ALLENTOWN, Pa. — City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach's decision to run for state representative sparks an interesting political question:
How many races will she be running for that seat in the General Assembly next year?
The campaign for Pennsylvania's 22nd House District, centered around the East Allentown neighborhood, has many moving parts playing out over the next 14 months.
The answer hinges on the results of this year's Lehigh County executive race, the Pennsylvania election code and the bylaws of the state's political parties and local county committees.
Here's a breakdown:
November 2025
Political observers in the Lehigh Valley view the 22nd House District's incumbent, Democrat Josh Siegel, as the favorite in this year's Lehigh County executive race.
Sources within both local parties have described Siegel as an active campaigner, and Republican Roger MacLean has a significant disadvantage in fundraising.
As of June 9, MacLean had $2,666 in his campaign coffers while Siegel had $200,403 on hand. Recent history is also working against MacLean; Republicans have not won a Lehigh County executive race in 20 years.
Should Siegel win this November's executive election, he would need to resign as state representative before taking office in early January 2026.
His resignation would trigger Pennsylvania's special election law, which requires the House's presiding officer sign a writ within 10 days ordering a special election.
That special election must be held either on May 19, 2026 — the next primary — or an earlier date provided there's at least 60 days' advance notice.
Early 2026
With House Democrats clinging to the narrowest-possible majority, House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, is likely inclined to call for a special election ahead of the May primary.
Since House Democrats claimed their current majority in 2024, she's had to call for five special elections to fill vacancies caused by deaths or retirements. The only time she didn't call for an early special election came in the 139th House District, a seat in northeastern Pennsylvania that heavily favors Republicans.
With House Democrats clinging to the narrowest-possible majority, the House Speaker is likely inclined to call for a special election before next May's primary election. For that to happen, though, Josh Siegel would need to defeat Roger MacLean this fall in the Lehigh County executive race.
The 22nd House District represents parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township. It overwhelmingly favors Democrats by voter registration, and, as of 2020, it had the most lopsided partisan lean in the region, according to Dave's Redistricting, a nonpartisan nonprofit group that tracks voter registration data. Given the demographics, the results of the special election would likely only help state House Democrats.
If a special election would be held ahead of the primary, the 22nd House District would still appear on the May 2026 primary ballot. However, the primary vote would choose which candidates appear on the ballot for the Nov. 2, 2026, general election.
The winner of the special election would serve for a few months in 2026, and the winner of the November election would begin a two-year term on Dec. 1, 2026.
State law puts political parties in charge of selecting candidates for special elections. Under the rules of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, the party's executive committee votes to appoint a candidate for any state House race.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania would leave the choice to the local Republican county committee — in this case, the Lehigh County Republican Committee. Under the county committee's rules, special election candidates are chosen by committee members who live in the district.
Political parties are not obligated to field a candidate in a special election. Republicans opted not to nominate any candidates in two state House special election races in Philadelphia last year.
Or not ...
Of course, none of the special election rules apply if MacLean, a former Allentown police chief and councilman, defeats Siegel in this year's Lehigh County executive race.
A MacLean victory would mean Siegel would have no need to resign his state House seat and may lead him to seek re-election in a House seat he's dominated since its creation after the 2022 redistricting.
If Siegel were to seek re-election to his House seat, it's unclear if Gerlach or any other Democratic challenger would remain in the race against a deep-pocketed incumbent who belongs to their own party.
