Election Day 2022 is finally here — get out and vote

WILKES-BARRE — And now back to our regular programing.

Yes, today is Election Day 2022 and other than knowing who will win each race, we will no longer be subjected to all those TV ads that have been monopolizing the airwaves for months.

In all seriousness, eligible voters are urged to go to the polls and cast your votes, assuming you already have not sent in your mail-in ballots.

To help you, here is a race by race look at the contests:

116th District: LUZERNE and SCHUYLKILL Counties; Part of LUZERNE County consisting of the CITY of Hazleton and the TOWNSHIP of Hazle and the BOROUGH of West Hazleton; and part of SCHUYLKILL County consisting of the TOWNSHIPS of East Union, Kline, Mahanoy, North Union and Union and the BOROUGHS of Mahanoy City, McAdoo, Ringtown and Shenandoah.

Total population: 63,945

Candidates: Yesenia Rodriguez, D-Hazleton; Dane Watro Jr., R-Kilne Township.

***

117th District: LUZERNE County; part of LUZERNE County consisting of the TOWNSHIPS of Black Creek, Butler, Conyngham, Dennison, Dorrance, Fairmount, Foster, Hollenback, Hunlock, Huntington, Lake, Lehman, Nescopeck, Ross, Salem, Slocum, Sugarloaf and Union and the BOROUGHS of Conyngham, Dallas, Freeland, Harveys Lake, Jeddo, Nescopeck, New Columbus, Nuangola, Penn Lake Park, Shickshinny and White Haven.

Total population: 61,755

Candidate: Michael Cabell, R-Butler Township, is unopposed in the 117th Legislative District.

(Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, decided not to run for re-election.)

Name: James May

Party: Republican

Age: 52

Town of Residence: Ransom

Occupation: Real Estate Investor

Education: Bachelor’s in Secondary Education, Clarks Summit University; Graduate Certificate in Middle Eastern Studies, Jerusalem University College; Master of Divinity, Baptist Bible Seminary; Post Graduate Studies, Berkely College of New York

Family: Wife, Jill; 3 children – James, Isaiah (and wife, Brianna), Hannah; one grandson, Theo.

•

Name: Jim Haddock

Party: Democrat

Age: 59

Town of Residence: Pittston Township

Occupation: Prothonotary & Clerk of Courts Manager in Luzerne County

Education: Bucknell University-Pennsylvania Bankers Association Advanced School of Banking

Family: Single

•

118th District: LACKAWANNA and LUZERNE Counties; part of LACKAWANNA County consisting of the TOWNSHIPS of Glenburn, La Plume, Newton, Ransom and West Abington and the BOROUGHS of Dalton, Moosic, Old Forge and Taylor and Part of LUZERNE County consisting of the CITY of Pittston and the TOWNSHIPS of Jenkins and Pittston and the BOROUGHS of Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown, Laflin, West Pittston and Yatesville.

Total population: 61,770

***

119th Legislative District

Name: Alec Ryncavage

Party: Republican

Age: 21

Town of Residence: Plymouth

Occupation: Cybersecurity Software Engineer and Plymouth Borough Councilman

Education: Wyoming Valley West H.S. No higher education. Self-taught software engineer

Family: Single

•

Name: Vito Malacari

Age: 36

Town of Residence: Hanover Township

Occupation: Teacher

Education: King’s College ‘09 BA History and minor in Secondary Education; Wilkes University ‘13 MS in Education

Family: Lauren Klug, wife; twin children Grier and Roen, age 5.

***

119th District: LUZERNE County, part of LUZERNE County consisting of the CITY of Nanticoke and the TOWNSHIPS of Fairview, Hanover, Newport, Plymouth, Rice and Wright and the BOROUGHS of Ashley, Edwardsville, Larksville, Plymouth, Sugar Notch and Warrior Run.

Total population: 61,334

***

120th Legislative District

Name: Aaron Kaufer

Party: Republican (Incumbent)

Age: 34

Town of Residence: Kingston

Occupation: State Representative

Education: Lafayette College B.A. Government and Law; International Affairs

Widener University Commonwealth Law J.D.

Family: Wife Annie; Daughter Raya

•

Name: Fern Leard

Party: Democrat

Age: 38

Town of Residence: Dallas Township

Occupation: Healthcare Lobbyist

Education: North Pocono High School Graduate, CPR certified & Nurse Aide Training Certification at Marywood University

Family: Twin boys, age 10; lifelong partner, Dan

•

120th District: LUZERNE County, part of LUZERNE County consisting of the TOWNSHIPS of Dallas, Exeter, Franklin, Jackson and Kingston and the BOROUGHS of Courtdale, Exeter, Forty Fort, Kingston, Luzerne, Pringle, Swoyersville, West Wyoming and Wyoming.

Total population: 61,645

***

121st Legislative District

Name: Eddie Day Pashinski

Party: Democrat (Incumbent)

Age: 77

Town of Residence: Wilkes-Barre

Occupation: State Representative

Education: Wilkes University, Bachelor of Arts, Music Education

Family: Father of four children with his late wife, Millie; grandfather to seven, who are his pride and joy.

•

Name: Eryn Harvey

Party: Republican

Age: 28

Town of Residence: Wilkes-Barre City

Occupation: Former aide to Senator John Yudichak, former Deputy Director of Elections, Luzerne County

Education: 2012 Graduate of Coughlin High School; 2016 Graduate of King’s College with a degree in Mass Communications and Marketing.

