18th Senate District: Boscola’s experience vs. Merhottein’s new perspective
Incumbent has huge edge in fundraising in district that still leans Democratic.
This story was updated Oct. 30 to reflect the latest campaign finance reports for both candidates.
The campaign to represent the state’s 18th Senate District revolves around experience vs. change.
Democratic incumbent Lisa Boscola touts her 28 years in Harrisburg as a state representative and, for the last 24, as senator.
Her opponent, Republican John Merhottein, a Bethlehem Township commissioner and Marine veteran, says those years of experience are a liability and it is time for a change in senator.
During her time in office, Boscola built a reputation as a moderate who appeals to Republicans and Democrats.
For the past decade, she found herself in a safely Democratic district following the Route 22 corridor. That changed this year because of redistricting. Dave’s Redistricting suggests Democrats still hold an advantage, but it’s not as large as it may have been.
The district comprises Bethlehem and Easton; the townships of Forks, Lower Mount Bethel, Lower Nazareth, Lower Saucon, Palmer, Plainfield, Upper Mount Bethel, Upper Nazareth, Washington and Williams, and the boroughs of Bangor, East Bangor, Freemansburg, Glendon, Hellertown, Nazareth, Pen Argyl, Portland, Roseto, Stockertown, Tatamy, West Easton, Wilson and Wind Gap.
Campaign Finances
Reflecting the advantage of a longtime incumbent, Boscola has vastly outraised and outspent Merhottein in the months after the primary. She also holds a huge advantage in in-kind services for campaign activities.
The latest campaign finance report for the period from June 7 through Oct. 24 shows that Boscola began the period with $404,339 in cash and raised $239,317, bringing the total to $643,656.
Her camapign committee, Friends of Lisa Boscola, spent $357,551, mostly after Labor Day, for campaign events, consultants and other services, ending the period with a balance of $286,104. She also received $171,201 in in-kind services, with most of that coming from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party for campaign mailers.
Among the campaign’s donors for this year is Students First PAC ($20,000), which describes itself as a nonpartisan PAC “devoted to supporting Pennsylvania legislative candidates who support real education reform that puts the interests of students first.” The PAC has contributed to Republican and Democratic candidates.
Since late last year, Students First received $16 million from a single donor — Jeffrey Yass, co-founder of the Susquehanna International Group and, with an estimated value of $12 billion, making him Pennsylvania’s wealthiest resident. Another Yass-related PAC, Citizens Alliance PA, gave Jarrett Coleman, the Republican candidate in the 16th state Senate race, about $360,000 in in-kind donations in the spring.
Other major donors this year to Boscola’s campaign include PA Realtors PAC ($11,000); Essential Utilities PAC ($3,000); IBEW PAC Voluntary Fund ($5,000); Laborers Local 1174 PAC, Allentown ($5,000); International Union of Operating Engineers ($5,000); PPL People for Good Government ($3,500); Jay Costa for State Senate, the campaign committee for the state Senate Democratic leader ($15,000); Citizens for Hughes, the campaign for Philadelphia state Senator Vincent Hughes ($40,250); J.B. Reilly, owner of City Center, Allentown ($8,000); former Northampton County Executive Glenn Reibman ($1,750); Dennis Benner, Bethlehem lawyer ($7,500); Lou Pektor, owner of Ashley Development, Bethlehem ($7,500); Michael Perrucci, Bethlehem lawyer ($20,000).
Boscola’s committee gave money to Friends of Nick Miller, the Democratic candidate for the state’s 14th Senate District ($15,000), and Friends of Anna Thomas, candidate for the state’s 137th House District ($500).
Since the start of this year through Oct. 24, the Friends of John Merhottein raised $43,036, spent $37,541, leaving a $5,495 balance. Merhottein loaned his campaign a total of $11,233 this year.
The campaign reported $29,865 in in-kind services, most of which came from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee for polling. The campaign paid the Senate GOP committee $20,000 for work, mostly for mailers. The committee also contributed $10,000 to the Merhottein campaign in May.
