House - PA 10th - Eugene DePasquale

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Democrat running for Congress in district covering South-central Pennsylvania, including the cities of Harrisburg and York

video clip: "Fighting for Us"

Eugene DePasquale understands firsthand the challenges faced by working-class families because he grew up in one. He waited tables and washed dishes in his family’s neighborhood restaurant. He knows what it’s like when a family faces medical challenges. His father was wounded in the Vietnam War and subsequently became addicted to painkillers. When Eugene’s younger brother was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, the insurance company denied medical coverage, labeling the disease a pre-existing condition and forcing the family into debt as medical bills piled up.

“Like many families, ours faced enormous challenges,” Eugene says. “We spent a lot of time in hospitals and staring down terrifying medical bills. Nobody needs to explain to me how important it is to protect people with pre-existing conditions and why we need to make certain everyone can afford the health care they need."

Despite family adversity, Eugene worked his way through school, earning a bachelor’s degree, a masters of public administration, and a law degree. He worked at a non-profit that helped young people with mental and physical disabilities before embarking on a public service career. As a state legislator from York, Eugene was a reform-minded and transparent leader who was unafraid to take on political insiders and special interests. As Auditor General for the State of Pennsylvania, he uncovered child abuse hotline calls that went unanswered and helped women seek the justice they deserve by exposing over 3200 rape kits that had gone untested for years.

Now Eugene wants to bring the fight for the people in his district to Congress. His opponent is incumbent Republican Scott Perry, who is serving his fourth term in Congress (three representing PA 4 and currently representing the redrawn PA 10). Perry’s margin of victory in 2018 was narrow (2.6%). Perry is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and this term has voted with Trump 95% of the time. Perry is graded A+ by the NRA, has a terrible 2% rating by the League of Conservation Voters, and a 0% rating by Planned Parenthood.

Although the recent state redistricting has made PA 10 a more even political playing field, registered Republican voters still outnumber registered Democrats by 23,000. However, Eugene has twice won statewide election for Auditor General, so his entry makes this a very flippable district. To make that happen, he needs our help for a strong Congressional campaign.