Ben Waxman, Ilya Breyman and
Gwen Stoltz
All three of these Jewish candidates
seek seats in the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives. Breyman and Stoltz are already the
presumed Democratic nominees in
their respective districts, PA 178 and
143, both in Bucks County. Both are
running unopposed in the primary.

Waxman’s situation is the opposite.

As a Center City Democrat, his pri-
mary will likely be his election. If
the Jewish millennial beats three other
Democrats on May 17, he should be
able to win his blue district, PA 182,
in November in heavily Democratic
Philadelphia. The district’s current representa-
tive, Brian Sims, is running for lieu-
tenant governor instead of reelection.

Waxman’s opponents are Deja Alvarez,
Jonathan Lovitz and Tyrell Brown.

But among the four candidates,
it’s Waxman who has party support.

The Democratic committee people in
Center City wards voted to endorse
him, he said.

And that’s a big deal in a low-in-
formation race that will not receive
much media coverage, according to
Waxman. In an election like that, party
leaders will do a lot of the work to both
inform and turn out voters.

“The reality is people don’t know who
their state representative is or what he
does,” Waxman said. “You rely on your
committee people and neighbors.”
Waxman, though, is a longtime
activist, and so he’s not just depending
on party leaders to spread his message
about reinvigorating the local economy
and protecting abortion rights. He con-
tinues to knock on doors, make calls
and host events, doing the first one
every day.

“A lot of people are going to decide
right at the end,” he said.

But even if Waxman beats his
Democratic opponents, he will not let
up, he says. Though a win for his
campaign would become likely at that
point, the communications consultant
would need to focus on helping other
Democrats join him in Harrisburg.

Shapiro is first among them, accord-
ing to Waxman. If the Roe v. Wade
abortion decision is overturned by the
Supreme Court as expected, the ques-
tion of abortion access will go to the
states. Pennsylvania has a Democratic gov-
ernor, Tom Wolf, and a Republican
General Assembly. A Republican
governor, instead of Shapiro, would
likely align the Keystone State with the
Ben Waxman
Courtesy of Steve Springer
Supreme Court’s decision.

“We have to turn people out to stop
this from happening,” Waxman said.

“It is a motivating factor for every
Democrat.” Susan Wild and Lisa Scheller
Wild, a Jewish Democrat, represents
Pennsylvania’s 7th congressional dis-
trict, covering the Lehigh Valley area,
in the U.S. House of Representatives.

This fall, the Allentown-area resident
will seek her third term in Congress.

Her opponent from the 2020 general
election, Scheller, a Jewish Republican,
is vying to run against Wild for the
second cycle in a row. In the May 17
primary, Scheller seeks to defeat fellow
Republican Kevin Dellicker.

If she succeeds, she will set up an
all-Jewish rematch in the Lehigh Valley.

Scheller is the chairman and pres-
ident of Silberline Manufacturing
Co., which makes “a key ingredient in
paints and coatings,” according to her
campaign website. She “knows first-
hand how red tape and radical pro-
posals like the Green New Deal stymie
our local businesses and families,” per
the site. JE
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