Hohenstein graduated from Earlham College with a degree in International Studies in 1989, and then attended law school at the University of Minnesota, where he received his J.D. in 1993 and passed the bar the same year.

State Rep. Joe Hohenstein Biography

Hohenstein grew up in a union household, and lives just blocks away from his childhood home with his wife Brandi. They have two children, Emma and Mars. His mother was a shop steward with AFSCME DC 47 and his father was a member of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

He is currently on the board of directors for Philadelphia's Animal Care and Control Team. ACCT Philly is the region’s largest animal care and control service provider, serving the City of Philadelphia by contract.

Joe Hohenstein earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from Earlham College and a law degree from the University of Minnesota. He lives just blocks from his childhood home with his wife, Brandi, and their two children. He serves on the board of directors for Philadelphia's Animal Care and Control Team.

Rep. Joseph C. Hohenstein - Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus

2026 Pennsylvania General Election 

Issues

Joe Hohenstein’s Platform
The world is changing, and the need for clear-headed, balanced policies has never been greater. Joe will continue to fight for policies that give our working families better schools, more job opportunities, and a tax structure that makes massive corporations pay their fair share.

Joe Hohenstein’s Platform

Joe believes the best way to stimulate the economy is by investing in modernizing our aging infrastructure. Whether it be transportation infrastructure like roads, bridges, ports and airports, or water, waste, energy, and communication infrastructure that ensures quality of life, such investment will create jobs and help grow the commonwealth’s economy. Joe’s plan to stimulate the economy and fix our infrastructure includes expanding public transit, climate-proofing infrastructure, and investing in the supply chain.

Economy & Infrastructure

Minimum Wage

Joe supports the Fight for $15, the movement of labor organizations to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. He also believes that the minimum wage should then be indexed to inflation so that stagnant wages won’t recur and line workers across the state never find themselves as far behind as they are now.

Labor

Right to Work and Paycheck Protection Legislation

Joe stands opposed to right to work legislation. Right to Work legislation is effectively a Trojan horse that actually drives down wages and damages a state’s tax base. Too much damage has already been done to unions across the country, and Joe will continue to oppose this legislation when reelected. Joe also opposes paycheck protection legislation.

Joe stands opposed to right to work legislation. Right to Work legislation is effectively a Trojan horse that actually drives down wages and damages a state’s tax base. Too much damage has already been done to unions across the country, and Joe will continue to oppose this legislation when reelected. Joe also opposes paycheck protection legislation.

Pay Equity - Closing the Gender Gap

Joe supports the simple concept that all people who perform the same work should be paid on the same levels. Women in the U.S. do not receive equal pay for equal work and that needs to change.

Advocates for a tax structure in which large corporations pay their fair share.

Believes modernizing transportation, water, waste, energy, and communications infrastructure will create jobs and stimulate Pennsylvania's economy.

Supports a $15-an-hour minimum wage indexed to inflation.

Opposes right-to-work and paycheck-protection legislation.

Supports equal pay for people performing the same work.

- Advocates for a tax structure in which large corporations pay their fair share.
- Believes modernizing transportation, water, waste, energy, and communications infrastructure will create jobs and stimulate Pennsylvania's economy.
- Supports a $15-an-hour minimum wage indexed to inflation.
- Opposes right-to-work and paycheck-protection legislation.
- Supports equal pay for people performing the same work.

Economy

Joe supports any legislation that gets us closer to the goal of universal health care coverage. Every Pennsylvanian should have healthcare coverage that is free at the point of service. We should not have to deal with premiums, deductibles, copays, or surprise bills in order to stay healthy and receive basic care.

Healthcare

Joe supports any legislation that gets us closer to the goal of universal health care coverage. Every Pennsylvanian should have healthcare coverage that is free at the point of service. We should not have to deal with premiums, deductibles, copays, or surprise bills in order to stay healthy and receive basic care. Coverage should also be comprehensive and expanded to include dental, hearing, vision, home- and community-based long-term care, in-patient and out-patient services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, reproductive and maternity care, prescription drugs, etc.

