2026 Pennsylvania General Election 

Caren Lowrey

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HOMETOWN

A lifelong resident of South Whitehall Township and a graduate of Parkland High School — the same school the Atlas data center would sit across the street from.

About

### Biographical Information
County Lehigh

Occupation Pennsylvania Certified Prevention & Education Specialist

Education University of Delaware - B.A., Criminal Justice & Sociology; Parkland High School alum

Pennsylvania State Representative District 132 — VOTE411 Voter Guide. Additional information available on VOTE411.org.

Lowrey, 48, grew up and lives in South Whitehall Township. She went to the University of Delaware. She is a certified prevention, education and recovery specialist. She serves on the Lehigh County Drug & Alcohol Advisory Board. She is married and has three children. Her family has run a local coffee business serving Lehigh Valley workplaces since 1988.

Election 2026 in 132nd: High-ranking incumbent Democrat state Rep. Mike Schlossberg faces GOP newcomer Caren Lowrey

Caren Lowrey is a lifelong resident of South Whitehall Township. She earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and sociology from the University of Delaware. She is married and has three children.

Election 2026: In 132nd, high-ranking incumbent Democratic state ...

### Biographical Information
County Lehigh

Occupation Pennsylvania Certified Prevention & Education Specialist

Nonprofit treatment center

Currently designs prevention and education initiatives for a nationally recognized nonprofit treatment center.

Former social worker

Previously worked as a social worker in Philadelphia within the justice system before returning home to the Lehigh Valley.

Caren Lowrey currently works as a Pennsylvania-certified prevention and education specialist and designs prevention and education initiatives for a nonprofit treatment center. She previously worked as a social worker in Philadelphia within the justice system.

The most pressing issues in our district are the cost of living, keeping our schools strong and accountable, and managing rapid development so residents are not left paying the price. As a parent of three in Parkland schools and someone who works in local schools everyday, I see these pressures firsthand. In Harrisburg, I would work to reduce Pennsylvania’s gas tax, protect families and small businesses from rising electricity costs, and demand responsible budgeting and spending.

ENERGY
Reduce energy costs that hit family budgets and local businesses alike.
TAXES
Lessen the tax burden on working families and small businesses.
LOCAL ECONOMY
Support local economic development that keeps dollars and jobs in the community.
TRANSPARENCY
Improve price transparency so families aren't blindsided by unexpected costs.

Issues

TAXES
Lessen the tax burden on working families and small businesses.
LOCAL ECONOMY
Support local economic development that keeps dollars and jobs in the community.
TRANSPARENCY
Improve price transparency so families aren't blindsided by unexpected costs.
Why this connects to the Atlas data center: the same push for cheap, fast data-center power is a driver of rising electric costs across the grid — Caren's affordability agenda and her opposition to the Atlas data center come from the same place: keeping costs and decisions close to home.

LOCAL ECONOMY
Support local economic development that keeps dollars and jobs in the community.
TRANSPARENCY
Improve price transparency so families aren't blindsided by unexpected costs.
Why this connects to the Atlas data center: the same push for cheap, fast data-center power is a driver of rising electric costs across the grid — Caren's affordability agenda and her opposition to the Atlas data center come from the same place: keeping costs and decisions close to home.

That is unacceptable. Schools, counties, service providers and taxpayers should not be left waiting while Harrisburg negotiates. I would support earlier public budget negotiations, greater transparency about proposed spending, and regular public updates as the deadline approaches.
Legislators should remain in session until their work is finished. An on-time budget is one of the most basic responsibilities of state government, and elected officials should be held accountable for delivering it.

Supports regulating, licensing, and taxing skill games while seeking further study of tax rates, enforcement, and small-business effects.

Skill games

Schlossberg: The state Supreme Court gave lawmakers until Oct. 13 to pass a levy on skills games. Says he would support “any plan that regulates and taxes skill games,” which would be “better than the nothing we have available right now.”

Lowrey: Generally supports regulating, licensing and taxing skill games, but wants to further study impacts of tax rates, enforcement plans and effects on small businesses.

Plans to reduce Pennsylvania's gas tax and protect families and small businesses from rising electricity costs.

Supports lowering taxes on working families and small businesses.

