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PA Rep. Arvind Venkat launches re-election bid
The physician-lawyer cites affordability, healthcare and public services as priorities as he seeks another term.
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Malvika Choudhary - Tue, 13, Jan 2026
- 14:28 EST
- 19
Arvind Venkat / Facebook (Arvind Venkat)
Pennsylvania State Representative Arvind Venkat announced that he is seeking re-election from the state’s 30th House District, stressing his commitment to affordability, healthcare, and public service.
“Today, I am announcing that I am seeking re-election as our State Rep. I am proud of my work to make life more affordable. But there is more to do,” the democrat said in a social media post.
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“Can you help me continue to fight for my neighbors & Pennsylvania? … Together, we can build a better future,” he added.
Venkat currently represents the 30th District in Allegheny County, which includes McCandless, Franklin Park, Ohio Township, Kilbuck, Emsworth, Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights and parts of Hampton Township. He has held the seat since December 2022 and was re-elected in 2024 by a margin of more than 10 percentage points.
Venkat first won the seat in 2022 after redistricting created an open race, defeating Republican Cindy Kirk in a competitive contest. In 2024, he secured a second term, winning 54.3 percent of the vote against Republican Nathan Wolfe and Libertarian William Baierl.
His re-election is significant as Democrats currently hold a narrow majority in the State House.
In a campaign statement, Venkat said his legislative priorities have included making healthcare more affordable and accessible, reducing medical debt, funding police, fire and emergency medical services, supporting public schools in the Avontworth, Hampton and North Allegheny school districts, reducing costs for seniors, working families and small businesses, and protecting science-based policymaking, including on vaccines and reproductive healthcare.
He has also backed gun safety legislation, energy development and voting rights protections.
Venkat is the first Indian American to serve in the Pennsylvania State House, the only physician currently serving in the General Assembly, and the only immigrant or naturalized U.S. citizen holding elected office in Pennsylvania at the state or federal level, according to his campaign.
Before entering politics, Venkat built a long career in emergency medicine. He is an emergency physician affiliated with Allegheny Health Network and has worked at Allegheny General Hospital.
He is also a professor of emergency medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine. From 2019 to 2020, he served as president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians and was later elected to the organization’s national board.
Venkat was born in Madurai, India, and raised in Detroit after his family immigrated to the United States. He attended Detroit Country Day School, graduated from Harvard University with degrees in history and history of science, earned his medical degree from Yale School of Medicine, and completed his residency at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.
If re-elected in 2026, he would serve a third term in the Pennsylvania House.
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