Patricia McCullough

Republican Party

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Tenure

2010 - Present

Term ends

2030

Years in position

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2019

Education

Bachelor's

University of Pittsburgh, 1978

Law

University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1981

Contact

Official website

Patricia McCullough (Republican Party) is a judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. She assumed office on January 4, 2010. Her current term ends on January 7, 2030.

McCullough (Republican Party) ran for election for judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She lost in the Republican primary on May 18, 2021.

## Contents

* 1 Biography
* 2 Elections
* 2.1 2021
* 2.2 2019
* 2.3 2009
* 3 Campaign themes
* 3.1 2021
* 3.1.1 Candidate forum
* 3.2 2019
* 4 Noteworthy cases
* 4.1 Kelly v. Pennsylvania (2020)
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

## Biography[edit]

Patricia McCullough received a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978 and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1981.[1]

McCullough worked as a private practice lawyer from 1991 to 2004. In 2005, she was appointed judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. She worked as the executive director of the Catholic Charities Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2006 and 2007 before returning to private practice. In 2009, McCullough was elected judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.[1]

## Elections[edit]

### 2021[edit]

See also: Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, 2021

General election

##### General election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Kevin Brobson defeated Maria McLaughlin in the general election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 2, 2021.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Kevin Brobson (R)  |

52.2

| 1,364,138

| Maria McLaughlin (D)  |

47.8

| 1,249,738

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2

| Total votes: 2,613,876

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

#####  Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Maria McLaughlin advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 18, 2021.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Maria McLaughlin |

100.0

| 945,138

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 945,138

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

#### Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

* Carolyn H. Nichols (D)

Republican primary election

#####  Republican primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Kevin Brobson defeated Patricia McCullough and Paula A. Patrick in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 18, 2021.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Kevin Brobson |

52.2

| 505,084

| Patricia McCullough |

32.9

| 317,975

| Paula A. Patrick |

14.9

| 144,291

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 967,350

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

### 2019[edit]

See also: Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2019

General election

##### General election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Incumbent Patricia McCullough won election in the general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 5, 2019.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Patricia McCullough (Nonpartisan)  |

100.0

| 1,474,584

* * *

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 1,474,584

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

### 2009[edit]

McCullough was elected to one of two open seats on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in 2009.[2]

Candidate | Incumbent| Party| Primary %| Election %|

|
|
|
|
|

Patricia McCullough A | No| Republican| 37.2%| 28.1%
Kevin Brobson A | No| Republican| 35.1%| 26.1%
Linda Judson | No| Democratic| | 23%
Barbara Ernsberger | No| Democratic| | 22.6%

## Campaign themes[edit]

### 2021[edit]

#### Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Patricia McCullough did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

#### Candidate forum[edit]

During a March 2021 candidate forum, McCullough said:

“  | Look at our cases more than our registration. ... I am a conservative on the issues, but I am fair and impartial and uphold the rule of law.[3][4] | ”

|
|

### 2019[edit]

Patricia McCullough did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

## Noteworthy cases[edit]

### Kelly v. Pennsylvania (2020)[edit]

On November 21, 2020, a group of state Republican officials, candidates, and voters filed suit in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, alleging that the state law allowing all voters to cast their ballots by mail violated the state constitution. The plaintiffs asked the court either to order election officials "to certify the results of the election based solely on the legal votes" or to direct "that the Pennsylvania General Assembly choose Pennsylvania's [presidential] electors."[5]

On November 25, 2020, Judge Patricia McCullough ordered election officials to temporarily halt "any further action to perfect the certification of the results of the 2020 general election ... for the offices of President and Vice President," pending an evidentiary hearing scheduled for November 27, 2020.[6]

State officials appealed McCullough's order to the state supreme court. On November 28, 2020, the state supreme court ruled unanimously to vacate McCullough's order and dismiss the case with prejudice. In its unsigned opinion, the court wrote the following:[7]

“  | The want of due diligence demonstrated in this matter is unmistakable. Petitioners filed this facial challenge to the mail-in voting statutory provisions more than one year after the enactment of Act 77. At the time this action was filed on November 21, 2020, millions of Pennsylvania voters had already expressed their will in both the June 2020 primary election and the November 2020 general election and the final ballots in the 2020 general election were being tallied, with the results becoming seemingly apparent. Nevertheless, petitioners waited to commence this litigation until days before the county boards of election were required to certify the election results to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Thus, it is beyond cavil that petitioners failed to act with due diligence in presenting the instant claim. Equally clear is the substantial prejudice arising from petitioners’ failure to institute promptly a facial challenge to the mail-in voting statutory scheme, as such inaction would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of Pennsylvania voters.[4] | ”

|
|

Sean Parnell, a Republican congressional candidate who was a party to the lawsuit, said he and the other plaintiffs would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. On December 1, 2020, the plaintiffs petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily block the state supreme court's order pending appeal. However, the plaintiffs subsequently withdrew this application, and on December 2, 2020, they petitioned the state supreme court to stay its decision pending a determination by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether it would take up the case. The state supreme court declined to stay its decision on December 3, 2020.[8][9][10][11][12]

In light of the state supreme court's December 3, 2020, order, the plaintiffs again petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the state supreme court's ruling. Associate Justice Samuel Alito, the justice assigned to consider emergency applications from the Third Circuit (which contains Pennsylvania), directed the defendants to respond to the plaintiffs' filing by 9 a.m. on December 8, 2020. Alito referred the matter to the full court, which, on December 8, 2020, declined to take up the case. The court made its decision without noted dissent.[13]

## See also[edit]

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## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic

Officeholder

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

* Website

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "Judge Patricia A. McCullough," accessed November 30, 2020
2. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2009 Municipal Election, Judge of the Commonwealth Court," accessed November 30, 2020
3. ↑ Law.com, "Pa. Supreme Court Candidates Discuss Qualifications at Virtual Forum," March 18, 2021
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
5. ↑ Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, "Kelly v. Pennsylvania: Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief," archived June 23, 2021
6. ↑ Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, "Kelly v. Pennsylvania: Order," November 25, 2020
7. ↑ Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, "Kelly v. Pennsylvania: Order," archived April 15, 2021
8. ↑ Fox News, "Pennsylvania Republicans to ask Supreme Court to review case after dismissal: candidate," November 29, 2020
9. ↑ USA Today, "Lawsuit by Trump allies challenging Pennsylvania election results reaches Supreme Court," December 1, 2020
10. ↑ Election Law Blog, "Rep. Kelly Has Apparently Withdrawn His Emergency Request for a SCOTUS Injunction to Reverse Pennsylvania Results, As He Awaits PA Supreme Court Ruling on Stay," December 2, 2020
11. ↑ Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, "Kelly v. Pennsylvania: Emergency Application for Stay of Court's Order of November 28, 2020," archived February 25, 2021
12. ↑ Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, "Kelly v. Pennsylvania: Order," December 3, 2020
13. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Kelly v. Pennsylvania: Docket," accessed December 7, 2020

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