Major contributors to his campaign this year include Lisa Scheller, Republican congressional candidate for the 7th District ($1,000); Friends of Ann Flood, the Republican state representative from the 138th District ($1,810); and Republican state Sen. Mario Scavello and his wife, Mary Ann ($2,500).
Lisa Boscola
Boscola, 60, lives in Bethlehem Township with her husband, Ed. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Villanova University. A former Northampton County deputy court administrator, she was elected state representative from the 135th District in 1994 and served two terms.
In 1998, the Republican senator from the 18th District, Joseph Uliana, ran for Congress in the 15th District (Uliana lost the GOP primary to eventual winner and current U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey).
That opened up the 18th District Senate seat in a race that featured two Northampton County House members against each other - Boscola vs. Republican Leonard Gruppo, who represented the 137th District for 10 terms. Boscola won with 55% of the vote to win a four-year term.
She won reelection every four years since and is seeking to serve her seventh term in office. No opponent has come close to unseating her in that time. Republican Matt Connolly came closest in 2010, but he lost by almost 20 percentage points. Republicans failed to nominate a challenger at all in 2014 or 2018.
In the Senate, Boscola serves as chair of the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. She is a member of Banking & Insurance, Game and Fisheries, Environmental Resources and Energy, and Community, Economic & Recreational Development committees.
Issues
Guns: Voted against Senate Bill 565, which would allow anyone who wanted to carry concealed firearms to do so without going through a background check or having to get a permit. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Wolf in 2021. Voted yes to House Bill 979 which would restrict the ability of local municipalities from regulating firearms. It was vetoed by Wolf in Februry. Is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 217, which would require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms. No committee or floor votes have been taken.
LBGTQ: Was the lone Democratic senator to vote to ban trans athletes from school sports in June. Gov. Tom Wolf ultimately vetoed the bill.
While expressing support for those in transition, she said it would be unfair for female athletes to compete against transgender female athletes. It would also be too chaotic for individual school districts to attempt to form their own policies individually.
“I cannot, in good conscience, leave the ultimate decision in the hands of principals,” she said during the Sente debate. “It is not even fair to them. We need a uniform policy, and principals should not be forced to carry that burden.”
Abortion: Voted no to 2017’s Senate Bill 3, which would have prohibited abortions beyond 20 weeks of gestational age. Wolf vetoed the measure. Voted no to 2019’s House Bill 321, which would have prohibited abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The measure was vetoed by Gov. Wolf. The bill was resent to the Senate, where it was withdrawn from the table in April.
Constitutional amendment: Defying her party, she was a yes vote on an amendment package that would have clearly stated that women have no guaranteed rights to abortion or public funding for abortion. The amendment would limit the ability to challenge laws restricting or outlawing abortions in the state.
The other amendments in the package would require voter ID, mandate the auditor general to audit elections, allow gubernatorial nominees to pick their running mates, and allow the Legislature to reject regulations, such as environmental rules, without facing governor vetoes.
The Legislature must pass the package of proposed constitutional amendments in the next legislative session before it could be placed on the ballot as a voter referendum.
Elections: Was the primary sponsor of 2019’s Act 77, which eliminated party-line voting but allowed for no-excuse, mail-in voting. While every Republican senator supported the bill, Boscola was one of only two Democrats to vote in favor of it. It wasn’t until the pandemic arrived and then-President Donald Trump attacked mail-in voting that Republicans reversed their support.
Tax reform: Has co-sponsored the Republican-pushed Senate Bill 76, which would eliminate the school property tax but has yet to pass the Legislature. She has also proposed legislation that would freeze property taxes for seniors, which also was never passed.
