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Nathan Wood earned a bachelor's degree in painting from Alfred University.

Professional Experience
Platinum Fitness, Personal Trainer (2024 - Present)
Office of Representative Greg Rothman, PA 87, District Office Manager (2021 - 2021)
Office of Representative Greg Rothman, PA 87, Constituency Outreach Specialist (2019 - 2021)

Nathan Wood | BallotReady

Nathan currently works as a personal trainer at Platinum Fitness. He previously worked as a district office manager and constituency outreach specialist for the office of Representative Greg Rothman.

2026 Pennsylvania General Election 

MAKE TAXES FAIR:

Our effective tax rate is the 4th most regressive in the USA. The bottom 20% of earners pay 15.1%, but the top 1% pay just 6%. That’s upside down.

Adopt a fair tax system.

Close corporate tax loopholes, such as the Delaware Loophole.

Reevaluate tax credits not in the public’s interest.

Issues | Elect Nathan Wood

Universal free school breakfast and lunch (SB 180).
Protecting and expanding access to healthcare (SB 322).
Build more housing, reduce costs, and create opportunities through Governor Shapiro’s Housing Action Plan, and Lightning Plans.
Aid first-time homebuyers with financial assistance through the Put Down Roots PA Pilot Program (SB 753).

Affordability | Elect Nathan Wood

FIX COST OF LIVING:

Senate republicans have consistently blocked legislation which would provide relief to working families. Let’s do something about it!

Establish a living minimum wage that keeps up with inflation.

Reduce property tax burdens by properly funding our schools at the state level.

Regulate healthcare costs.

Raising the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2029 (HB 2189 & SB 19).
 Expanding the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.
 Universal free school breakfast and lunch (SB 180).
 Protecting and expanding access to healthcare (SB 322).

It is manifestly unfair for elected officials to give themselves an annual cost of living adjustment without doing the same for the poorest wage earners in the state. If we can’t afford to pay our poorest workers a living wage, then we can’t afford to pay more for leaders who already have it too good.
I will propose legislation requiring any legislative cost of living adjustments to be applied to the minimum wage. This legislation isn’t going to solve wage stagnation on its own - it’s going to take a lot more than that to get them where they need to be. What it will do is incentivize legislators to actually attend to the problem - it provides a strong personal motivator to make the minimum wage as high as the General Assembly can square with their constituency.

What do you see as the most pressing issues facing residents of your district, and how would you address them?
Affordability, government corruption, and the impact of AI data centers. Despite having the third highest-paid legislature in the nation, PA passed a mere 65 bills last year - the fewest in a decade. We cannot fix our cost-of-living crisis or protect ourselves from corporate greed without tackling legislative decadence and indolence. Some policies I support include: getting dark money out of politics; banning full-time elected officials from holding business interests for the duration of their service; tying legislative cost of living adjustments to the minimum wage; strengthening labor protections; restricting corporate ownership of single-family homes; and protecting consumers from data center-driven rate hikes.

Vote411 Candidate Guide: Pennsylvania State Senator, District 34

Build more housing, reduce costs, and create opportunities through Governor Shapiro’s Housing Action Plan, and Lightning Plans.
Aid first-time homebuyers with financial assistance through the Put Down Roots PA Pilot Program (SB 753).
Ratepayers aren’t charged more to offset delinquent accounts.

Calls for closing corporate tax loopholes, including the Delaware Loophole.

Calls for closing corporate tax loopholes.

Supports Governor Shapiro’s Housing Action Plan and Lightning Plans to build housing and reduce costs.

Supports raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2029 and establishing a living wage that keeps up with inflation.

Proposes tying legislative cost-of-living adjustments to increases in the minimum wage.

Supports restricting corporate ownership of single-family homes.

Supports financial assistance for first-time homebuyers through the Put Down Roots PA Pilot Program (SB 753).