Supports local economic development intended to keep jobs and spending in the community.

Supports improving price transparency for families facing unexpected costs.

Supports earlier public budget negotiations, spending transparency, and regular public updates before budget deadlines.

- Plans to reduce Pennsylvania's gas tax and protect families and small businesses from rising electricity costs.
- Supports lowering taxes on working families and small businesses.
- Supports local economic development intended to keep jobs and spending in the community.
- Supports improving price transparency for families facing unexpected costs.
- Supports earlier public budget negotiations, spending transparency, and regular public updates before budget deadlines.

Economy

Supports contraception and miscarriage care but does not support expanding abortion access beyond what is currently allowed.

Reproductive rights

Schlossberg: Co-sponsored a resolution proposing an amendment to enshrine reproductive autonomy, including abortion, in the state Constitution. “I do not think it’s the government’s role to tell a woman what to do with her body, and I proudly consider myself pro-choice. It’s as simple as that.”

Lowrey: Supports contraception and miscarriage care, but not expanding abortion access beyond current allowances.

Healthcare

02 · EDUCATION

Stronger schools, built with the people who show up every day.

Drawing on her own background as an educator and a parent of three kids in the district.

TEACHERS
Support teachers with the resources they need to do the job well.
PARENTS
Strengthen parent communication and involvement in their kids' education.
PATHWAYS
Build real career pathways for students, not just a single track.
PARTNERSHIPS
Grow community-school partnerships that extend resources beyond the classroom.

TEACHERS
Support teachers with the resources they need to do the job well.
PARENTS
Strengthen parent communication and involvement in their kids' education.
PATHWAYS
Build real career pathways for students, not just a single track.
PARTNERSHIPS
Grow community-school partnerships that extend resources beyond the classroom.

PARENTS
Strengthen parent communication and involvement in their kids' education.
PATHWAYS
Build real career pathways for students, not just a single track.
PARTNERSHIPS
Grow community-school partnerships that extend resources beyond the classroom.

PATHWAYS
Build real career pathways for students, not just a single track.
PARTNERSHIPS
Grow community-school partnerships that extend resources beyond the classroom.

Supports providing teachers with resources they need to do their jobs.

Supports strengthening parent communication and involvement in their children's education.

Supports building career pathways for students.

Supports expanding community-school partnerships to provide resources beyond the classroom.

- Supports providing teachers with resources they need to do their jobs.
- Supports strengthening parent communication and involvement in their children's education.
- Supports building career pathways for students.
- Supports expanding community-school partnerships to provide resources beyond the classroom.

Education

Yes. Pennsylvania should establish statewide safeguards for data centers’ impacts on energy, water, land use, the grid, noise, emissions and communities. I support a temporary statewide moratorium on new large-scale data center approvals while those protections are put in place. But state standards should be a floor, not a way to strip municipalities of their authority under the Municipalities Planning Code. Local governments must retain control over zoning and siting, especially near homes and schools.

I support a temporary statewide moratorium on new large-scale data center approvals while those protections are put in place. But state standards should be a floor, not a way to strip municipalities of their authority under the Municipalities Planning Code. Local governments must retain control over zoning and siting, especially near homes and schools.
I would oppose any state policy or board that can override reasonable local ordinances or force a data center into a community. Developers, not families and small businesses, should bear the infrastructure costs these projects create.

Local governments must retain control over zoning and siting, especially near homes and schools.
I would oppose any state policy or board that can override reasonable local ordinances or force a data center into a community. Developers, not families and small businesses, should bear the infrastructure costs these projects create.

HER OPPONENT
Rep. Mike Schlossberg is a listed co-sponsor of HB 502, alongside a growing list of legislators pushing data-center-friendly siting rules through Harrisburg.

CAREN'S POSITION
Zoning decisions that affect a specific township  its roads, its schools, its water and power infrastructure  belong with the people who live there, not a board in the Capitol.

The Atlas Data Center

I would oppose any state policy or board that can override reasonable local ordinances or force a data center into a community. Developers, not families and small businesses, should bear the infrastructure costs these projects create.

Supports statewide safeguards addressing data centers' effects on energy, water, land use, the electric grid, noise, emissions, and communities.

