{"id":79177,"date":"2026-01-06T11:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/79177\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T11:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:26:08","slug":"dems-gop-pick-candidates-to-run-in-special-election-for-pa-house-seat-armchair-lehigh-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/79177\/","title":{"rendered":"Dems, GOP pick candidates to run in special election for Pa. House seat | Armchair Lehigh Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published on lehighvalleylive.com<\/a> as part of a partnership with the website, which aims to give voters nonpartisan factual information. Armchair Lehigh Valley is run by publisher Katherine Reinhard and editor Robert H. Orenstein. For more information, or to subscribe, visit armchairlehighvalley.substack.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Democrat Julian Guridy will face Republican Robert E. Smith Jr. in the Feb. 24 special election<\/a> to fill a vacancy in the 22nd state House District seat.<\/p>\n

Both men were chosen Saturday by their respective Lehigh County party committees.<\/p>\n

Guridy, son of former Allentown City Councilman Julio Guridy and an aide to state Sen. Nick Miller, received the most votes to secure the party\u2019s nomination, Lehigh County Democratic Committee Chair Lori McFarland said.<\/p>\n

Smith, a former Allentown School Board member, ran for the 22nd District in 2022 \u2014 when it was a new seat for the Lehigh Valley because of redistricting \u2014 and lost to Josh Siegel. In 2024, Smith failed in a write-in campaign in the GOP primary to get on the November ballot, leaving Siegel unopposed for reelection that November.<\/p>\n

The 22nd District seat became vacant when Siegel resigned his position last month after being elected Lehigh County executive<\/a>. Siegel was scheduled to be sworn into his new job on Monday.<\/p>\n

Under state law, the county political party committees nominate candidates to run in a special election. Monday was the deadline by which candidate names must be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of State.<\/p>\n

The winner of the special election will serve through the end of November.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the usual primary and general election process will proceed to elect the district\u2019s new state representative to serve a two-year term beginning. The Democratic-majority 22nd District comprises East Allentown, portions of central Allentown and part of Salisbury Township.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored and humbled that the members of Lehigh County Republican Committee selected me,\u201d Smith said in an email, noting he has lived in the city for 33 years.<\/p>\n

\u201dI am the perfect choice to complete the term and unite the community. There is no time for polarizing politics anymore. I am a person that has always worked across the aisle to get things done. I was on the school board for 16 years, elected president five times by a Democrat majority because i represent and care about everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a Facebook post Saturday, the Lehigh County Republican Committee said Smith was chosen over two other candidates, who were not identified.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs our nominee, Robert Smith brings a wealth of knowledge and a strong network of support from all parts of the community and political divide. Robert will bring respect, honesty and unity to District 22. After years of neglect and political opportunism by the previous Democrat state representative, it is time for real change and real improvement in the lives of the residents of District 22,\u201d the GOP committee\u2019s Facebook post said.<\/p>\n

Siegel responded in an email: \u201cThe Lehigh County Republican Party lives in its own different reality. Like sore losers whining from the sidelines, they criticize those on the field. I increased funding to public schools, expanded property tax relief for seniors and fought to raise the minimum wage, build more affordable housing and reduce the cost of living. Voters clearly took notice when they delivered me a landslide win for county executive.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Rep. Peter Schweyer, a Democrat who represents the 134th District that includes parts of Allentown, complimented the committee\u2019s selection of Guridy.<\/p>\n

\u201cJulian Guridy will be an exceptional candidate for state representative, and I\u2019m fully confident that he will become my colleague in Harrisburg once the votes are counted in the upcoming special election,\u201d Schweyer said in a statement. \u201cWe have spoken many times about the high cost of living, the quality of our public schools, and opportunities to attract more high-paying jobs to our region. I am certain that he\u2019ll play a key role in crafting policies and spurring investment that will better our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very honored and excited!\u201d Guridy wrote in a text to Armchair Lehigh Valley. \u201cReady to work and earn the votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the county Democratic committee meeting, Guridy tallied 17 votes, while Ce-Ce Gerlach, an Allentown City Council member, and Erlinda Aguilar each received one vote, McFarland said.<\/p>\n

After the party\u2019s vote at the IBEW union hall in Allentown, Gerlach held a press conference outdoors at the corner of 8th and Gordon streets and criticized the party\u2019s process that led to Guridy\u2019s selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe party has made its choice, but we have to be honest here. That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s the people\u2019s choice,\u201d she said. \u201cThe decision that was made today was about legacy last names, political insiders and this political machine that tends to run politics in the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guridy<\/a>, 31, and Gerlach<\/a>, 39, intend to run in the May 19 Democratic primary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got here by fighting for working families who are just struggling to get by,\u201d Gerlach said. \u201cI am not running to protect the status quo. I\u2019m running to change the status quo. Democracy does not end with this recommendation [of Guridy]. This seat belongs to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerlach said a number of Democratic precinct positions are vacant, which meant that fewer precinct members from the 22nd District voted on the special election selection.<\/p>\n

McFarland discounted the criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe process was conducted in accordance with party bylaws and Robert\u2019s Rules of Order,\u201d she said via text. \u201cAll candidates were given equal time and opportunity to address the voting committee. Ballots were tallied, submitted to the Lehigh County Democratic Committee and who then submitted the nomination to the state party, where it awaits a final vote.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published on lehighvalleylive.com as part of a partnership with the website, which aims…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-79177","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}