A second Pennsylvania appellate court judge, Deborah Kunselman, said Thursday she will run for an open seat on the state Supreme Court in next November’s election.
Kunselman, 55, graduated from Notre Dame's law school and worked as a civil litigator for 13 years, including eight as the chief solicitor for Beaver County, before becoming the first woman elected as a Beaver County judge in 2005. A Democrat, she currently serves on the state Superior Court and was endorsed in the primary by the Democratic Party when she ran for that seat in 2017.
The period for filing paperwork to get on the May 16 primary ballot hasn’t opened, but Kunselman will join another Superior Court judge, Democrat Daniel McCaffrey, in seeking the party's nomination for a 10-year term on the state’s highest court. The Superior Court handles appeals from county courts in criminal and civil cases.
Republican Carolyn Carluccio, a Montgomery County judge, has announced her candidacy for her party's nomination.
The seven-seat high court currently has a majority of four justices elected as Democrats. Two other justices were elected as Republicans and one seat is open following the death this fall of Max Baer, who was chief justice. Baer died only months before he was to reach the mandatory retirement age of 75.
