More candidates announce runs for Pa. Supreme, appellate courts

A state Superior Court judge is the latest candidate to announce a run next year for the vacant Pennsylvania Supreme Court seat.

Judge Deborah Kunselman, a Beaver County Democrat, said Wednesday that she will seek the seat formerly held by Justice Max Baer, who died in September.

Judge Kunselman joins Montgomery County Court President Judge Carolyn Carluccio, a Republican, and fellow Democratic Superior Court Judge Daniel McCaffery, of Philadelphia, in the race.

The Supreme Court seat offers a 10-year term.

Judge Kunselman has been on the Superior Court for five years, during which time she ruled on nearly 3,000 appeals, according to a campaign statement released Wednesday.

Previously, Judge Kunselman was the first woman elected to the Beaver County Court of Common Pleas, where she served for 12 years.

Also on Wednesday night, Pittsburgh attorney Democrat Jill Beck announced a run for Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Ms. Beck, 43, was most recently practicing in the commercial litigation division at Blank Rome, where she practiced in trial and appellate courts throughout Pennsylvania and across the country, according to a release. She started her legal career at KidsVoice, where she represented abused and neglected children. She then spent the next decade serving as a clerk in the Superior and Supreme Court Chambers of Christine Donohue.

In November, Berks County attorney Josh Prince announced his campaign to fill a vacancy on state Commonwealth Court in 2023.

Mr. Prince is the principal of the Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C. and an associate at Prince Law Offices.

He is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal and Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg.

His website does not indicate a party but he has been endorsed by Republican legislators.