FALL 2026

As we enjoy the spectacular sight of the changing leaves and the transition to cooler days, the Cumberland County Democrats strongly encourage you to prepare to vote on Election Day. Whether you choose to vote in person or by mail, make sure to have your voice heard this Nov. 3 by voting for your preferred candidates.

The Cumberland County Democrats invite you to work with us to ensure that our county remains a great place to work, live and play in Pennsylvania. With your help, we will move toward victory this November and build a brighter future.

From the Chair

Build the Foundation for the Blue Wave

Friends, Neighbors, Democrats,

We’re nearly at the destination: Election Day. All our time, efforts and stress culminate in what we will do in these final days. Have you signed up for a shift to knock on doors? Have you made phone calls for a campaign? Have you spoken with your friends and neighbors about their plan to vote? Every vote matters, and we have the opportunity to flip multiple seats!

District 88 (Mechanicsburg, Hampden, Lower Allen and New Cumberland) is ready to flip. Our candidate, Sara Agerton, has put in the work against her MAGA, pro-ICE opponent. It’s our job now to help her get over the finish line so she can represent us in Harrisburg. 

District 199 (Carlisle, Middlesex, Newville and Newburg) has the energy to unseat Barb Gleim and her MAGA agenda. TaWanda Hunter Stallworth has inspired people across the district, and now we must help her get the vote out and send her to Harrisburg. 

We also have opportunities to take the fight to Greg Rothman, Tom Kutz and Catherine Wallen. Our candidates Nate Wood, Jessica St. Clair and Todd Crawley need us to finish strong to help build the foundation for the Blue Wave. We’ll also be ensuring Rep. Nate Davidson returns to Harrisburg to represent the Camp Hill and East Pennsboro areas.

All these races and your help go a long way to help us secure victories from the bottom of the ballot up. Every door knocked, every voter persuaded and every vote cast takes us one step closer to a Blue Cumberland County. Josh Shapiro will remain as governor, and we’ll be sending Janelle Stelson to Washington!

Sign up for a shift with the coordinated campaign or your favorite candidate over these final days, and let’s make Cumberland a Blue county!

Let’s go win!

— Antonio Megna, CCDC Chair

    chair@cumberlandcountydems.com

Commissioner’s Corner

I love my country.  

I am a patriotic American.  

When I was young, I watched countless sporting events on television with my dad. Before any game, everything stopped. We all paused for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. 

One day I asked my dad, “Why do we do this? Why do we say the pledge? Why do we sing?” 

And he told me, “Jeanie, because in some countries, the government doesn’t allow people to play sports.”

This simple explanation has stayed with me.  

Those moments — millions of people united in a simple declaration of love for our country —shaped my understanding of what it means to be an American, what it means to participate in our democracy and what it means to uphold the principles of our Republic.  

I often reflect on our servicemen and women — the people who protect us every single day.  

Some have seen combat.  

Some have made the ultimate sacrifice.

All served to preserve and defend our freedoms, including our right to vote.  

One of the most powerful ways we can honor them, and one other, is by voting.  

I’ve grown up since those days of watching football, baseball and boxing with my dad. And today, I serve as an election official, trusted with protecting the right to vote and ensuring elections that are fair, accurate and reliable.  

It is an enormous responsibility. But it is not mine alone. It belongs to all of us. All of us share the duty to protect our democracy, to stay vigilant and to celebrate what makes us strong.  

We have fair, accurate and reliable elections in the United States. And it is our collective duty to uphold them — to share our history, to tell our stories and to honor our precious right to vote.  

In the words of Rosemary Fillmore Rhea, “The world we are experiencing today is the result of our collective consciousness, and if we want a new world, each of must start taking responsibility for helping create it.” 

— Jean Foschi, Cumberland County Commissioner     jmfoschi@cumberlandcountypa.gov

Stepping Up for No Kings

Cumberland County Democrats turned out for the No Kings rally in Harrisburg, Sept. 17. The rally goal was to encourage early voting in the Nov. 3 election. Cumberland County candidates TaWanda Hunter Stallworth and Jessica St. Clair were among the few featured speakers. 

TaWanda Hunter Stallworth addressed hundreds of rally participants.

Jessica St. Clair mingled with voters before a march through Harrisburg. 

Crowd photos by Amber Paist

Candidate photos by Sherri Kimmel

CCDC Meeting Focuses on Data Centers

Oct. 10 CCDC members gathered in Newville for a full committee meeting led by Chair Antonio Megna. It was an opportunity for folks to mingle before the election and to vote on a resolution regarding harmful environmental, construction and societal impacts of data centers in our community. After a few tweaks, the resolution was passed. It also was an opportunity to note the new website and logo for the CCDC. Go to https://cumberlandcountydems.com/ to check it out.

