2023 GENERAL ELECTION IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7
Deadline to Register Vote for General Election
Mon. Oct. 23 / Register here
Deadline to Apply for Absentee or Mail-in Ballot
Tues. Oct. 31 / Apply here
Polls are Open on Election Day from 7 AM – 8 PM
Statewide Judicial Democratic Candidates
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
(vote for one)
PA Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and includes 7 justices elected for a 10-year term, with retention thereafter subject to voters.
This court’s current makeup is 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans with a vacancy left by the death of Justice Max Baer in October 2022.
Daniel McCaffery (endorsed by PA Dems State Committee)
PA BAR RATING – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Judge McCaffery’s service to his country, community, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began long before his legal career. Judge McCaffery is a proud military veteran. At the age of 18, he joined the United States Army and was one of a few select soldiers chosen to attend the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point Prep School. Judge McCaffery is currently the only military veteran serving on the Pennsylvania Appellate Courts. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Army, Judge McCaffery attended Temple University and Temple University Law School on a veteran’s scholarship.
In 2013 McCaffery was the top vote-getter in the election for Judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Assigned to one of the busiest trial divisions in Pennsylvania, Judge McCaffery presided over one hundred jury trials and thousands of bench trials. In 2019 McCaffery again was the top vote-getter, this time in the statewide election for Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. McCaffery is currently the supervising judge for wiretaps and was selected by the Supreme Court to serve on the Court of Judicial Discipline.
Judge McCaffery’s work ethic and commitment to service were instilled in him by his parents. Dan is the youngest of seven children born to Irish Catholic immigrants who fled violence in Ireland and came to the United States to build a better life for their family. Born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, Judge McCaffery’s father Seamus was a union organizer and printer, and his mother Margaret was a custodial worker for the School District of Philadelphia.
In addition to his service in the courtroom and in the U.S. Armed Forces, Judge McCaffery has been an active member of the Democratic Party, standing up for the values we all share. Prior to taking the bench in 2013, Dan spent decades volunteering for the Democratic Party. Dan served as a Democratic State Committee member, and as a member of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee, where he also used his experience and expertise as an attorney to serve as legal counsel to the committee. Over the years Dan has worked on at least 50 campaigns at every level. Whether it’s managing campaigns, fundraising, or knocking on doors for our candidates, Dan has stepped up to serve.
Judge McCaffery resides in Philadelphia. He is the father of two talented and successful daughters, Madison & Mairead, and the proud grandfather of his 2 grandsons, Stephen & Jack Daniel Jenkins.
Pennsylvania Superior Court
(vote for two)
PA Superior Court reviews most of the civil and criminal cases appealed from Courts of Common Pleas and includes 15 ten-year judge positions with retention thereafter subject to voters. The 14 current non-senior judges are split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. There are two vacancies.
Jill Beck (Endorsed by PA Dems State Committee)
PA BAR RATING – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Raised in Pittsburgh, Jill knew from a young age that she wanted to be an advocate for the underserved. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in criminal justice from George Washington University, she served as a counselor at a residential facility for adjudicated delinquent girls and later as an assistant forensic interviewer at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Child Advocacy Center. After graduating with honors, she served as an AmeriCorps Fellow working with adolescents on probation. These experiences fueled her passion for protecting those without a voice and drew her to the practice of law.
After graduating at the top of her class from Duquesne University School of Law, Jill chose to work for the nonprofit organization KidsVoice, where she represented abused and neglected children. Jill represented up to 225 children at a given time before magisterial district judges, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Pennsylvania Superior Court. KidsVoice honored her for her advocacy and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Allegheny County gave her their Children’s Voice Award.
Jill’s experience advocating for children led her to want to serve from the other side of the bench. She spent the next 10 years in public service as a law clerk under the Honorable Christine Donohue on the Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania. Jill drafted decisions for criminal, civil, family, juvenile, and orphans’ court cases and achieved substantial justice for individuals, families, and businesses across the Commonwealth.
In the fall of 2019 Jill became a civil litigator at Blank Rome, a law firm she selected because of its commitment to providing free legal services to those who cannot afford them. Jill also served as chair of Blank Rome Pittsburgh’s Pro Bono Coordinating Committee, has been involved in the firm’s work to address systemic criminal justice reforms, civil rights, and voter protection issues, and co-chaired a pro bono group aimed at protecting an individual’s right to protest.
Jill currently resides with her husband, two children, and rescue dog in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where she is an active volunteer in her children’s classrooms and in her community.
Jill knows firsthand that justice is served only when every person – regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or income – has fair and equal access to the courts. She is running for the Pennsylvania Superior Court to ensure that justice in Pennsylvania truly is for ALL.
Judge Timika Lane (Endorsed by PA Dems State Committee)
PA BAR RATING – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Born and raised in West Philadelphia. After graduating from Howard University, she took on the challenge of teaching social studies to middle school students. Following a successful teaching career, she decided to pursue a career in law and in 2002 received her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers-Camden School of Law. She has represented clients in family law, from support to custody issues, and represented indigent families. She went on to work as a major trial attorney for the Defender Association of Philadelphia and then as Chief Legal Counsel for State Senator Anthony H. Williams and as the Democratic Executive Director for the Pennsylvania State Senate State Government Committee, where she challenged Pennsylvania’s restrictive Photo ID law, assessed the constitutionality of proposed and existing legislation, and provided legal advice and guidance regarding the legal implications of legislation, regulations, and administrative policies. In 2013, she decided to pursue a seat on the Court of Common Pleas and despite seemingly insurmountable odds was elected.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
(Vote for one)
PA Commonwealth Court is one of two statewide intermediate appellate courts and decides most cases in three-judge panels in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburg. One seat will be open. Judges serve a full term of 10 years, with retention thereafter subject to voters. Current non-senior judges are 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats.
Matt Wolf
Judge Matt Wolf is the Supervising Civil Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court. As Supervising Judge, he guided the court through the pandemic, he started the heralded eviction diversion program, and he has focused the court on equity and access to justice.
Judge Wolf is currently in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He is a drilling enlisted Cavalry Scout soldier in Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat team, 28th Infantry Division, He successfully completed his Cavalry Scout MOS qualification in September, 2020.
Since 2021, Judge Wolf has been working with the National Center for State Courts through a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. He is the only Judge for Commonwealth Court in this election. Judge Wolf spent 25 years with a law practice focused on civil rights. He understands fairness and equity. He is ready to represent all citizens of Pennsylvania.