- Calls for closing corporate tax loopholes.
- Supports Governor Shapiro’s Housing Action Plan and Lightning Plans to build housing and reduce costs.
- Supports raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2029 and establishing a living wage that keeps up with inflation.
- Proposes tying legislative cost-of-living adjustments to increases in the minimum wage.
- Supports restricting corporate ownership of single-family homes.
- Supports financial assistance for first-time homebuyers through the Put Down Roots PA Pilot Program (SB 753).

Economy

SUPPORT EDUCATION:

I believe every public school should be the best public school. We need to improve education funding and benefits for educators and staff.

Invest in greater and fairer education funding.

Stratify cyber charter school tuition.

Support COLA’s for Act 9 retirees and student teacher stipends.

Pennsylvania law requires districts to pay tuition to cyber charter schools for each resident student enrolled. These payments are based on district expenditures rather than the actual cost of providing online education, leading to significant financial impacts on local taxpayers and budgets.
HB2370 would standardize cyber charter school tuition at $8,000 per student, which will save traditional districts an estimated $530 million.

Education | Elect Nathan Wood

Governor Josh Shapiro’s latest budget proposal for the 2026-27 fiscal year includes a $565 million increase directed through the adequacy formula, which would help to alleviate some of the burden experienced by districts with less property tax revenue. I support this and will endeavor to see our schools receive the funding they so critically require.

Raising the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2029 (HB 2189 & SB 19).
Expanding the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.
Universal free school breakfast and lunch (SB 180).
Protecting and expanding access to healthcare (SB 322).

Supports standardizing cyber charter school tuition at $8,000 per student under House Bill 2370.

Supports standardizing cyber charter school tuition at $8,000 per student.

Supports increasing state education funding to reduce local property-tax burdens.

Supports universal free school breakfast and lunch under Senate Bill 180.

- Supports standardizing cyber charter school tuition at $8,000 per student.
- Supports increasing state education funding to reduce local property-tax burdens.
- Supports universal free school breakfast and lunch under Senate Bill 180.

Education

While it is a tremendous sadness whenever an abortion is deemed necessary, it remains a medical (and in some cases financial) imperative, and consequently I support its continued availability and coverage.In my opinion, the best and most achievable way to reduce the number of unnecessary abortions is not to outlaw it, but to reduce the demand for it. Let’s properly address the underlying reasons abortions are sought, especially financial ones.

FAQ | Elect Nathan Wood

Supports protecting and expanding access to healthcare under Senate Bill 322.

Supports continued abortion availability and insurance coverage.

- Calls for regulating healthcare costs.
- Supports protecting and expanding access to healthcare under Senate Bill 322.
- Supports continued abortion availability and insurance coverage.

Healthcare

I advocate Pennsylvania renders its own version of Colorado’s GAVEL Amendment (Give A Vote to Every Legislator), which requires that every bill introduced must be assigned to a committee, receive a public hearing, and be voted on by the committee members. This effectively eliminates pocket vetoes where a committee chair can kill bills by never scheduling them. The amendment was approved by 72% of Colorado voters in 1988 and led to a massive increase in legislative visibility and productivity, although it isn’t directly correlated with a significant increase in legislative enactment.

Corruption and Legislative Reform | Elect Nathan Wood

They may treat their sacred duty like a lucrative side-hustle, but I commit to not engage in private business activities while in office - you will have my undivided attention and fidelity. Further, as your senator, I will work to ban full-time elected officials from receiving gifts or engaging in external business activities and bribery for the duration of their tenure. Help me create a Commonwealth where your public servant’s efforts are spent not in service of self or corporate lobbyists, but exclusively in service to you.

For instance, both parties in Harrisburg are supportive of allowing billionaire-owned data centers even though the electrical demands of those centers are already driving electricity prices higher for working Pennsylvanians and small businesses. The ability of a few ultra-rich individuals to provide unlimited rewards or punishments discourages politicians from standing up for our interests and say "NO!"Until candidates have an alternative source of campaign funds, such as a system of publicly funded campaigns, we need to limit the amount any individual can contribute to a politician. Nearly every other state already has individual contribution limits - it’s about time Pennsylvania got up to speed.

