John Yudichak

John T. Yudichak (born May 1, 1970) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for 14th District from 2011 to 2022. He previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 119th district from 1999 to 2010.[2]

John Yudichak
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 14th district
In office
January 4, 2011 (2011-01-04) – November 30, 2022[1]
Preceded byRay Musto
Succeeded byNick Miller
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 119th district
In office
January 5, 1999 (1999-01-05) – November 30, 2010 (2010-11-30)
Preceded byStanley Jarolin
Succeeded byGerald Mullery
Personal details
Born (1970-05-01) May 1, 1970
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyIndependent (since 2019)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (until 2019)
Residence(s)Plymouth Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materPennsylvania State University

Early life and education

John Yudichak was born on May 1, 1970, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,[3] to Joseph and Sarah Yudichak.[4] Both Yudichak's father and grandfather were coal miners.[5] His father was also a longtime supervisor in Plymouth Township.[6] Yudichak graduated from Nanticoke Area High School in 1988, and attended Wyoming Seminary for one year before transferring to the Pennsylvania State University.[7] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993 and a Master of Arts degree in American Studies from Pennsylvania State University in 2004.[8]

Career

Yudichak worked as an intern for U.S. Representative Paul E. Kanjorski before serving as director of development at the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre.[9] In 1996, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Stanley Jarolin for the Democratic nomination for the 119th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, losing by 600 votes.[10] However, he ran for the nomination again in 1998, and defeated Jarolin by more than 800 votes.[11] In the general election, he defeated Republican Jean Sepling.

Yudichak was elected to the State Senate in 2010. He easily won the Democratic nomination for the 14th District seat (being vacated by Democratic incumbent Ray Musto) when he defeated Wilkes-Barre mayor Tom Leighton by a 2 to 1 margin in the May 18, 2010, primary.[12][13] Yudichak won the general election on November 2, 2010, defeating Luzerne County Commissioner Stephen Urban.[14][15]

On November 19, 2019, Yudichak changed his voter registration from Democrat to Independent, and ceased to caucus with the Democrats, caucusing instead with the Republican majority. He blamed his party switch on "purist" partisan politicians "who demand that you choose a battle camp. You must pass their litmus test, and declare if you support ‘us,’ or ‘them.’"[16][17] Yudichak would later say the friction between him and the Democratic Party was because of Progressive Democrats who opposed the expansion of Pennsylvania's energy industry, and "demonize[d]" blue-collar workers.[18][5]

On March 17, 2022, Yudichak announced he would not seek re-election,[19] after the redistricting process shifted his district to the Lehigh Valley and placed his home in the 20th Senate District.[20]

References
  1. Owens, Dennis; Montag, Madison (November 30, 2022). "Jake Corman reflects on long Pennsylvania Senate career". abc27 WHTM. Retrieved 2 December 2022. The legislative session ended on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022,
  2. "SESSION OF 1999 - 183D OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 1999-01-05.
  3. "John T. Yudichak". Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  4. "Pennsylvania Manual" (PDF). Pennsylvania Department of General Services.
  5. Kalinowski, Bob (December 11, 2022). "Yudichak 'grateful' for time in office". The Citizens' Voice. pp. A1, A12.
  6. O'Boyle, Bill (April 28, 2023). "Baker, Ryncavage hold ribbon-cutting at new offices in Nanticoke". Times Leader. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  7. "State Senator John Yudichak - About". www.senatoryudichak.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  8. "Pennsylvania State Senate - Senator John T. Yudichak". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  9. Filaroski, P. Douglas (1998-05-17). "119TH REVEALS TALES OF 3 CANDIDATES". Times Leader.
  10. Morrison, Mitch (1996-02-27). "Kanjorski's Dam Project Deflating a Democratic State Senator and His GOP Counterpart Say They Won't Ask Gov. Ridge to Change His Mind on Funding for the Congressman's Proposed Project". Times Leader.
  11. Filaroski, P. Douglas (1998-05-20). "Yudichak Ends Jarolin's Reign". Times Leader.
  12. "2010 General Primary Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Official Returns CARBON". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  13. "LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 2010 GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MAY 18, 2010" (PDF). Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. May 27, 2010. p. 2. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  14. "2010 General Election Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Official Returns LUZERNE". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  15. "2010 General Election Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Official Returns CARBON". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  16. Learn-Andes, Jennifer (19 November 2019). "Yudichak switching party registration from Democrat to Independent". Times Leader. Times Leader. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  17. Thompson, Charles (November 19, 2019). "Pa. Dems lose a state senator: John Yudichak of Luzerne County declares himself independent, will caucus with GOP". PennLive. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  18. Meet the Press in Luzerne County 5_10_22 (Newscast). MSNBC. May 10, 2022. Event occurs at 14:44-16:47. Retrieved 5 May 2023 – via YouTube.
  19. Silvi, Emily (March 17, 2022). "Senator Yudichak not running for re-election". WBRE/WYOU.
  20. Ulrich, Steve (February 10, 2022). "What's Next for John Yudichak and NEPA?". PoliticsPA.
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