Supporting the Right to Choose & Adequate Funding for Planned Parenthood

Joe supports a woman’s right to choose and their right to get the healthcare they need. This includes open access to safe, legal, affordable abortion, birth control, and family planning services, as well as access to adequate, affordable pre- and post-natal care, for all people, regardless of income, location, or education.

Women’s Rights

Joe supports legislation to provide funding for programs that implement a more comprehensive approach to overcoming addiction, one that doesn’t merely serve as a temporary detox but aims to treat the motivations behind the drug use.

Opioid Crisis

Joe supports insurance reforms to get people the kind of treatment that will get them into true long term recovery and off the streets.

People suffering from addiction require treatment that gives them the best opportunity to get their lives back and become active members of our society again.

Supports universal health care coverage with no cost at the time of service and comprehensive benefits.

Supports access to legal abortion, birth control, family-planning services, and prenatal and postnatal care.

Supports addiction-treatment programs that address motivations for drug use and insurance reforms for long-term recovery treatment.

- Supports universal health care coverage with no cost at the time of service and comprehensive benefits.
- Supports access to legal abortion, birth control, family-planning services, and prenatal and postnatal care.
- Supports addiction-treatment programs that address motivations for drug use and insurance reforms for long-term recovery treatment.

Joe has worked to implement a funding formula similar to the one put forth by the Basic Education Funding Commission and ensure that all students in Pennsylvania have equal access to the resources they need to learn. Further, Joe supports a community school model that would provide families of all socioeconomic statuses with the resources to help their children thrive by establishing school-based hubs of parental support, health care services, childcare and after-school services.

Education

Improved charter accountability and lottery system reforms

While there are many well-run and effective charter schools across Pennsylvania, there have been numerous instances of mismanaged funds, fiscal irresponsibility, and outright corruption. Joe believes charter schools should be held to the same standards to which any entity receiving money in the public trust would be held accountable.

Joe has supported amendments (which were blocked by the Republican-led Legislature) that would have made charter schools more locally controlled, better for kids, and more responsible to taxpayers. Joe would also work to reform the lottery systems under which many charter schools operate. Lottery systems are often a form of segregation, and the admission process for charter schools needs to offer a level playing field for all students.

Establishing the Right Governance Model for the Philadelphia School District

Joe supports a different model for Philadelphia School District governance, similar to one put forth by the Education Voters PA. The model would include both appointed and elected members, creating a nine-member board.

Supports a school-funding formula intended to give Pennsylvania students equal access to learning resources.

Supports community schools that provide school-based parental support, health care, child care, and after-school services.

Believes charter schools should meet accountability standards applied to entities receiving public funds.

Plans to reform charter-school lottery systems.

Supports a nine-member Philadelphia School District board with appointed and elected members.

- Supports a school-funding formula intended to give Pennsylvania students equal access to learning resources.
- Supports community schools that provide school-based parental support, health care, child care, and after-school services.
- Believes charter schools should meet accountability standards applied to entities receiving public funds.
- Plans to reform charter-school lottery systems.
- Supports a nine-member Philadelphia School District board with appointed and elected members.

Climate-Proofing our Infrastructure

Joe supports pro-active investments to climate-proof Pennsylvania. We are long overdue for an overhaul of our aging infrastructure, especially amidst the increasing threat of the looming climate crisis. Philadelphia especially needs to become more resilient to the changing climate.

Fracking and Severance tax

Pennsylvania currently has one of the lowest effective tax rates on shale gas in the nation, and is the only state without a severance tax. Joe supports the Governor’s plan to abolish impact fees and implement a fair severance tax in place of the fees. A strong severance tax and/or extraction fee structure will help balance the budget, and provide a new revenue stream for the state.