Christine’s Law: Was the main sponsor of what became known as Christine’s Law, which requires drivers to clear vehicles of ice and snow within 24 hours of winter storms. The law is named after Christine Lambert of Palmer Township, who died on Christmas Day, 2005, in Carbon County after an ice chunk fell off a truck and through the windshield of the SUV she was driving. Gov. Wolf signed the bill into law in July.
John Merhottein
Merhottein, 52, was unopposed in the Republican primary for the 18th District. He has lived in the Lehigh Valley for over 15 years, after moving from New Jersey.
He served in the Marines for four years, from 1988-92, including during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, which led to the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 under the direction of President George H.W. Bush.
With a computer programming certificate from Chubb Institute of Technology, Parsippany, N.J., he has worked in the information technology field for 20 years. He is presently a data specialist for Intelligent Audit, Rochelle Park, N.J., which assists freight and transport companies.
He and his wife, Michelle, have a son in elementary school. He volunteers as a coach of their son’s baseball and basketball teams.
Foray into politics
After a proposed 36% tax increase in Bethlehem Township, he began attending township meetings and realized he had “a willingness to serve.”
He ran for township commissioner from the Fourth Ward in 2017 and won with 54% of the vote. He was unopposed for reelection in 2021, and in January was selected president of the board of commissioners - the only Republican on the five-member board. He says that shows he is a bipartisan elected official.
“As a township commissioner, I have always worked in a nonpartisan manner,” he said. “That is the only way to make real progress. I work for the people, and party politics too often is a barrier to getting positive things accomplished.”
He said his two major accomplishments for the township were leading the effort to open a Bethlehem Area Public Library branch in the township and to help reduce township debt.
“When I entered office, we had $14 million of debt. We are currently at $6.8 million and will be almost debt free in three years.”
He ran for state senator because he has a commitment to public service.
“I feel a sense of duty to dedicate myself to anything I’m doing. and I look for opportunities to serve. That is why I took on this new challenge. I saw an even greater opportunity to step up and help make our community a better place to live, work, and raise a family,” he said.
Without as much money as his opponent, Merhottein has been working hard on his campaign. “I have knocked on 10,000 doors, and my team and I have made over 35,000 phone calls. It's not easy running against a 28-year incumbent.”
Issues
Education: Supports school choice. “Parents absolutely have every right to play an active role in the education of their kids. They also have the right to choose where their child goes to school and what kind of education they receive. … All children learn differently, and we need to make sure that parents have options that fit the needs of our kids. Transparency in the curriculum is crucial as parents have a right to know what is being taught in the classroom,” he said.
“I'd like to see a return to the fundamentals of education - reading, writing, and arithmetic. I also believe that we need to make sure we are teaching civics and financial literacy courses as well.”
Tax reform: Says it's imperative that the Legislature find an alternative to the school property tax, which, he said, “is crushing our residents and especially senior citizens living on a fixed income. …
“The first measure I would support is putting the proceeds from gaming into a lockbox, which is dedicated to property tax relief. This was the promise when it occurred, and I do not believe that promise has been held.”
Race, gender: Says no one should be discriminated against. “I am for equal rights for all citizens, regardless of their race, gender, or sexual preference.”
Elections: Says Act 77, the state law that permits no-excuse, mail-in voting must be modified to end confusion about requirements.
“Although not easy, this should be done in a bipartisan manner that ensures we have clear, consistent, and transparent rules for voting – and for counting every vote, so all 67 counties are following the same standards. Voting in Pennsylvania and across our nation should be easy, secure and have final results we can trust.”
He also supports voters showing an ID at the polls.
Abortion: Supports having voters decide whether to adopt a proposed constitutional amendment, which would eliminate a constitutional right to abortion in Pennsylvania and open the door to a laws outright banning abortion.
He told lehighvalleylive.com, that “If adopted, SB 106, or the Life Amendment, will return the decision of how to regulate abortion back into the hands of the citizens of Pennsylvania and their elected legislators, which is where I think it belongs.”
Environment: Opposes Pennsylvania’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and, as a senator, would work to remove the state from that initiative.
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