Republican candidates
Carolyn Carluccio
Carluccio is a judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, to which she was first elected in 2009.
Before becoming a judge, Carluccio worked on both sides of the justice system. After a few years in private practice at the start of her career, she became an assistant U.S. attorney in Delaware in 1989 and served in the role for nearly a decade. She then served as chief public defender of Montgomery County from 2002-06.
Carluccio also worked as chief deputy solicitor for Montgomery County, handling contract negotiations, real estate matters, and personnel and labor law
issues. She also did a stint as the county’s acting director of human resources in 200809.
Carluccio was elected unanimously by her peers to serve as president judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in 2022.
The Pennsylvania Republican Party endorsed Carluccio in early February, choosing her over another candidate who had previously run for state Supreme Court.
She was rated “Highly Recommended” by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which called her a “highly respected jurist.”
In her PBA questionnaire, she wrote that she “wants a justice system that is fair and impartial.” She also wrote that her “diverse court experience” is an asset, citing her experience on both sides of the justice system as well as in family and civil cases.
Patricia McCullough
McCullough, of Allegheny County, serves on Commonwealth Court. This is her second time running for state Supreme Court after losing the Republican primary in 2021 to Brobson.
During that election, McCullough’s husband began serving a prison sentence for taking money from an older woman’s trust fund — a factor that Republican Party officials said lessened their support for her candidacy.
McCullough was first elected to Commonwealth Court in 2010 and has since been involved in several high-profile cases regarding redistricting and election certification.
In November 2020, she ordered state officials to stop certifying the election results in response to a suit brought by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and others that sought to throw out mail ballots. A higher court later dismissed that ruling with prejudice, saying that the petitioners didn’t bring the case forward in a timely manner and that not certifying the election would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters.
When she ran for state Supreme Court in 2021, McCullough’s website stated that she was the sole candidate in the race who had been “praised by President (Donald) Trump.”
McCullough also recently attended a political rally hosted by state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, where she called Pennsylvania “the birthplace of the ‘One Nation Under God.’ “The rally’s keynote speaker was Trump lawyer Christina Bobb, who spread false claims of election fraud.
In February, McCullough attended a Susquehanna County Republicans event and posed for a group photo that included Frank Scavo, a Pennsylvania resident who was sentenced to 60 days in prison for participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. (McCullough did not respond to a request for comment about the photo.)
During the 2020 redistricting cycle, the state Supreme Court picked McCullough to serve as the court’s special master and make a recommendation for a new congressional map.
She recommended that the state Supreme Court impose new congressional districts based on a map that state House Republicans submitted — a recommendation that the state Supreme Court justices did not take up.
McCullough began her career as a clerk to a Court of Common Pleas judge in Washington County, then worked as an attorney and adjunct professor for the University of Pittsburgh.
She went on to work in private practice for five years, until her appointment to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 2005. During that time she also served as executive director of the Catholic Charities Diocese of Pittsburgh before returning to private practice. She was elected to Commonwealth Court in 2009.
On the campaign website for her 2021 state Supreme Court candidacy, McCullough wrote that she was running as a constitutionalist and that her belief in the state and federal constitutions fueled her desire to serve on the state Supreme Court.
McCullough did not complete the Pennsylvania Bar Association questionnaire, according to Charles Eppolito III, chair of the organization’s Judicial Evaluation Commission — a panel of PBA members who evaluate judicial candidates. Candidates who do not complete the process receive a rating of “Not Recommended for failure to participate,” he said.
During her 2021 run for state Supreme Court, McCullough received a “Not Recommended” rating from the PBA.
The organization’s Judicial Evaluation Commission wrote that it became aware of McCullough’s “alleged conduct at a previous employment,” and that when members questioned McCullough about the issue, she did not answer the questions “to the satisfaction of the commission.”
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