Art Haywood
senatorhaywood.comThree-term Democratic state senator from Cheltenham Township representing SD-4 since 2015. Morehouse College magna cum laude, Marshall Scholar (LSE), University of Michigan Law School JD. Practiced at Community Legal Services preventing home foreclosures; served on Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners 2009-2014. Unseated indicted incumbent LeAnna Washington in the 2014 Democratic primary. Currently Democratic Chair of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.
Chance of winning88%
Three-term incumbent with 80%+ wins, full county-party endorsement, and strong institutional support in a D+30 district.
Background
Three-term Democratic state senator from Cheltenham Township representing SD-4 since 2015. Morehouse College magna cum laude, Marshall Scholar (LSE), University of Michigan Law School JD. Practiced at Community Legal Services preventing home foreclosures; served on Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners 2009-2014. Unseated indicted incumbent LeAnna Washington in the 2014 Democratic primary. Currently Democratic Chair of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.
Stated positions · 5
- Raise PA minimum wage to $15/hr with annual COLAs — lead sponsor of recurring minimum-wage legislation
- Mandatory lead testing of school drinking water (prime sponsor, enacted 2022)
- Police accountability: district attorneys, not local police, conduct initial investigations of police-involved killings
- Strongly pro-choice; opposed 2022 SB 106 constitutional amendment excluding abortion rights
- Co-sponsored PA 100% clean-energy-by-2050 legislation
Pros & cons, honest read
Reasons to support
- Deep legislative track record with tangible wins — school lead-water testing law, expansion of PHARE housing fund to $100M/year
- Senior committee role as Democratic Chair of Health & Human Services
- Strong general-election performer (81.4% in 2014, 86.6% in 2018, 83.9% in 2022)
Reasons to be skeptical
- 12-year incumbent in a cycle where primary voters are increasingly willing to oust long-tenured Democrats
- Signature $15 minimum-wage bill has not become law; Senate Dems have not forced the issue
- Relatively low statewide media profile for a 3-term senator
Three perspectives
Same claim, three reads. Decide which one you find most persuasive.
A dependable progressive on housing, lead remediation, minimum wage, gun safety, and reproductive rights. Some left activists disappointed wage and worker bills have stalled in the GOP-controlled Senate.
A competent constituency-services senator delivering real district dollars and a concrete public-health win on school lead testing.
A predictable Philadelphia-aligned Democrat: pro-choice, pro-gun-restriction, supportive of spending increases. Critics fault his sit-in activism as performative.
Sources
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