Voters in the 45th state Senate race will choose between a two-term state representative from West Mifflin and a political newcomer from Plum who are vying to replace a retiring state senator.
State Rep. Nick Pisciottano, 34, of West Mifflin won the Democratic primary over Makenzie White of Brentwood while business owner Jen Dintini, 43, of Plum defeated Kami Stulginskas of Munhall for the Republican nomination.
They are running to replace Jim Brewster, a Democrat from McKeesport who has held the Senate’s 45th District seat since 2010.
Locally, the district includes Plum, but it stretches through Allegheny County’s Mon Valley and eastern and southern suburbs, stretching from Forward Township and Castle Shannon east to the county line. It includes the cities of Clairton, Duquesne and McKeesport; Baldwin, Elizabeth, Forward and North and South Versailles townships; and 29 boroughs.
Brewster endorsed Pisciottano, who was first elected to represent the state House’s 38th District in 2020 and was unopposed for reelection in 2022.
While Pisciottano also could seek reelection to his House seat, he has endorsed Democrat John Inglis, a member of West Mifflin Council for that seat. Inglis is challenged by Republican Stone Sobieralski, a member of Whitehall Council.
Pisciottano and his wife, Molly, have a 3-year-old son. He previously was an accountant and auditor.
A retirement prompted his first run for elected office, for his state House seat, to replace state Rep. Bill Kortz, who was first elected in 2006.
“I’ve grown up here in the area where I represent. I was successful. I was able to go to a good school, go to college, get a job, buy a house and start a family,” Pisciottano said. “I want to make sure my son has those same opportunities.”
Dintini and her husband, Mike, have four children, ages 16, 10, 9 and 5. She started 3G Security Solutions and owns part of Am-Gard, another security guard service founded by her grandparents, both in Sharpsburg.
She has never held or sought elected office before. Like Pisciottano, a retirement, in this case Brewster’s, motivated her entry.
“When Sen. Brewster announced his retirement, I looked at it as an opportunity to get involved and try to do something different for our communities,” she said. “I never wanted a career in politics. I’m not doing this to have a career in politics. I’m doing it to serve our communities. I knew if I didn’t try, nothing would change for the better.”
If elected, Pisciottano said his top three priorities would be state funding for public education, economic development and investing in safer communities by clearing blight and funding local first responders.
As a senator, Pisciottano said he would have more of a regional role than he does as a representative.
“The reality is the Senate has a lot more of a fiscal impact on the communities, and so many of the communities in my district need financial resources from Harrisburg,” he said. “I would go to the Senate with a fresh perspective as one of the youngest members of the General Assembly.”
Dintini said her top three priorities would be economic revitalization, completing infrastructure projects that boost the economy and supporting police for safer communities.
“People are ready for change and to give someone else an opportunity to get things turned around and moving in a positive direction for our district,” she said. “And they like that I’m not a politician. They like that I’m just Jen from Plum that’s out here trying to be their next state senator to represent everybody in this district.”
While Brewster barely won reelection to his final term in 2020, the district became more friendly to Democrats in the 2022 redistricting.
Democrats are trying to keep the district to improve their chances of taking control of the Senate. While Democrats enjoy a nearly 2-1 voter registration advantage, Pisciottano said he does not take that for granted.
“We have run a full campaign. We have knocked on tens of thousands of doors. We run our campaign as if we’re 10 points down every single day,” he said. “We’re working to earn every single vote every single day.”
Republicans are looking to flip it to hold their majority in the chamber — which would place Dintini in the majority caucus.
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“That would give us a seat at the table we have not had in a number of years,” she said. “I’d be able to get more done, and there would be more opportunities for everyone in the 45th District.”
While Pisciottano accuses Dintini of being funded by “Republican insiders” in Harrisburg, Dintini said Pisciottano has been anointed by “the political machine.”
“I think she has not really put forward a vision of what she would do in office. What she stands for is very unclear. She has not taken strong policy positions on anything,” Pisciottano said. “She’s not able to articulate a vision because the people funding her campaign have extremist views that are not popular in this district.”
“Nothing is going to change for the better if we keep electing the same kind of person. He is no different because he’s only been there for four years,” Dintini said. “The machine is picking the people to run for these seats. He’s expected to walk right into this seat and not have to work for it. They’ve taken the people of our district for granted all these years.”
Pisciottano said the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris has energized voters.
“We see a heavily motivated volunteer base every single week and weekend,” he said. “The presidential election drives a lot of eyeballs but also a lot of enthusiasm and energy, which all down-ballot Democrats will benefit from.”
Dintini said she is focusing on her race.
“Everyone is so polarized and divided when it comes to the national races. I am a brand-new person and this is my first campaign. I have to talk to people about why they should vote for me,” she said. “Whenever I connect with people, unless they really want to talk about national politics, I’m knocking on your door so we can connect about me and our communities.”