Harrisburg, Pa., April 22, 2026 — Despite 2025 being an off-year election, Pennsylvania still saw heavy political spending by unions, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Foundation.
The judicial-retention races drew attention, with trade union and government union PACs spending $2.2 million on them.
PACs operated by Pennsylvania’s largest government unions—the American Federation of Teachers; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the Service Employees International Union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union—collectively spent more than $4.7 million on political campaigns in 2025—90 percent of which went to Democrats.
Surprisingly, however, the election cycle’s more interesting investments went to candidates absent from the 2025 ballot box:
David Osborne, Sr. Director of Labor Policy for the Commonwealth Foundation, issued the following statement in response:
“Union influence continues to plague Pennsylvania politics. Even in an off-year election, more than $22 million flowed into the state from unions—both public and private—for supporting judicial-retention races and boosting war chests ahead of the midterms.
“Gov. Josh Shapiro, despite not being up for election until 2026, received more than $2.2 million in union dollars in 2025, nearly the same amount Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger received ($2.5 million) from union-sponsored PACs during her election year.
“Other notable recipients not on the 2025 ballot included Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Philadelphia Council President Kenyatta Johnson, Majority Leader Matt Bradford, and House Majority Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris.
“Armed with millions of dollars in resources and receiving special legal privileges, union executives exert undue influence on Pennsylvania’s political process, with no end in sight.”
Read the full report here.
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