If at first — or the second, third or fourth time — you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Some people seeking office this year are known in political circles as perennial candidates.
They’ve appeared on ballots several times before but typically came up far short in bids for the same office or an array of different offices. They’ve also typically raised and spent far less money than their successful opponents, many of them entrenched incumbents.
Yet, these candidates keep coming back.
Will Anderson is an auto-body shop owner from Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood who chairs the Allegheny County Democratic Black Caucus and is chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee’s Black Caucus. Anderson has thrown his hat in the ring to run for the 24th state House District seat every two years for the past two decades.
“I never give up because I’m really concerned and serious about trying to make change for my district,” Anderson, 53, told TribLive. “I was born and raised here, I’m a community activist, and I’m actively involved in the district.
“This year is an exceptional opportunity because of all the work I’ve done in the past and the name recognition I’ve earned by never disappearing. Most people lose a race, and you never hear from them again. I’ve stayed active.”
Hempfield’s John Ventre, a Republican running for lieutenant governor, echoed Anderson.
“It’s a long road to build up name recognition and contacts,” said Ventre, 68, a retired UPS security and public affairs executive who previously ran for Westmoreland County commissioner (twice), governor and delegate to the GOP national convention. “I’m slowly getting a bigger and bigger following. If I walk away now, I lose all of that.”
Grassroots efforts
Some perennial candidates’ campaigns are short-lived.
Often the nomination petitions they file are challenged in court by allies of other candidates. If enough problems can be found with signatures or other aspects of a filing, a court order can keep the candidates off the ballot. Other times, a candidate reads the handwriting on the wall and ends their campaign on their own.
Anderson was removed from the ballot several times following successful challenges of his nomination petitions. He said he personally gathered almost all of his petition signatures this year to ensure everything was done properly. Democratic and Republican state House candidates are required to collect at least 300 valid signatures from district residents in their respective party. It costs $100 to file the paperwork.
This year will be at least the seventh time Anderson has appeared on the Democratic primary ballot.
In his best showing, he collected 19% of the votes to finish second in a three-way primary race in 2010, when then-incumbent state Rep. Joe Preston Jr. of East Liberty won the nomination with 65% of the votes. In other primaries, he collected about 8% to 10% of the votes in races with three or four candidates.
This year, Anderson faces incumbent state Rep. La’Tasha Mayes of Morningside in the Democratic primary. Mayes is seeking a third term in Harrisburg.
Campaign finance records show Mayes’ campaign entered the year with about $13,500 in available cash. She raised nearly $20,000 and spent almost $16,000 during the first quarter of the year to end the period with more than $17,000 in available cash. The last filing from Anderson’s campaign that is publicly available online showed his campaign had no money in its coffers as of the end of March 2025.
Campaigns had until Tuesday to file finance reports for the first quarter of this year.
Pennsylvania rules require state House candidates to file campaign finance reports if the amount they received or spent or their debts are more than $250. Anderson said he didn’t surpass that threshold in the previous election cycle.
“I’m more into grassroots, on-the-ground politics and being more of a street-corner politician the way my grandmother was before money basically took over the political system,” Anderson said. He was referring to the late Evelyn D. Richardson, who served as an elected Democratic National Committee delegate for decades.
Running on own terms
Ventre explored running for governor in this year’s race but felt like he couldn’t gain any traction, so he set his sights on lieutenant governor. Ventre also explored a run for governor in 2022 but pulled out of the race before the primary.
He is facing Allegheny County Republican Chairman Jason Richey of Sewickley in the GOP primary race. The winner will become the running mate of state Treasurer Stacy Garrity of Bradford County, who is unopposed in the GOP primary for governor. Garrity has endorsed Richey.
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Montgomery County and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis of West Mifflin are unopposed on the Democratic side.
A campaign finance report filed by Ventre on April 1 showed his campaign spent about $2,700 during the first quarter of the year and received a combined $216 in in-kind contributions, but didn’t receive any financial donations. He ended the period with no cash on hand.
Richey, who announced his lieutenant governor campaign in January, entered the year with about $1,500 in cash on hand in his campaign account. A Pennsylvania Department of State database showed he filed a campaign finance report for the first quarter on Tuesday, but the agency was still in the process of entering the information into its database as of Thursday.
Davis entered the year with more than $1.6 million in available cash, state records show. Like Richey, he filed a campaign finance report with the state Tuesday, but the Department of State was still in the process of entering the information into its database as of Thursday.
Ventre bristled at claims by Garrity’s campaign that she intended to interview potential running mates before endorsing anyone for lieutenant governor.
“She never contacted me,” Ventre said.
But he said that suits him fine.
“I’m my own person. I would never suck up to the person in charge or the county or state Republican Party,” Ventre said. “If I lose, I lose. But I lose on my own terms.”
In two bids for Westmoreland commissioner, Ventre collected 13.5% of the votes in the 2019 primary and 18.7% in 2023, both third-place finishes in the race for two nominations. Seven people sought the nominations in 2019, while five did in 2023.
“Every race I run I get closer,” Ventre said.
‘Go out there and do it’
Jesse James Vodvarka of Robinson is a second-generation perennial candidate.
His father, Joseph Vodvarka, launched bids for the U.S. Senate at least five times between 2010 and 2024 — three times as a Democrat and twice as a Republican. He made it on the primary ballot in 2012 and collected about 19% of the votes in his statewide race against incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton.
The younger Vodvarka, 43, is running for Congress for a fourth time — and this is the first time the Republican has made it onto the primary ballot. He is facing Beaver County Sheriff Tony Guy in the primary in the 17th Congressional District. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, is unopposed on the Democratic side.
Guy’s campaign ended the first quarter of this year with about $32,000 in available cash, while Deluzio had about $941,000 entering the year, according to the latest Department of State filings for the candidates. Deluzio filed a campaign finance report with the state for the first quarter, but the Department of State was still in the process of entering his information into its database as of Thursday.
Neither the Pennsylvania Department of State nor the Federal Election Commission had any campaign finance data for Vodvarka on their websites. He said he hasn’t raised or spent at least $5,000, the threshold that would require candidates for federal office like the U.S. House to file campaign finance reports.
“I think actually just getting to this point, getting the message out there, is a win in and of itself,” said Vodvarka, who manages a family-owned manufacturing firm that makes springs and wire forms.
When asked why he continues running for office, Vodvarka said: “In our shop, we’ve seen jobs go out of state and overseas. Trump is the first president in my lifetime that wasn’t a globalist, and I support his trade policies. He needs allies in Congress to support that agenda, and I’d like to be one of them.”
Win or lose, Vodvarka said he isn’t content sitting on the sidelines.
“If you’re dissatisfied with how things are and you want to make an impact, you can go out there and do it,” Vodvarka said. “Everybody complains, but few people actually get up and try to do anything about it. That’s what I’m trying to do.”