State Representative, 96th District · 2026 General Election

Babita Rusyn

Republican

Adjunct professor / educator · Manheim Township

The gist

Supports a gas tax holiday and opposes unnecessary tax increases to ease the cost of living.
Supports public schools and educational choice, and opposes cutting scholarship programs.
Calls for an on-time state budget funded by new revenue sources rather than debt.
Calls for giving county election directors better data for voter list maintenance.
Says any data centers that are allowed must be transparent and good neighbors.
Supports police, fire and EMS services.

More about Babita

View sources (3)

Supports a gas tax holiday and opposes unnecessary tax increases to ease the cost of living.
Pennsylvania State Representative District 96 - VOTE411 Voter Guide
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund (VOTE411) · Most pressing issues · onyourballot.vote411.org
“support a gas tax holiday for immediate relief”
On the Issues - babitaforpa.com
Campaign website · Babita for PA · Affordability … Affordability · babitaforpa.com
“I would support a tax holiday to provide immediate relief. … I would also oppose unnecessary tax increases, and work to keep energy supply up and costs down.”
Supports public schools and educational choice, and opposes cutting scholarship programs.
Pennsylvania State Representative District 96 - VOTE411 Voter Guide
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund (VOTE411) · Most pressing issues · onyourballot.vote411.org
“We should expand opportunities for students, instead of cutting millions of dollars of scholarship programs.”
On the Issues - babitaforpa.com
Campaign website · Babita for PA · Education · babitaforpa.com
“I support strong public schools, educational choice, and empowering parents and teachers to have a voice in their children's education.”
Calls for an on-time state budget funded by new revenue sources rather than debt.
On the Issues - babitaforpa.com
Campaign website · Babita for PA · Responsible Budgeting … Responsible Budgeting · babitaforpa.com
“This includes finding new sources of revenue rather than going into debt, and providing responsible budget plans. … I will support enacting a responsible budget by the end of the fiscal year as required by our Constitution.”
Calls for giving county election directors better data for voter list maintenance.
On the Issues - babitaforpa.com
Campaign website · Babita for PA · Elections · babitaforpa.com
“We should empower our election directors with better data sources to perform voter list maintenance”
Says any data centers that are allowed must be transparent and good neighbors.
On the Issues - babitaforpa.com
Campaign website · Babita for PA · Data Centers · babitaforpa.com
“IF data centers are allowed, they must be good neighbors, and that begins with transparency, and good stewardship of our utilities and resources.”
Supports police, fire and EMS services.
babitaforpa.com
Campaign website · Babita for PA · Babita's Priorities: Public Safety · babitaforpa.com
“Support police, fire, and EMS so every family feels safe in their community.”

Nikki Rivera

DemocraticIncumbent

State representative · Manheim Township

The gist

Calls for public transportation improvements to link residents to jobs and reduce traffic congestion.
Supports mail-in voting, primaries open to all voters and same-day voter registration.
Prefers moving the state budget deadline to April 30 so schools and local governments can plan.
Calls for guardrails so data centers' water and power use does not raise residents' utility rates.
Supports cyber charter tuition reform and says students deserve direct instruction from certified teachers.
Says families should not spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Proposes requiring electric utilities to set targets for and buy grid battery storage to cut peak costs.In office

In office = from the candidate's own official statements or legislation as an officeholder, not their campaign.

More about Nikki

View sources (4)

Calls for public transportation improvements to link residents to jobs and reduce traffic congestion.
Pennsylvania State Representative District 96 - VOTE411 Voter Guide
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund (VOTE411) · Most pressing issues · onyourballot.vote411.org
“Improvements to public transportation are desperately needed in order to keep Lancastrians connected to employment opportunities and minimize traffic congestion on our streets”
Supports mail-in voting, primaries open to all voters and same-day voter registration.
Pennsylvania State Representative District 96 - VOTE411 Voter Guide
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund (VOTE411) · Elections … Elections … Elections · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I support mail-in ballot voting and in-person voting on election day. … I would support measures to change Pennsylvania's Primary Election to be open to all voters … I support same-day voter registration efforts.”
Prefers moving the state budget deadline to April 30 so schools and local governments can plan.
Pennsylvania State Representative District 96 - VOTE411 Voter Guide
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund (VOTE411) · State budget process · onyourballot.vote411.org
“I'd prefer to see our State budget passed by April 30 each year”
Calls for guardrails so data centers' water and power use does not raise residents' utility rates.
Pennsylvania State Representative District 96 - VOTE411 Voter Guide
Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters Education Fund (VOTE411) · Data centers · onyourballot.vote411.org
“should develop and operate under guardrails that prevent residents from paying astronomical utility rates”
Supports cyber charter tuition reform and says students deserve direct instruction from certified teachers.
Vision | Nikki Rivera For PA
Campaign website · Friends for Nikki Rivera · Strong Public Education for Every Child · nikkiriveraforpa.com
“Nikki advocates for responsible cyber charter tuition reform to ensure taxpayer dollars are used effectively and not spent on duplicative services.”
Co-Sponsorship Memo: Prohibiting consideration of charter and cyber charter school applications that provide direct instruction via AI
Government record · Pennsylvania House of Representatives · Sep 10, 2025 · palegis.us
“I believe students deserve certified teachers to provide direct instruction.”
Says families should not spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Vision | Nikki Rivera For PA
Campaign website · Friends for Nikki Rivera · Economic Opportunity & Affordability · nikkiriveraforpa.com
“Families should not have to spend more than 30% of their income on housing”
Proposes requiring electric utilities to set targets for and buy grid battery storage to cut peak costs.
Co-Sponsorship Memo: Reducing utility bills by utilizing grid-scale battery storage
Government record · Pennsylvania House of Representatives · Jan 5, 2026 · palegis.us
“we will soon introduce legislation requiring electric utilities to set targets and procure grid-stabilizing battery storage as part of their resource planning”