Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, will seek a 14th term representing the 171st District, he announced on Tuesday.
Benninghoff was first elected in 1996 and has served as majority leader, the No. 2 position in the state House, since 2020. His district includes parts of Centre and Mifflin counties.
“It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve the people of Centre and Mifflin counties in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,” Benninghoff said. “I want to continue to be an advocate for our community and the values we hold dear.”
In a press release, Benninghoff said he has worked to keep state spending low, opposed broad-based tax increases, invested in students, advanced “pro-life legislation,” advocated for Second Amendment rights and helped ensure constituents receive needed state services.
Prior to his election as majority leader, Benninghoff was majority whip, the No. 3 Republican in the House, for a year and a half. He served two terms as chair of House Majority Policy Committee and previously chaired the finance and state government committees.
During his last reelection campaign in 2020, Benninghoff defeated Democratic challenger Peter Buck with 61.4% of the vote overall and 57.4% in Centre County.
Before serving in the state House, Benninghoff was elected to two terms as Centre County coroner in 1991 and 1995 after serving as deputy coroner for six years.
Robert Zeigler, a Democratic Millheim councilman, previously announced his candidacy for the 171st district seat.
In Centre County, the 171st district currently represents Bellefonte, Centre Hall and Millheim boroughs, Gregg, Harris, Penn, Potter, Spring and Walker townships and parts of College and Ferguson townships.
The final legislative map approved by the Pennsylvania Reapportionment Commission would alter the composition of the 171st district. Harris and College townships would move to the open 82nd district and Ferguson Township to the 77th district. The 171st would add Miles and Haines townships, which are currently part of the 76th district represented by Clinton County Republican Stephanie Borowicz.
(Other parts of Centre County currently represented by the 76th district would move into the 82nd, along with part of State College from the 77th.)
In Mifflin County, the 171st district would represent Kistler, Juniata Terrace, Lewistown, McVeytown, Newton Hamilton boroughs and Armagh, Bratton, Brown, Granville, Menno, Oliver, Union and Wayne townships.
The bipartisan, five-member Reapportionment Commission voted 4-1 to approve the final legislative maps. Benninghoff was the lone no vote and has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to order that the current maps established in 2012 by the Republican-majority General Assembly be used for the 2022 election.