Family: Mom Debbie Harvey, Dad William Harvey. Sister Jessica Harvey

•

121st District: LUZERNE County, part of LUZERNE County consisting of the CITY of Wilkes-Barre and the TOWNSHIPS of Bear Creek, Buck,Plains and Wilkes-Barre and the BOROUGHS of Bear Creek Village and Laurel Run.

Total population: 61,466

***

20th Senatorial District

Name: Lisa Baker

Party: Republican (Incumbent)

Age: 61

Town of Residence: Lehman

Occupation: Senator in the General Assembly

Education: BA, Government Administration, Shippensburg University

Job: 35 years of public service working to make government more accountable and eliminating unnecessary barriers to deliver positive results for individuals, organizations, and communities.

Family: Husband, Gary; Son, Carson; Daughter-In-Law Katie; Grandchildren, Bryce and Blair

•

Name: Jackie Baker

Party: Democrat

Age: 50

Town of Residence: Hallstead

Occupation: Former teacher, stay-at-home mom.

Education: Elk Lake High School, Dimock; Mansfield University, Bachelor’s Degree, Education; Wilkes University, Master’s Degree, Education

Family: Married, 3 children

•

20th District: Part of LUZERNE County consisting of the CITY of Nanticoke and the TOWNSHIPS of Dallas, Exeter, Fairmount, Franklin, Hanover, Hunlock, Jackson, Kingston, Lake, Lehman, Newport, Plymouth, Ross and Union and the BOROUGHS of Ashley, Courtdale, Dallas, Edwardsville, Exeter, Forty Fort, Harveys Lake, Kingston, Larksville, Luzerne, Plymouth, Pringle, Sugar Notch, Swoyersville, Warrior Run and West Wyoming; All of PIKE County; All of SUSQUEHANNA County; part of WAYNE County consisting of the TOWNSHIPS of Berlin, Buckingham, Clinton, Damascus, Dyberry, Lebanon, Manchester, Mount Pleasant, Oregon, Palmyra, Paupack, Preston and Scott and the BOROUGHS of Bethany, Hawley and Starrucca and All of WYOMING County.

Total population: 269,942

•

22nd Senatorial District

Name: Marty Flynn

Party: Democrat (Incumbent)

Age: 47

Town of Residence: Dunmore

Occupation: State Senator

Education: B.A. Marywood University

Family: Fiancé Kate Kochanski; daughter Aria Flynn

•

Name: Tom Bassett

Party: Republican

Age: 31

Town of Residence: Pittston

Occupation: Band/Music Teacher since 2016

Education: WBASD K-6, Lake-Lehman ‘09, Bachelor of Music Education, Clarks Summit University 2015, Master of Music Education, Kutztown University 2019, ESL Specialist Certificate, Kutztown University 2021, Biblical Counseling Certificate, ACBC 2021, Doctor of Music Education, Liberty University, in progress.

Family: Single; siblings Richard, Charelle, Danielle.

•

22nd District: LACKAWANNA and LUZERNE Counties. part of LACKAWANNA County consisting of the CITY of Scranton and the TOWNSHIPS of Benton, Glenburn, Greenfield, La Plume, Newton, North Abington, Ransom, Scott, South Abington, Waverly and West Abington and the BOROUGHS of Clarks Green, Clarks Summit, Dalton, Dickson City, Dunmore, Moosic, Old Forge, Taylor and Throop and Part of LUZERNE County consisting of the CITIES of Pittston and Wilkes-Barre and the TOWNSHIPS of Jenkins, Pittston, Plains and Wilkes-Barre and the BOROUGHS of Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown, Laflin, Laurel Run, West Pittston, Wyoming and Yatesville.

Total population: 251,084

***

8th Congressional District

Name: Matt Cartwright

Party: Democrat (Incumbent)

Age: 61

Town of Residence: Moosic

Occupation: Attorney

Education: Hamilton College (BA), University of Pennsylvania (JD)

Family: Marion Munley (wife), Jack (son), Matthew (son)

•

Name: Jim Bognet

Party: Republican

Age: 47

Town of Residence: Hazle Township

Occupation: Small business owner

Education: B.S. in Finance from Penn State, J.D. and M.B.A. from UCLA

Family: Parents James and Patrice, brother, sister, and many cousins

•

Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District includes Lackawanna, Wayne, and Pike Counties and portions of Luzerne and Monroe Counties.

***

9th Congressional District

Name: Dan Meuser (Incumbent)

Party: Republican

Age: 58

Town of Residence: Dallas

Occupation: U.S. Congressman since 2019, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue, 20-plus years with Pride Mobility Products, Board of Governors, Pennsylvania’s System of Higher Education.

Education: New York Maritime University; Cornell University

Family: Wife, Shelley, three children, Caroline, Jacqueline, and Daniel

•

Name: Amanda Waldman

Party: Democrat

Age: 47

Town of Residence: Mill Creek Township

Occupation: Financial Representative

Education: Bachelors of Arts in English from Bloomsburg University

Family: 2 sons

•

The 9th Congressional District encompasses all of Carbon County, Columbia County, Lebanon County, Montour County, and Schuylkill County, as well as parts of Berks County, Luzerne County, and Northumberland County.