The Pennsylvania Green Party is distancing itself from candidates seeking to run under its banner in two battleground House districts, saying the campaigns were launched without the party’s endorsement.
The party warned that “an effort to achieve ballot access in an un-transparent manner is underway,” while emphasizing that only candidates nominated through its official process represent the Pennsylvania Green Party. It also urged voters to support only candidates the party has formally endorsed.
Leila Hazou, who ran as the Green Party’s Senate nominee in 2024, has filed with the FEC to run in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, where Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti is challenging Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA).
The race is drawing increasing national attention after Sabato’s Crystal Ball recently shifted the race from Leans Republican to Toss-up, while noting that Hazou’s possible presence on the ballot “could ultimately help Bresnahan” by siphoning votes from Cognetti in what is expected to be a closely contested race.
In Pennsylvania’s 7th District, Punchbowl News reported that Andrew Tupone submitted signatures to run as a Green Party candidate against Democratic nominee Bob Brooks and Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie. Voter records reviewed by the outlet show Tupone switched his registration to the Green Party only recently, after years as a registered Republican, during which he regularly voted in GOP primaries.
The controversy has also spilled onto social media. In a Facebook post, the progressive group Lehigh Valley For All warned voters not to sign petitions circulating on Tupone’s behalf, alleging he was not an authorized Green Party candidate and that the effort was intended to siphon votes from Democratic nominee Bob Brooks.
In the comments, Theron Gilliland Jr., who identified himself as the organizer of the Pennsylvania Green Party’s electoral efforts, said Tupone “is NOT endorsed” by the state party and that his campaign is not being organized or funded by the Pennsylvania Green Party. One commenter also claimed she had signed Tupone’s petition, believing she was helping an official Green Party candidate, saying she later learned otherwise.
HOW PITTSBURGH BECAME THE EARLY ALARM BELL FOR THE DSA’S RISE
Sabato’s Crystal Ball currently ranks Pennsylvania’s 7th District race as a Toss Up. The stakes are high. Third-party candidates have the potential to alter the outcome in razor-thin races, and Pennsylvania is central to Democrats’ path to reclaiming the House majority. Candidates have until Aug. 3 to submit nominating petitions to qualify for the November ballot.