Chair Antonio Megna (left) chats with Sean Gatten and other CCDC members.

Attendees from different precincts mingled to discuss the issues of the day.

Photos by Patrick King

State Democratic Committee News

The Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee, hosted by the South-Central Regional Caucus, convened its fall 2026 meeting in Harrisburg, Sept. 18 and 19. It was an inspired meeting whose major focus, of course, was on the November election and, specifically, the re-election of Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Gov. Austin Davis. This meeting had renewed energy!

The various caucuses met, and multiple actions were proposed, recognizing that resolutions coming from the committee can and do influence the party’s platform and even legislation. Cindy Pervis, a member of the Progressive Caucus, noted that the General Assembly is now working on a universal healthcare bill, HB 2763, that was inspired by the State Committee. A new Climate Action Caucus also is now moving to produce resolutions to support environmentally supportive state legislative actions. Cumberland County’s members participate in many other caucuses, including Bylaws, Federation of Democratic Women, Veteran’s and Women’s.

At the full committee meeting Saturday afternoon, led by our State Committee Chair Eugene DePasquale, we heard inspirational speeches from Gov. Shapiro and State Rep. Malcom Kenyatta. The committee left the meeting determined to support our democracy, which is under attack, as well as all Democratic candidates in November. The next meeting of the committee will be in Harrisburg Jan. 22–23, 2027, a few days after the governor is sworn in.

All five members of the Cumberland County contingent attended: Jacqueline Smith-Bennett, Sandy Wolfe, John Flood, Tom Fink and Antonio Megna, our county chair. State Committee meetings are open to all Democrats, while voting privileges are reserved for elected members.

— Tom Fink

News from Young Democrats 

Hello from the South Central Young Dems! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

We had another successful Summer of Pride coordinating with several of our region’s county parties, including Cumberland. Our group was thrilled to entirely staff New Cumberland Pride. We ended the summer with our Potluck Picnic and continue to enjoy social events monthly.

As we moved from Pride season to election season, we had several candidates or their representatives join our monthly meetings, including Nate Wood and the Agerton and Stelson campaigns. We’ve held a few canvassing events, and at our October meeting, wrote postcards for Stelson. An upcoming project is a new and improved website. Keep checking in with us on social media and please consider donating so we can make it happen!

You can find links to our website, social media, Interest form and Act Blue here: SCYD Linktree

— Katie Juliana

The South Central Young Dems were thrilled to entirely staff New Cumberland Pride.

In our local newspapers, Cumberland County Dems have called out injustices. Here are excerpts from articles recently published in The Patriot-News:

True Christian Values Don’t Align with War and Domination

People often ask how to be hopeful and keep the faith in these chaotic, often cruel, and troubling times. We are so fortunate in our area to have thoughtful citizens who write letters to the editor, ministers who begin great book clubs and speak the truth, and so many others who work hard to bridge our divides, heal our angst, and show us that we have been here before and we have overcome and moved closer to the ideals and values of our Constitution and our democracy.

Efforts like Braver Angels, Ground Truth (nationally) and Cumberland Valley Rising help us to continue coming together, united, kind, compassionate, humble and hopeful. 

Share your truth with others, listen to theirs, and in celebration of our 250th anniversary, let’s be the democracy we want to see in our country.

— Jill Sunday Bartoli

     Carlisle, published Aug. 11

Another Legal Immigrant Detained for a Traffic Violation

Mt. Holly Springs has been thrust into the regional, national and international spotlight because its “287(g) agreement” to cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Agency (ICE) ensnared Chinese dissident and Human Rights attorney Shaoping Wu (Update: Wu was detained for nine days in July before being released.)

… What keeps us up at night is what this [287(g)] agreement has done to the small community seeking to build UNITY. It has poured gasoline on already existing culture wars. It has made people genuinely afraid to come to town. It has divided the business community and politicized life in our area. And none of it was necessary. 

We could have enforced existing law without partnering with an agency (ICE) that has been ruled against in almost 90 percent of litigation challenging the government’s mandatory detention policy. 

A sad fact about life in the U.S. right now is that it has become topsy-turvy. It used to be that all politics is local (potholes, zoning, parks). Now, all politics is national, and the same battles that have consumed our country for the last decade have taken over a town of less than 3,000. 

— Katie Daniels

    Boiling Springs, Pa., published Sept. 9

Visit Headquarters

If you have questions about candidates or the Nov. 3 election, stop by CCDC Headquarters, at 46 W. Louther St., Carlisle. The office has open hours Wednesday and Friday, 3-7 p.m. and Saturday, 10-2 p.m. 

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