That’s why I support legislation like SB11 and HB555/HB542, to reign in the influence of moneyed interests on our elections and make Harrisburg work for us.
Corporations of all kinds should not be able to spend on elections. For over a century, we've given corporations unlimited power. It turns out, we don't have to do that.Pennsylvania can change its laws to make clear that spending on elections is not a power granted to “artificial persons,” with no federal law required.

8 of 10 Pennsylvania budgets in the past decade were passed late. Pennsylvania does not experience statewide government shutdowns as a result of missing budget deadlines, but budget impasses place a heavy financial burden on county governments, as we witnessed in 2015-16. Therefore, we need to aggressively incentivize our elected officials to treat this responsibility as imperative. I am interested in exploring financial penalties (e.g. paycheck freezes) for legislators and heads of the executive branch when they are unable to pass a timely budget. Coupled with restrictions on external sources of income, I believe this would be a powerful motivator for our General Assembly to swiftly negotiate budgets.

I support the creation of an independent redistricting commission along the lines of that proposed by Fair Districts PA. Having served the legislature in a heavily-gerrymandered district, I can attest to the logistical challenges and suppression of regional preferences gerrymandering can cause. It is simply too tempting for the ruling body to utilize the powers at their disposal to secure their jobs - we need external accountability to ensure the preferences of Pennsylvanians, and not elected officials, are most accurately represented on election day.

What changes, if any, would you support to enable better access, ensure security, and support the processes of our elections?
I believe voter suppression and gerrymandering are the greatest current threats to election integrity, given that Pennsylvania replaced voting machines in 2020 and implemented statewide risk-limiting audits (RLAs) in 2022. We should resist or even proactively legislate against onerous ID requirements at polling places, which in many instances amount to a poll tax and will likely limit low-income voters from participating.

I don’t normally feel comfortable speaking in absolute terms, but I can say with near-total confidence that fears of widespread election fraud in Pennsylvania elections, both then and now, are unfounded. Don’t believe me - believe the staggering 43 court victories upholding the results of that election. So long as they retain demonstrable veracity, I commit to upholding the results of free and fair elections here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, regardless of their outcomes.

Advocates for a Pennsylvania version of Colorado’s GAVEL Amendment, requiring committee assignment, a public hearing, and a committee vote for every introduced bill.

Plans to ban full-time elected officials from receiving gifts or engaging in outside business activities while in office.

Supports limits on individual political contributions and publicly funded campaigns as an alternative funding source.

Supports barring corporations from spending money on elections.

Is interested in financial penalties, including pay freezes, for state officials who do not pass a budget on time.

Supports creating an independent redistricting commission modeled on Fair Districts PA’s proposal.

Opposes polling-place identification requirements that limit participation by low-income voters.

Commits to upholding the results of free and fair Pennsylvania elections regardless of the outcome.

- Advocates for a Pennsylvania version of Colorado’s GAVEL Amendment, requiring committee assignment, a public hearing, and a committee vote for every introduced bill.
- Plans to ban full-time elected officials from receiving gifts or engaging in outside business activities while in office.
- Supports limits on individual political contributions and publicly funded campaigns as an alternative funding source.
- Supports barring corporations from spending money on elections.
- Is interested in financial penalties, including pay freezes, for state officials who do not pass a budget on time.
- Supports creating an independent redistricting commission modeled on Fair Districts PA’s proposal.
- Opposes polling-place identification requirements that limit participation by low-income voters.
- Commits to upholding the results of free and fair Pennsylvania elections regardless of the outcome.

Voting & Elections

Legalizing marijuana for individuals over 21 would not only act as a source of tax revenue, but would remove significant barriers to getting help. According to research on treatment barriers, fears surrounding the illegality of cannabis - including potential legal, professional, and social consequences - act as a significant barrier for individuals seeking assistance for cannabis use disorder. We can simultaneously remove that barrier and fund high-priority public services with one decision.

