Jennifer O'Mara

Jennifer O'Mara (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 165. She assumed office on December 1, 2018. Her current term ends on November 30, 2026.

O'Mara (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 165. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. She advanced from the Democratic primary on May 19, 2026.

Jennifer O'Mara has not yet completed [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Send a message to Jennifer O'Mara asking her to fill out the survey.

If you are Jennifer O'Mara, click here to fill out [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out the candidate survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete [the profile publisher]'s Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's [the profile publisher] profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 32,000 candidates have taken [the profile publisher]'s candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Jennifer O'Mara to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing contact@voteomara.com.

Jennifer O'Mara did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Jennifer O'Mara did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

For me, politics is personal. When I was 13, I lost my father, a union fire fighter, to gun suicide. It changed everything for our family. My mother, with only a high school education, was able to find work as a union bus driver. Thanks to essential public services, my father's pension, and my mother's union job, we made it through. I became the first in my family to graduate college, paving the way for my younger brothers. My husband is a veteran and two-time Purple Heart recipient; he gets his healthcare from the VA. Seeing firsthand how important these government services are is at the heart of my commitment to working people. I ran for office because the essential public services my family, and working families across Pennsylvania, relied on are still under attack. With the critical issues facing our Commonwealth and our region, we need legislators who care about the communities and people they serve - people who will stand up for what's right in Harrisburg. I'm running for re-election to keep fighting for you.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I ran for office to give working people and working families a champion in Harrisburg. Since my victory in 2018, I have been working tirelessly for my constituents and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As a legislator I have fought for union protections, a living wage, and increased access to healthcare. In my first term I have written and passed legislation that fully funds the Veteran's Trust Fund and introduced a bill to ensure that workers who were laid off as a result of COVID-19 have access to full worker's compensation. I attended every single legislative session, co-sponsored over 200 pieces of legislation, and brought back nearly $4 million to my district in grant money.I campaigned on bringing the government back to the people. Since my victory in 2018, I have worked tirelessly for my constituents and for all Pennsylvanians. In my first year, I attended every single legislative session, co-sponsored over 200 pieces of legislation, and brought nearly $4 million to my district to support teachers, firefighters, and local municipal projects including infrastructure investments and park and trail improvements. I know that fundamentally, my role is one of serving my community - that's why I was honored to be named as one of the country's 11 most accessible legislators. With the critical issues facing our Commonwealth and our region, we need legislators who care about the communities and people they serve.I'm not a typical politician. I wasn't groomed to run for politics or recruited. I came to this job because I believe in public service. Now that I'm in office, I work hard to be an independent voice and to represent my district, not my political party. In my first term, I created the bipartisan Student Debt Caucus with my fellow co-chair, Rep. Meghan Schroeder (R-Bucks), to enact meaningful reform for college students and graduates saddled with student loan debt. My bill to fund the Veterans trust fund received broad bipartisan support and I worked with Democrats and Republicans to ensure a broad government response to COVID-19. I reach across the aisle because I know that helping workers is not a partisan issue.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a legislator I have fought for the rights of workers, for common sense gun legislation, for consumer protection in the student loan industry and and for a statewide action on the mental health crisis. If re-elected, I plan to continue these fights, ensuring a living wage and the right to collectively bargain, closing loopholes in gun legislation, finding solutions for student loan issues, keeping our communities safe, and continuing my work on the suicide prevention taksefore. These are issues that affect real people's lives every day just like they impact mine.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Spirit of Compromise: Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It by Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first significant event I remember are the attacks of 9/11. I was in seventh grade, 11 years old at the time. I was taken out of school early by my mother and we waited at home for my father - he was a firefighter in Philadelphia so he was waiting to find out if he would be called to serve in New York. I will never forget the fear that I saw and felt from all the adults in my life on that day. It made me realize that everything can change in the blink of an eye.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Hermione Granger

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My father's gun suicide when when I was 13 changed everything for me and my family. I struggled a lot in the years following to find my voice, to figure out how to process what had happened while still being strong for my mom and younger brothers. It was one of my public school teachers who changed all of that for me. He helped me channel my emotions into student council, into making a positive change in my community, as small as it was. Without the support he gave me, I wouldn't be here today. That's why I want to continue my career in public service through representing the people of the 165th in Harrisburg.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

I absolutely believe it's important to build relationships with other legislators. To me, politics isn't about personal fame or glory - it's about working hard, every day, to create meaningful change in my community and communities across Pennsylvania. Forming relationships with other legislators has allowed me to do real work for my constituents, from passing a bill to fully fund the Veterans' Trust to co-founding the Bipartisan Student Debt Caucus to support working people who - like me - remain saddled with student loan debt.

The role of relationships also extends beyond the Pennsylvania borders. I've formed relationships with legislators in other states, to learn about best practices for both getting legislation passed and challenges to implementation to ensure we aren't facing these same roadblocks.

If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?