Environment

Groundwater contamination is particularly alarming, and there needs to be more funding put forward for public health studies of the effect of fracking and its byproducts on Pennsylvanians. Joe supports a moratorium on new fracking while the impact of current drilling projects can be studied and ascertained with the negative impacts mitigated and contained.

Joe supports Governor Wolf’s decision to commit the commonwealth to joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). He has been a consistent vote and voice supporting RGGI on the floor and in the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. He asked for an assignment to this committee specifically to address this issue.

Joe supports renewable energy and tax credits for those who take advantage of clean energy technologies. His focus will be to increase those credits in residential situations for everyday citizens. However, he will work to close loopholes and correct flaws in corporate programs that have often permitted credits for projects that are outside Pennsylvania.

Historical Heavy Metal Contamination

In recent years, the neighborhoods of the 177th have seen the improper demolition of a former smelting plant, closure of three area playgrounds due to lead contamination, additional information detailing the dangers of ‘Mount Wawa,” and the formation of the Get the Lead Out: Riverwards group. Joe fully supports the advocacy of local residents and will work with concerned neighbors towards the goals to address childhood lead poisoning by supporting education, intervention and responsible mitigation of playgrounds and public spaces.

Supports investments to protect Pennsylvania infrastructure from climate-related damage.

Supports replacing shale-gas impact fees with a severance tax.

Supports a moratorium on new fracking while current drilling impacts are studied and mitigated.

Supports Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Supports renewable energy and expanding residential tax credits for clean-energy technologies.

Supports lead-poisoning education, intervention, and mitigation at playgrounds and public spaces.

- Supports investments to protect Pennsylvania infrastructure from climate-related damage.
- Supports replacing shale-gas impact fees with a severance tax.
- Supports a moratorium on new fracking while current drilling impacts are studied and mitigated.
- Supports Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
- Supports renewable energy and expanding residential tax credits for clean-energy technologies.
- Supports lead-poisoning education, intervention, and mitigation at playgrounds and public spaces.

Energy & the Environment

When people’s basic needs are met, we have real safety in our community. Rather than build more prisons, we should work towards lowering the incarcerated population by investing in bettering the lives of Pennsylvanians.

Public Safety & Social Justice

In this country, it is common to spend more tax dollars on the incarceration of an individual than it would cost to send them to college. We know that poverty and lack of opportunities leads to higher prison populations, and so we should spend our tax dollars wisely on increasing the quality of life of all Pennsylvanians. To the degree we invest in prisons, it should be to create and bolster true rehabilitation programs.

This term, Joe requested an assignment on the Judiciary Committee in order to speak out on these issues and the disparate impact of criminal laws on communities of color. Joe supports models to focus police exclusively on law enforcement and to move tasks like mental health service, domestic violence intervention, and addiction treatment to social service programs that are fully trained in these issues.

Pennsylvania also needs laws on the books that require private sales of long guns (such as rifles, shotguns, and semi-automatic weapons) to be included in the background check requirement. Joe supports legislation requiring potential purchasers of these weapons to undergo a background check.

Gun Violence

Extreme Risk Protection Order

Joe supports Extreme Risk Protection legislation which would allow immediate family members to seek a gun violence restraining order against a loved one if they are exhibiting warning signs of impending violence. A judge would then determine if this individual is at-risk and requires a protection order.

Assault Weapons Ban

The Federal ban on assault weapons lapsed in 2004, opening a legal market for these highly dangerous weapons. Seven states and the District of Columbia have already enacted laws to ban these weapons, and other states have implemented partial bans. It is high time that Pennsylvania took action. Joe supports legislation prohibiting the sale or transfer of assault weapons for private citizens, with exemptions for specific groups such as members of the United States Armed Forces.

Joe believes that a comprehensive solution is required: one that takes into account the law enforcement and public health challenges of the problem, and with a focus on safety for everyone. Joe does not support establishing safe injection sites, but rather believes we need to put energy into common sense actions with proven track records of making the entire community safer.

