State
State Representative, 171st District
- Vote for
- 1
- Term
- 2 years
- Candidates
- 2
- Election
- Nov 3, 2026
What this office does: A state representative votes on Pennsylvania laws and the state budget in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Covers eastern Centre County (Bellefonte, Centre Hall and Millheim boroughs; Gregg, Haines, Miles, Penn, Potter, Spring and Walker townships) and most of Mifflin County (Lewistown, Juniata Terrace, Kistler, McVeytown and Newton Hamilton boroughs; Armagh, Bratton, Brown, Granville, Menno, Oliver, Union and Wayne townships). Mifflin County's Burnham borough and Decatur and Derry townships are in the 85th District instead.
Taxes & budget
John ZangariDemocratic
- Calls for ending corporate tax loopholes and moving away from flat-rate taxes to give working families relief.
- Proposes phasing out horse-racing subsidies and redirecting the money to schools and infrastructure.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
- Co-sponsored a bill to keep state government funded at 85% of prior-year levels during a budget impasse.In office
Public safety
John ZangariDemocratic
- Supports background checks on private gun sales and a 3-day waiting period.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
No documented position found.
Housing
John ZangariDemocratic
- Supports easing local zoning to allow duplexes and townhomes, and more help for first-time buyers.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
No documented position found.
Economy & jobs
John ZangariDemocratic
- Calls for raising the minimum wage.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
- Sponsored a bill giving businesses a tax credit for building truck parking spaces.In office
- Proposes regulating skill games, grandfathering existing machines, without a new special tax.In office
Roads & infrastructure
John ZangariDemocratic
No documented position found.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
- Proposes using $2.5 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for bridge repairs instead of bonding $500 million.In office
Environment & parks
John ZangariDemocratic
- Proposes turning the former SCI Rockview prison land into a state park.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
- Says decisions on the former Rockview prison land should move slowly and follow the required process.
- Proposes requiring data centers to replace or restore water supplies they pollute or drain.In office
Health & human services
John ZangariDemocratic
- Calls for caps on high-cost treatments and prescription drugs and itemized medical billing.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
- Proposes more dedicated funding to cut the waitlist for intellectual-disability home and community services.In office
Government & transparency
John ZangariDemocratic
- Calls for banning lobbyist-funded perks, restricting dark money and term limits for legislative leaders.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
- Sponsored the law (Act 3 of 2026) setting up online auto insurance verification to avoid registration suspensions.In office
Courts & justice
John ZangariDemocratic
- Supports reserving jail for dangerous offenders and expanding treatment for non-violent offenses.
Kerry A BenninghoffRepublican
No documented position found.
Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 9 issues covered in this race.