Supports a temporary statewide moratorium on new large-scale data-center approvals while statewide safeguards are developed.

Opposes state policies that override local data-center zoning ordinances or force data centers into communities.

Says data-center developers, rather than families and small businesses, should pay the infrastructure costs of their projects.

- Supports statewide safeguards addressing data centers' effects on energy, water, land use, the electric grid, noise, emissions, and communities.
- Supports a temporary statewide moratorium on new large-scale data-center approvals while statewide safeguards are developed.
- Opposes state policies that override local data-center zoning ordinances or force data centers into communities.
- Says data-center developers, rather than families and small businesses, should pay the infrastructure costs of their projects.

Energy & the Environment

PREVENTION
Expand substance-use and mental-health prevention programs that meet students where they are.
EARLY SUPPORT
Prioritize student mental health and preventative support services before a crisis, not after.
RECOVERY RESOURCES
Fund the prevention and recovery resources she's seen, firsthand, save lives and strengthen families.
SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Bring her working relationships with Lehigh Valley schools directly into policy.

EARLY SUPPORT
Prioritize student mental health and preventative support services before a crisis, not after.
RECOVERY RESOURCES
Fund the prevention and recovery resources she's seen, firsthand, save lives and strengthen families.
SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Bring her working relationships with Lehigh Valley schools directly into policy.

Supports universal background checks and firearm restrictions for people subject to protection-from-abuse orders.

Gun rights

Schlossberg: Supports “common-sense gun violence protection measures” — universal background checks, banning abusers from firearm ownership and banning ghost guns — and opposes measures making it easier to carry in those situations. Opposes unlicensed concealed carry. Prefers uniform measures statewide, “but in the absence of meaningful action,” would support allowing municipalities to enact stricter laws than the state. “All law-making is a balance,” he said. “I believe we can strike that balance between allowing individuals to purchase firearms and ensuring that we keep society safer from gun violence.”

Lowrey: Supports universal background checks and restrictions on anyone subject to a protection-from-abuse order. Has no position on Pennsylvania’s concealed-carry license requirement. Does not believe municipalities should be able to pass gun laws stricter than the state’s, adding “a patchwork of local rules would be difficult for residents and law enforcement to navigate and enforce consistently.”

Opposes allowing municipalities to enact gun laws stricter than state law.

Supports student substance-use and mental-health prevention, early support, and recovery resources.

- Supports student substance-use and mental-health prevention, early support, and recovery resources.

Public Safety

Pennsylvania voters deserve elections that are secure, accessible and trusted. I support clear, uniform election rules across all 67 counties, strong safeguards and audits, and making the process straightforward for every eligible voter. I also support allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in major-party primaries.
Taxpayers fund these elections, and voters who choose not to register with a party should still have a meaningful voice in choosing the candidates who appear on the general-election ballot. Election reforms should expand participation without sacrificing verification, transparency or public confidence.

Supports expanding the period for processing mail-in ballots before Election Day, with strong safeguards and uniform standards.

Voting

Schlossberg: Co-sponsored legislation allowing counties to pre-canvass mail ballots up to a week before Election Day. Opposes efforts to eliminate satellite voting offices or impose voter ID requirements. “The only way I would support voter ID would be if we had broad definitions about what counts as ID, made it easy to obtain an ID if one was lost, and had the state provide an ID in the first place”; if such a program were “paired with other measures that made it easier to vote.” Said counties “should be compelled to establish satellite voting offices” based on population thresholds.

Lowrey: Generally supports expanding pre-canvassing but said she wants “strong safeguards in place” and uniform standards before doing so. Supports voter ID requirements and said satellite voting offices “are not necessary given Pennsylvania’s existing voting options.”

Supports voter identification requirements and says satellite voting offices are not necessary under Pennsylvania's current voting options.

Supports uniform statewide election rules, safeguards and audits, while making voting straightforward for eligible voters.

Supports allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in major-party primaries.

- Supports uniform statewide election rules, safeguards and audits, while making voting straightforward for eligible voters.
- Supports allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in major-party primaries.

Voting & Elections

Mike Schlossberg

- Your state representative represents the interests of your local district in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. The State House of Representatives, along with the State Senate, makes up your state lawmaking body: the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
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