Supports legalizing marijuana for people over 21.

- Supports legalizing marijuana for people over 21.

Public Safety

FIGHT DATA CENTERS:

Predatory data centers have become a blight on South-Central Pennsylvania. I’m committed to fighting for our communities, no matter what!

Support a statewide 3-year moratorium on new AI data centers.

Establish statewide minimum regulations for data centers.

Educate local governments on appropriate ordinances.

Should the state legislature enact laws concerning the impacts on water, energy, or land use from the development and operation of data centers? Would state regulation of data center development and operation interfere with the authority of municipalities to establish ordinances under the MPC (Municipal Planning Code)?
While I am against preempting the authority of municipalities granted by the Municipal Planning Code, I am increasingly convinced of the need for statewide default minimum standards with regards to data centers and their impacts - too many communities are being predated upon by developers in regions without robust data center ordinances. If local ordinances want to be stricter than those statewide standards, then local law should supersede them.

I support legislation such as House Bill 1834 by Robert Matzie, which ensures that the energy costs associated with data centers are not passed on to consumers.

Data Centers | Elect Nathan Wood

Expand public ownership of infrastructure.
Build using union labor.
Transition to clean, electrified fleets that support good jobs.
Create equitable access and community development by funding low-income fare programs.

Supports a statewide three-year moratorium on new artificial intelligence data centers.

Supports statewide minimum standards for data-center impacts while allowing municipalities to adopt stricter ordinances.

Supports House Bill 1834 to prevent data-center energy costs from being passed on to consumers.

Supports transitioning to clean, electrified fleets that support good jobs.

- Supports a statewide three-year moratorium on new artificial intelligence data centers.
- Supports statewide minimum standards for data-center impacts while allowing municipalities to adopt stricter ordinances.
- Supports House Bill 1834 to prevent data-center energy costs from being passed on to consumers.
- Supports transitioning to clean, electrified fleets that support good jobs.

Energy & the Environment

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Nathan Wood

- Supports raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2029 and establishing a living wage that keeps up with inflation.
- Proposes tying legislative cost-of-living adjustments to increases in the minimum wage.
- Supports restricting corporate ownership of single-family homes.
- Supports financial assistance for first-time homebuyers through the Put Down Roots PA Pilot Program (SB 753).

- Supports increasing state education funding to reduce local property-tax burdens.
- Supports universal free school breakfast and lunch under Senate Bill 180.

- Plans to ban full-time elected officials from receiving gifts or engaging in outside business activities while in office.
- Supports limits on individual political contributions and publicly funded campaigns as an alternative funding source.
- Supports barring corporations from spending money on elections.
- Is interested in financial penalties, including pay freezes, for state officials who do not pass a budget on time.
- Supports creating an independent redistricting commission modeled on Fair Districts PA’s proposal.
- Opposes polling-place identification requirements that limit participation by low-income voters.
- Commits to upholding the results of free and fair Pennsylvania elections regardless of the outcome.

Isaac Brickman

Buket Urgen

Greg Rothman

- Your state senator represents the interests of your district in the Pennsylvania State Senate. The State Senate, along with the State House of Representatives, makes up your state lawmaking body: the Pennsylvania General Assembly. 
- Your state senator can author, sponsor, and vote on bills that may become state laws after going through the legislative process.
- The State Senator and their staff members respond to constituent concerns and questions through emails, phone calls, and website announcements. 
- The State Senator oversees the executive branch and can vote to overrule a veto by the Governor.   
- There are 50 Pennsylvania state senators, each representing a single district.
- Senators must be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens, and residents of Pennsylvania for four years. They must also have lived in their district for one year before the election and must remain there throughout their term.
- State senators are elected to four-year terms and have a salary of $106,000, with a 1-3% annual increase.  

Your representative and state lawmaker in the Pennsylvania Senate.