Sen. Kim Ward named first female president pro tempore state Senate
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP/KDKA) — Kim Ward, the GOP's majority leader of Pennsylvania's state Senate, will become the first woman to serve as the chamber's highest-ranking member, Republicans said Tuesday.
Republicans selected Ward to serve as interim president pro tempore while the Senate is out of session in December. She is on track to be elected by the chamber's members as president pro tempore when the next two-year legislative session starts in January.
"Our job is to work and serve the people of this commonwealth," Ward told KDKA-TV's Jon Delano. "They pay our salaries, and they don't expect us to go there and act like they do in Washington, D.C. They expect us to get our job done."
Ward, 66, of Westmoreland County, became the first female majority leader in the chamber last year and underwent surgery for breast cancer while leading the caucus. She was first elected in 2008, when she was a Westmoreland County commissioner, and is serving her fourth term.
Republicans will return in January with a 28-22 majority in the chamber. Democrats picked up one seat in the midterm elections. The 50-member chamber will have six new faces to replace members who were beaten or decided against running again.
She will succeed Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, who is finishing a 24-year career in the Senate after a failed run for governor this year. Ward said she knows Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro and hopes his background as a former legislator will help him work better with Republicans to find common ground.
"I don't look for any great Republican items to be passed if we have a split government, and we do," Ward said. "He's the governor, and I don't look for any great Democrat agenda items to be passed. But what I am hoping for is that we can come together to work on issues on the economy and for our families. Things that are not partisan, but things that matter the most to the people we represent."
In the last Legislature, especially in the state House, bills were often passed to make political points, knowing Governor Tom Wolf would veto them rather than trying to find common ground. That could be different next year, and Ward thinks one area of agreement may be energy development, which is especially important in our region.
"I think he is open to working with us on energy," Ward said. "I'm hoping he doesn't want to see our jobs crushed when Pennsylvania has so much to offer here."
Freshman Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, was elected by the caucus to succeed Ward as the GOP's majority floor leader. Pittman, 45, was a longtime Senate aide before he ran in 2019 to succeed his retiring boss, Sen. Don White.
Democrats reelected Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, as minority floor leader. Costa, 64, was first elected to the Senate in 1996 and became minority leader in 2011.