Republicans? We say that we’re seven.”
Justice Christine Donohue added that the Democrats “disagree with each other all the time and are often in alignment with Republicans. That’s a function of the interpretive process that we individually go through when we’re presented with an issue, and that’s true with our colleagues who were elected as Republicans. So partisanship, honestly, from the time I served on the Superior Court to this very moment, has never been part of the function of my jurisprudence.” Justice David Wecht simply commented on the “opaqueness” of Pennsylvania’s statutes.
Asked about their priorities for the next ten years if they are retained Justices David Wecht and Kevin Kavanaugh, both insist they serve without an agenda. As if to prove there were differences among them, Justice Christine Donahue answered differently.
Pennsylvania’s constitution prohibits a Justice from serving beyond December 31 of the year in which he or she turns 75. Justice Christine Donahue will have her 75th birthday on December 24 of 2027. She said she had an agenda: “I want to be certain that the seeds that we’ve sown, in terms of extending protections …. under the Pennsylvania Constitution, continue to be recognized by the court ….”
If the Republicans succeed in not retaining the three Justices, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court will have 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans. Ordinarily, the Governor appoints a Supreme Court Justice, subject to Senate approval, and the Justice serves a ten-year term. A retained Justice serves another ten-year term. If a Justice is not retained, the governor appoints a temporary replacement, with the consent of the Senate. An election is held at the next opportunity for a special election.
The state Senate, as mentioned above, has a 27-23 Republican majority. While the Senate could become Democratic if two seats were flipped, if the Republicans control the Senate after the 2026 election, they might balk at nominees selected by Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro. It is unlikely, but possible, Pennsylvania could have a 4-person court until 2028.
The three Democratic Justices up for retention are
Christine Donohue. DONATE
Kevin Dougherty DONATE
David Wecht. DONATE
Christine Donahue
Born on December 24,1952, Christine Donahue is running to be retained as a justice. If retained, she will serve until the end of 2027 because she will have had her 75th birthday in that year. She was born in Coaldale, a tiny town north of Philadelphia, about two-thirds of the way to Scranton. The family moved to nearby Lansford, a bigger small town of about 6,000 people then and about 4,000 people now. She grew up in Lansford.
Christine Donahue’s parents were embedded in the union culture of the region. Her mother worked in a dress factory as a seamstress and was a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers. Her dad became a Lansford city counselor after his retirement from the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company where he was a member of the United Mine Workers.
Christine Donahue went to Catholic schools – St. Peter and Paul Elementary School, Marian Catholic High School, and, in 1980, got her law degree from Duquesne. Before Duquesne, she earned her BA at a public institution — East Stroudsburg State College which has proudly reported that she was the “first graduate of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education” to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Christine Donahue attributes her values to being raised in the “Panther Valley,” to the community and her parents, particularly to a memory of her father returning a found envelope with thousands of dollars to a nearby funeral home. When she finished law school, she spent 27 years in private practice – commercial litigation and personal injury, eventually becoming a partner in a Pittsburgh based firm.
In 2007, Christine Donahue was elected to serve on the Pennsylvania Superior Court. That is one of Pennsylvania’s two intermediate Appeals Courts. The Superior Court deals with criminal cases and private civil cases. The other intermediate Appeals Court, the Commonwealth Court, deals with administrative cases and civil matters of public law. Like the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, judges in these courts are elected to ten year terms.
In 2008, while beginning her service on the appeals court, Christine Donahue was named one of the judges of the Court of Judicial Discipline. She later served on the state Board of Law Examiners and chaired the state Judicial Conduct Board. By holding hearings at schools, she and her colleagues took a particular interest in educating high school students in the workings of Pennsylvania’s courts.
In 2015, Christine Donahue was elected to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The election, which involved the same three Democrats now running for reelection, was expensive – with $15 million spent. We can expect greater spending, perhaps much greater spending, in this Retention Election.
If there is a point of attack against Christine Donahue, it is her age and the relatively brief time she will remain on the Court. As she adheres to ethical obligations, Christine Donahue may not always be able to speak for herself. We can speak for her about her value to Pennsylvania for her ethical leadership and her positions on issues that range from gerrymandering to abortion, DONATE. Keep Christine Donahue on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Kevin Dougherty
People compare the Massachusetts and Pennsylvania supreme courts. The two courts compete, each claiming to be the oldest appeals court in the country. The comparisons of the two State Courts made me think about a comparison of two Irish-American brothers in each state — the blue collar Boston Bulger brothers and the blue collar Philadelphia Dougherty brothers. The Bulger brothers grew up in South Boston; the Dougherty brothers grew up in south Philadelphia.
In Massachusetts, Billy Bulger became the Majority Leader and ruler of the State Senate – ruthless and contemptuous of anyone who challenged him. Whitey Bulger was a notorious criminal gang leader and murderer.
In Pennsylvania, Kevin Dougherty became a leader in the state Supreme Court. His brother Johnny Dougherty was a union leader, union business manager, and political fixer who was convicted of fraud and embezzlement of union funds, He was nowhere near as dangerous a criminal as Billy Bulger.
Kevin Dougherty has been a state supreme court justice for ten years and is up for a retention election. He was something of a reformer, as administrative judge of the family court in. Philadelphia, he made the system work for children and their parents.
Kevin Dougherty was the first in his family to graduate from college. He worked three part-time jobs while making his way through Temple University and Antioch Law School. After working as a prosecutor and then in private practice, he was appointed as a special master to a truancy program. Later, he became the administrative judge for family court and was a kind of reformer – making the family court system actually work for families. Republican governor Tom Ridge appointed him to the Court of Common Pleas after which he was elected to the State Supreme Court in 2015 as a Democrat.