Joe supports getting Pennsylvania to sue Big Pharma manufacturers and distributors to pay to mitigate the crisis they started.

Calls for reducing incarceration by investing in residents' quality of life rather than building more prisons.

Supports investing in prison rehabilitation programs.

Supports assigning mental-health, domestic-violence, and addiction-response responsibilities to trained social-service programs rather than police.

Supports background checks for private sales of long guns.

Supports legislation allowing family members to seek restraining orders when someone poses a risk of gun violence.

Supports prohibiting private citizens from buying or receiving assault weapons, with specified exemptions.

Opposes establishing safe injection sites.

Supports suing pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors to fund opioid-crisis mitigation.

- Calls for reducing incarceration by investing in residents' quality of life rather than building more prisons.
- Supports investing in prison rehabilitation programs.
- Supports assigning mental-health, domestic-violence, and addiction-response responsibilities to trained social-service programs rather than police.
- Supports background checks for private sales of long guns.
- Supports legislation allowing family members to seek restraining orders when someone poses a risk of gun violence.
- Supports prohibiting private citizens from buying or receiving assault weapons, with specified exemptions.
- Opposes establishing safe injection sites.
- Supports suing pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors to fund opioid-crisis mitigation.

Public Safety

Joe supports instituting automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania. He opposes efforts to roll back recent voting rights gains, such as no-excuse early/mail-in voting. Instead, Joe wants to expand early voting sites and mail-in dropboxes to make it easier for Pennsylvanians to vote.

Voting Rights

Joe supports instituting automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania. He opposes efforts to roll back recent voting rights gains, such as no-excuse early/mail-in voting. Instead, Joe wants to expand early voting sites and mail-in dropboxes to make it easier for Pennsylvanians to vote. Joe also supports the pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots which would allow county board of elections offices to begin counting ballots before Election Day, ensuring we have our election results as soon as possible.

Fighting Voter Suppression

Joe opposes any attempt to prevent or discourage certain Americans from registering to vote or casting their ballot.

Getting Money out of Politics

Joe wants to ensure that our government serves the people, not wealthy special interests. He supports transparency, limiting SuperPACs, and eliminating dark money from politics.

Fair Districts

Before the recent redistricting process, the 177th District was among the worst gerrymandered districts in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. For decades, these neighborhoods were carved up to ensure they would send a Republican representative to Harrisburg in an otherwise overwhelmingly Democratic Philadelphia. Thankfully, the new map is much improved, but there is still room for further progress, both here and across the commonwealth.

Joe advocates for taking the redistricting function out of the hands of incumbent politicians who have a self-interest in choosing their own voters, and placing it in the hands of a nonpartisan commission.

Additionally, Joe supports ending prison gerrymandering. Pennsylvania's redistricting commission took steps to address prison gerrymandering when it redrew state legislative lines after the 2020 Census, but it did not permanently solve the problem.

Supports automatic voter registration, retaining no-excuse mail-in voting, and expanding early-voting sites and mail-in drop boxes.

Supports allowing county election offices to begin processing mail-in ballots before Election Day.

Opposes efforts to prevent or discourage Americans from registering or voting.

Supports campaign-finance transparency, limits on super political action committees, and eliminating spending funded by undisclosed donors.

Advocates for assigning redistricting to a nonpartisan commission rather than incumbent politicians.

Supports ending the practice of counting incarcerated people in the wrong districts for redistricting.

- Supports automatic voter registration, retaining no-excuse mail-in voting, and expanding early-voting sites and mail-in drop boxes.
- Supports allowing county election offices to begin processing mail-in ballots before Election Day.
- Opposes efforts to prevent or discourage Americans from registering or voting.
- Supports campaign-finance transparency, limits on super political action committees, and eliminating spending funded by undisclosed donors.
- Advocates for assigning redistricting to a nonpartisan commission rather than incumbent politicians.
- Supports ending the practice of counting incarcerated people in the wrong districts for redistricting.

Voting & Elections

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- 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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