The committees I sit on are personal for me, and give me the opportunity to work on issues that directly impact people's everyday lives. I sit on the Veterans and Emergency Services committees; as the wife of a two-time Purple Heart veteran and the daughter of a former Marine and career firefighter, I know how important it is that we're taking care of those who serve our community. I also sit on the Transportation Committee, which means I'm making decisions that affect how people get to work, go to the store, and visit their families. I also serve on the Agingi and Older Adult Services Committee. With a large population of seniors in my district, this allows me to be front and center in issues relating to that community. My committees give me the chance to work on broad-sweeping, bipartisan issues that make a direct impact in the lives of my constituents and families across Pennsylvania.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

When I was first running for office, a woman sent me a message on Twitter saying that she used a wheelchair and was interested in knowing what I would do to advocate for the disabled community. I immediately set up a meeting to go have coffee at her home. I went and met Kait and her parents, and I listened to her story for over an hour. She told me about her struggle to vote without having ADA accessible polling places in Pennsylvania. She also told me about her passion for politics but her fear of getting involved. After getting elected, I thought of Kait. I reached out to her and brought her with to the Women's March in 2019 so we could attend the Emerge Pennsylvania breakfast. Kait got to meet elected women at all levels of government in Pennsylvania. I also introduced legislation to bring early voting to PA so every voter, including Kait, could have the option of voting at the county Bureau of Elections, which is ADA accessible. While my bill didn't pass, I was able to vote on a bill that allowed for no-excuse absentee ballot voting. I recently visited Kait again at her home, and we were able to apply for a mail in ballot for her together. Being able to find a solution to her problem of voting in a way that is ADA accessible was a huge accomplishment and something I'll carry with me for the rest of my days in politics.

.survey-result {padding:10px;}

p.survey-question {font-weight:bold;}

p.survey-response {margin-left:10px;}

p.survey-response {white-space: pre-line;}

div.survey-scrollbox { height:400px; overflow:scroll; margin:20px; padding:10px; border:1px solid gray; }

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

My top three priorities are fair funding for public education, fighting for working people, and protecting access to affordable healthcare. I made it because of public services that were there for me when the needed to be - services like pensions, public schools, and CHIP. I'm running to protect those services. We need to make Pennsylvania work for working people, by giving everyone the resources they need to succeed and support their families.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I've been knocking on doors for almost two years now. The number one issue I hear about, from both parents and kids, is what I'm going to do to keep their communities safe and their schools fully-funded. I know firsthand how important this is. I'm a certified teacher. I went through the Delco public school system - I'm here today because of public schools. We need to be prioritizing the education of our communities, and giving everyone an equal opportunity to succeed.

But we also need to make sure students are safe and comfortable going to school, playing in their yards, walking the streets of our communities. That means we need common sense gun legislation. My father died by gun suicide; my husband is a two-time Purple Heart recipient with multiple gunshot wounds. Guns are causing irreparable damage to our children and our communities, and in Harrisburg, they haven't done anything about it. I'm running to fight for common sense gun legislation. It's absolutely essential to keeping our children safe.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

There's a reason we call our elected officials representatives. Their job, plain and simple, is to represent the people of our district and our communities. I've been knocking on doors for almost two years now. I've talked to thousands of voters on both sides of the aisle in every town in my district, and the first thing I ask at every door I knock is, "what issues are most important to you?" I've heard from my community on subjects ranging from healthcare to green space to common sense gun legislation, because I'm running to represent the people, not a party.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

When I was 13, we lost my father to gun suicide. It changed everything for our family. I struggled a lot in the years following to find my voice, to figure out how to process what had happened while still being strong for my mom and younger brother. It was one of my public school teachers who changed all of that for me. He helped my channel my emotions into student council, into making a positive change in my community, as small as it was. Without the support he gave me, I wouldn't be here today. That's why I want to continue my career in public service through representing the people of the 165th in Harrisburg.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

The problem with so many of our politicians is that they don't know what it's like to be a working-class person in their community. They don't understand real life problems because working in government is not comparable to working in the real world. They don't understand what we're going through, and they don't know what's important to us. We need representatives who are able to do just that - represent us. Some politicians can do this, and some of them can't.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

It's absolutely beneficial to build relationships with other legislators. We need to end the partisan divisiveness in our country, and a huge first step forwards is forming relationship within the legislature, on both sides of the aisle. I wouldn't be running if I didn't have the support of current representatives and other candidates, because I know how important it is to build relationships and work together in Harrisburg.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

A few months ago, I received a message from a young woman in my district named Kate. Kate is permanently disabled and contacted me because she wanted to meet me but attending events was a hardship for her. I offered to set up a meeting and within a week, I was heading over to her house for coffee. We talked for over an hour about the challenges Kate and her family are facing every day. She shared her struggles with the healthcare system, her confusion about how to get care, her fears about what would happen in the future. But she also told me about the experiences she has, nearly every day, as a disabled person. She told me she's had trouble voting because her polling place isn't ADA accessible. She's tried to attend political events, large and small, and had been unable to because of her disability.

My conversation with Kate deepened the way I thought about these issues. I was able to tell her that her language and experiences had helped shape the way I phrased and thought about my own policies around these issues - that her voice had made a difference. Now, I'm working with the founders of the Philadelphia Women's March to make the event more ADA accessible, and I'm working to find a way to bring Kate with me. I'm running for office to fight for people like Kate.