Kevin Dougherty was one of two Democrats who voted with the majority in a 4-3 decision that the Commonwealth Court did not have jurisdiction to approve the counting of mailed in ballots that did not have a written date on the outside of the ballot’s envelope, Kevin Dougherty is considered the most conservative of the three Pennsylvania Supreme Court Democrats up for retention in November, 2025.
Keep Kevin Dougherty on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. DONATE to his campaign, to his effort to be retained on the Court.
David Wecht
David Wecht is originally from Baltimore. His mom was originally from Europe. Jewish, she spent six years in Norway during the Nazi occupation. His dad was a pathologist. David Wecht’s initial Pennsylvania connection was his grandfather’s grocery store in Pittsburgh and his dad’s service as the Allegheny County medical examiner. His dad, already known internationally, became more famous when he disagreed with the single bullet theory regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
David Wecht went to a prep, boarding school in western Pennsylvania. From there he went to Yale – for his BA and his JD. He returned to Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) with his law degree in hand and became involved in county government. David Wecht was elected register of wills and clerk of the orphans’ court. In 2003, he was elected a trial judge and became an administrative judge for the Family Division in 2009. Among his reforms was unifying the family court so the same judge could be in charge of a single family’s experiences.
In 2015, David Wecht was elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He had a campaign platform. He would improve ethical standards through a ban on gifts to judges and on family hiring, ethical training for judges, require judges to explain their reasons for recusals, and to allow cameras in court in most instances.
We might recognize some of David Wecht’s cases. He wrote, in an opinion, that challenging Joe Biden’s 2020 victory was both futile and dangerous. He ruled that a prosecutor could not escape his promises to Bill Cosby and could not use Cosby’s admissions in a subsequent case.
David Wecht dissents often enough so that some have described him as Pennsylvania’s own “Great Dissenter.” His dissent in a child welfare case led to sharp words between him and Kevin Dougherty, who wrote for a 5 Justice majority.
David Wecht has been on his own in other ways — staking out a public position expressing concern about the rise of anti-Semitism and the reluctance of the public, including Jews, to confront it. His views have been sharpened by the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre in Squirrel Hill, a Pittsburgh neighborhood he had become familiar with as a child. bKeep David Wecht on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. DONATE.
While these three Justices are distinct and independent of each other, their differences are within a commitment to retaining American democracy and ensuring that every Pennsylvanian is treated fairly by the courts.
An organization called Defend Our Courts has expressed a commitment to supporting Democratic state supreme courts, including these three retention races in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, they are not committed to telling us who they are. This is what they say: “We are regular citizens active in politics, political strategists and campaign veterans with firsthand experience in judicial races. We know how to win — and we’re ready to fight back.” They list their address as a Post Office Box. It is not enough information as far as I am concerned. I urge you to donate to the individual Justices.
Other Judicial Races
Chris Taylor for Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court. Wisconsin elects members of its Supreme Court in April. This race will be in April, 2026. Chris Taylor is a Californian who came to Madison for law school (certainly not for the weather) and stayed. An admirer of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, she worked for Planned Parenthood before becoming a judge. Her path to election may have become simpler with the recent, surprise announcement that incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley would not run for reelection. DONATE See Len’s Political Note #731
Amy Eddy for Montana’s State Supreme Court. This is an election that will occur in November, 2026. Born and raised in a ski lodge, Amy Eddy is seeking to keep Montana’s judiciary non-ideological. She is running against announced conservative Dan Wilson. DONATE to Amy Eddy’s campaign. See Len’s Political Note #749
Other Elections in November, 2025
For New Jersey Governor, Congresswoman Mikie Sherill. A former military helicopter pilot, she was a moderate Democratic vote in Congress, elected in 2024 by a comfortable 56 – 42 margin and won the 2025 Democratic primary for governor by 13 points. She is running against Republican State Rep Jack Ciattarelli. DONATE to Mikie Sherill’s campaign. Help her finish strong.
For Virginia Governor former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger.
A former member of the CIA, she was a moderate Democratic vote in Congress, elected in 2022 by a 52-48 margin, she declined to run in 2024 to focus on the gubernatorial election. She had no opposition in the Democratic primary. Her Republican opponent is Lt. Governor Winsome Earl-Spears. DONATE to the Abigail Spanberger campaign. Help her finish strong. See Len’s Political Note #705
For Virginia Lt. Governor Ghazala Hashmi. An academic who focused on improving college teaching, she had immigrated with her parents from India and grew up and went to school in Virginia. She ran for State Senator in response to Donald Trump’s first term as President and has been a leader on labor and economic issues. Her opponent is radio talk show host John Reid. Help Ghazala Hashmi become Virginia’s Lt. Governor. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #735
For Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones. An attorney and former state rep, Jay Jones continues a family tradition as a leader of Virginia’s civil rights movement. Supported by former governor Ralph Northam, who Jones had supported when Northam was faced with a Black face scandal, Jay Jones is seeking to defeat Republican incumbent Jason Miyares. DONATE See Len’s Political Note #734.
For Mayor of New York City. Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. The child of international intellectuals, he describes himself as a Democratic Socialist, which appears to have frightened New York City property developers and some politicians. Zohran Mamdani has demonstrated a real gift for making his candidacy into a movement and is leading his three opponents in the polls – former Governor Andrew Cuomo, anti-crime Republican and red beret leader Curtis Sliwa, and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams. DONATE to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. Help him soundly defeat that trio. See Len’s Political Note #739
