- Anna Thomas announced a second run for House District 137 on Friday, Oct. 13
- Thomas previously ran for the seat against incumbent Republican Joe Emrick in 2022
- Education, fair wages, and fair taxation are cornerstones for Thomas's campaign
EASTON, Pa. — Former candidate for the 137th House District in Bethlehem Anna Thomas is taking another shot at the state representative position for 2024.
Thomas announced her campaign run for the Pennsylvania State House in District 137 on Oct. 13, marking her second run for the seat after falling less than 750 votes shy of securing the position in the 2022 general election.
House District 137, located in Northampton County, includes the municipalities of Bethlehem Township, Hanover, Lower Nazareth, Upper Nazareth, Nazareth Borough, and Tatamy. Republican Joe Emrick currently represents the district.
Thomas was born and raised in Bethlehem Township and graduated from Freedom High School. As a high school student, Thomas was selected to serve on the Bethlehem School Board.
She went on to earn a degree in chemistry at Wellesley College and a master's in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas said she was inspired to engage in politics at an early age when state Rep. Steve Samuelson visited her class at Spring Garden Elementary School. Thomas said her teacher looked at her and said "‘that could be [you].”
For her 2024 run, Thomas said she is focused on smart economic development, fully funding schools, and building a strong future for the Lehigh Valley. Currently, she serves on the Planning Commission for Bethlehem Township.
Due to redistricting, the 137th House District saw plenty of changes in 2022, with the area shifting from a Republican stronghold — where Emrick enjoyed 12 years as an incumbent at the time — to one of the most evenly split districts in the Commonwealth.
In 2022, Thomas also faced off against Emrick, again focusing on schools and education funding.
One of the cornerstones of her campaign included ensuring Bethlehem Area, Nazareth Area and Easton Area school districts would receive a fair allocation of funds, noting Parkland and East Penn had seen far more money previously.
"A skilled workforce… attracts the kind of companies that create good-paying jobs for families to achieve a secure place in the middle class.”Anna Thomas, candidate for Pennsylvania's 137th House District in 2024
During her 2022 campaign, Thomas also voiced her desire to reach across political lines in an attempt to make progress.
“One philosophical issue at this point [that] is indicative of the larger climate is that sometimes there are people who don't want to talk to you when you find out what party you are [in],” she said. “I think that is something that is a pervasive problem across the country at this point. People don't want to work with one another.”
Thomas said she aims to increase the minimum wage to draw younger individuals to both live and work in the area.
“If we’re [in] this place where people are waking up in the morning and they’re driving into New York for their jobs, what can we do as a state that makes people wake up in the morning and drive to Allentown or Bethlehem?” Thomas said.
Small businesses, startups and more jobs are also integral to the success of the area, Thomas said.
Thomas credits her success in life to “quality public education,” which she says is integral for drawing businesses into Pennsylvania, noting a “skilled workforce… attracts the kind of companies that create good-paying jobs for families to achieve a secure place in the middle class.”
According to previous campaign materials, Thomas believes low and middle-income families handle too much of the tax burden in Pennsylvania, and “wealthy individuals and highly profitable corporations must pay their fair share to support all the public services that have enabled their success.”
Thomas said she supports abortion access and stated on her website that she will defend the right of Pennsylvanians to make family-planning decisions.
