Bucks, Lehigh Dems to choose Pinsley or Merkl-Gump on May 19

Two Democrats are vying in the May 19 primary for Pennsylvania Senate District 16, which includes parts of Bucks and Lehigh counties: Bradley Merkl-Gump and Mark Pinsley. Their candidacies set up a Lehigh versus Bucks contest, with Lehigh resident Pinsley and Bucks native Merkl-Gump.

The winner will face off against incumbent Republican Senator Jarrett Coleman in the fall. Coleman does not have a primary challenger.

The district leans Republican, with some 46 percent Republican voters, 35 percent Democrats, and nineteen percent nonaffiliated or with a minor party, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. 

Pinsley, who switched from running for Congress to running for the State Senate, said he believes that Harrisburg is a better fit for the skills he’s learned during his seven-year tenure as the Lehigh County controller. 

Pinsley said he’ll work for the people, not “big money” interests, and his seven-year tenure as controller prepared him to fight.

His key issues are health care costs and other cost-of-living issues, artificial intelligence’s effect on the job market, and, like most Democratic politicians, President Donald Trump.

“My top issue is the cost of living and rising prices,” Pinsley told The Bucks Independence. “There’s many things Pennsylvania can do about it, for example, lowering the cost of automobile insurance. Pennsylvania [also] has a say in electricity costs. Data centers should pay to upgrade the grid.”

“There’s a role for government,” said Pinsley. “We don’t need to be sitting on the sidelines.” 

As for AI, Pinsley said his daughter was interviewed for a job by “an AI robot” after an AI program had screened her resume. He believes people should decide who is hired, not AI. 

As Lehigh County Controller, Pinskey pointed to many instances where his findings saved taxpayer money and helped people.

For example, he discovered that a doctor was diagnosing many more cases of Munchausen by proxy (where a parent claims their child is sick when the child isn’t) than was statistically possible. Those diagnoses resulted in children being removed from their homes. Pinsley’s report resulted in the doctor being removed from her position and multiple families suing.

In another audit, he found that for every dollar the county prison charged for inmates to make phone calls, 70 cents went to the county, resulting in $750,000 from prisoners’ phone calls.

He also found $3 million in prescription drug overcharges and stopped Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using county office space without paying rent.

“I’ve been here,” said Pinsley. “I’ve shown up. I’ve fought against the powerful. I will work for the people.” 

Pinsley, 56, a South Whitehall resident, is married and has two kids. He holds a B.S. in business administration and an MBA. He served in the U.S. Army reserves and worked in the private sector for domestic and international corporations.

Pinsley lost to Coleman in 2022 and lost to Pat Browne, a Republican, in 2018. He also ran an unsuccessful campaign for state auditor general in 2024.

Merkl-Gump did not respond to the Independence’s repeated requests to comment for this article.

According to his campaign website, the Perkasie resident is also married with two children. He is a social studies teacher in the Perkiomen Valley School District and serves on the Pennridge School Board. 

Both candidates were endorsed by various labor unions.

Merkel-Gump is endorsed by state Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-Doylestown) and State Representatives Brian Munroe (D-Warrington), Tina Davis (D-Bristol), Perry Warren (D-Newtown), Tim Brennan (D-Doylestown), and Jim Prokopiak (D-Levittown). He was also endorsed by Senate Democratic Leader Senator Jay Costa (D-Pittsburgh). 

Pinsley garnered endorsements from other Democrats, including California Congressman Ro Khanna, Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel, commissioners Sarah Fevig and Jon Irons, Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Ruglio, and Perkasie Borough Councilman Steve Nathan. 

During an hour-long debate hosted by Lehigh Valley PBS on April 28, Pinsley and Merkl-Gump expressed similar views on most issues, so voters might be choosing based on style and experience. However, a few sparks flew.

Pinsley jabbed Merkl-Gump by criticizing the views of some of his supporters in the state Senate, although not by name. 

Merkl-Gump responded by saying, “You’re not attacking my platform or things I support, but attacking other people.”

Pinsley said it’s rumoured that a party boss who supports Merkl-Gump “rigged” the primary in his favor by forcing out two other candidates earlier in the process.

Merkl-Gump said he doesn’t know about those allegations and added, “I cannot comment on rumors.”  

Merkl-Gump took a shot at Pinsley, saying, “You’ve sought many elected offices. Can you commit you’ll serve your full term?”

Pinsley said he would. He said he’s not a career politician but ran for office in 2016 to push back against Trump and “fight fascism.” 

He also noted the district boundaries had changed, and he was “asked three times by the party to run because they could not find someone courageous enough to fight the Republican establishment.”

When asked about cuts to the SNAP food stamp program, Pinsley promised to raise taxes.

“It is time that we tax the wealthy so regular Americans can afford SNAP and other benefits like that,” Pinsley said. If elected, he would “take a look at the laws that are on the books now, and we unrig them and make it for the people, not the powerful.”

Merkl-Gump said the state needs “a two-prong approach.”

He would increase taxes and raise wages to “increase people’s ability to support themselves.” That would decrease the need for SNAP benefits, he said.

Both men favor legalizing recreational marijuana and guaranteeing women’s right to abortion. Merkl-Gump added that he believes Planned Parenthood needs more funding. 

Linda Stein is an award-winning journalist who’s written for newspapers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Arizona. Before joining Fideri News Network, she was the news editor for Delaware Valley Journal. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Temple University and earned her undergraduate degree from Arcadia University. Contact her at [email protected].