Democratic candidates
Deborah Kunselman
Kunselman is based in Beaver County. She began her judicial career with an election to the county’s Court of Common Pleas in 2005, and won a seat on Superior Court in 2017.
She spent 13 years in private practice before that, working in civil litigation and family and employment law at several Pittsburgh-area law firms. During eight of those years, she also served as assistant solicitor and then chief solicitor for Beaver County.
Outside of her practice, Kunselman sometimes lectures about legal issues, volunteers as a religious education instructor and annually serves as a judge at the Beaver County Mock Trial Competition.
She was rated “Highly Recommended” — the top designation — by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which wrote that she has a “reputation for being a thoughtful appellate decision-maker, open to persuasion, and proceeding in each matter with integrity and high character.”
In her PBA questionnaire, Kunselman wrote that her “passion for the law and love of writing opinions” drove her to run for state Supreme Court. She said that she hopes to write unambiguous, precedent-setting opinions that lawyers will be able to clearly understand.
Daniel McCaffery
McCaffery, a Philadelphia native, was elected to Superior Court in 2019.
An Army veteran, McCaffery began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, where he was assigned to the major trials unit.
Following his stint in the DA’s office, McCaffery joined a private firm in Montgomery County and spent 16 years there as a civil trial attorney.
Before being elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 2013, McCaffery volunteered as legal counsel for the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee and was a member of the Pennsylvania
Democratic State Committee. McCaffery’s website notes that he has also worked on 50 campaigns as a manager, fundraiser, and canvasser.
McCaffery is the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate, and his website also lists endorsements from the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, and the Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council.
He was rated “Highly Recommended” by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which wrote that he has “sound knowledge of legal principles” and a history of “community involvement.”
McCaffery wrote in his PBA questionnaire that he is running for state Supreme Court because he thinks that “Democratic Institutions including the judiciary are under duress.” He said that he hopes to restore confidence in the court system and will “approach every case in a non-partisan manner.”