Aaron Bernstine

Aaron Joseph Bernstine^[1] (born July 2, 1984) is an American politician who serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 8th District as a member of the Republican Party. Prior to redistricting he served from the 10th district.

Aaron Bernstine
Bernstine in 2022
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017[1]
Preceded by	Jaret Gibbons
Constituency	10th district (2017-2022) 8th district (2023-present)
Personal details
Born	Aaron Joseph Bernstine (1984-07-02) July 2, 1984 (age 40) Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ilia
Children	1
Education	Pennsylvania State University (BS) University of Pittsburgh (MBA)
Signature
Website	Official website

Early life and education

Aaron Joseph Bernstine was born on July 2, 1984.^[2] He graduated from Union Area High School in 2003, from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2006, and from the University of Pittsburgh with a master of business administration in 2013.^[3][4] He worked as a part-time adjunct at the University of Pittsburgh.^[5]

State legislature

Elections

Bernstine won the Republican nomination for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 10th district against Dawnlyn Valli and Clifford Glovier.^[6] He defeated incumbent Democratic Representative Jaret Gibbons in the general election.^[7] Bernstine stated that he would only serve four terms in the state house.^[8] He won the Democratic nomination in the 2018 election through a write-in candidacy.^[9][10] He defeated Green nominee Darcelle Slappy in the general election.^[11] Bernstine defeated Democratic nominee Kolbe Cole and United nominee Johnathan Peffer in the 2020 election.^[12][13]

Following redistricting in 2021, Bernstine was moved from the 10th District to the 8th District.^[14] He defeated John Kennedy and Eric Ditullio for the Republican nomination and won without opposition in the 2022 election.^[15][16]

Tenure

During Bernstine's tenure in the state house he has served on the Commerce, Game and Fisheries, Health, and Insurance committees.^[17] He is a member of the Pennsylvania State Freedom Caucus.^[18]

Bernstine was criticized for a Snapchat video he posted of his five-year old son smoking a cigar and swearing. Speaker Bryan Cutler and Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff stated that they were "disgusted" by the video and called for his resignation.^[19][20] The Republican caucus in the state house also called for his resignation.^[21] The Republican Committee of Beaver County revoked its endorsement of him in response to the video.^[22]

Political positions

Bernstine is anti-abortion.^[23] Bernstine and twenty-five Republican members of the state house signed a letter calling for district attorneys to not prosecute COVID-19 shutdown violations.^[24] He voted against legislation to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21.^[25] Bernstine stated that Donald Trump was not at fault for the attack on the United States Capitol.^[26]

In 2020, Bernstine was among 26 Republicans in the state house who called for the reversal of Joe Biden's certification as the winner of Pennsylvania's electoral votes in the 2020 United States presidential election, citing false claims of election irregularities.^[27] He proposed legislation to remove Biden from the ballot in Pennsylvania in the 2024 election.^[28]

Bernstine voted in favor of legislation to prohibit transgender women from participating in women's sports in public schools.^[29] He proposed legislation to prohibit people under eighteen from attending drag shows.^[18]

Bernstine has a lifetime rating of 88% from the American Conservative Union.^[30] He has a lifetime rating of 4% from the Sierra Club.^[31] He received an A+ rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.^[32] He signed onto the U.S. Term Limits pledge.^[33]

Electoral history

2016 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 10th district Republican primary^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine	5,181	74.57%
	Republican	Dawnlyn Valli	1,141	16.42%
	Republican	Clifford Glovier	626	9.01%
Total votes			6,948	100.00%

2016 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 10th district election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine	15,807	58.48%
	Democratic	Jaret Gibbons (incumbent)	11,224	41.52%
Total votes			27,031	100.00%

2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 10th district Republican primary^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)	3,045	100.00%
Total votes			3,045	100.00%

2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 10th district election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)
	Democratic	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)
	Total	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)	16,090	78.19%
	Green	Darcelle Slappy	4,487	21.81%
Total votes			20,577	100.00%

2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 10th district Republican primary^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)	5,454	100.00%
Total votes			5,454	100.00%

2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 10th district election^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)	15,009	51.50%
	Democratic	Kolbe Cole	10,032	34.43%
	United	Johnathan Peffer	4,100	14.07%
Total votes			29,141	100.00%

2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 8th district Republican primary^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)	5,826	49.05%
	Republican	John Kennedy	4,887	41.15%
	Republican	Eric Ditullio	1,164	9.80%
Total votes			11,877	100.00%

2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 8th district election^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Bernstine (incumbent)	25,702	100.00%
Total votes			29,141	100.00%

References

1. "Session of 2017 201st of the General Assembly No. 1" (PDF). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. January 3, 2017. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
2. "Aaron Bernstine". Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
3. "Republican Aaron Bernstine says 10th Legislative District needs a champion". The Beaver County Times. March 29, 2016. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
4. "Aaron Bernstine". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
5. "Embattled state Rep. Aaron Bernstine sees county GOP committee yank endorsement". The Beaver County Times. October 13, 2020. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023.
6. "2016 Pennsylvania House of Representatives primary results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
7. "2016 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
8. "Vogler endorses Bernstine". New Castle News. April 20, 2016. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
9. "Bernstine to run unopposed in fall". New Castle News. May 30, 2018. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
10. "2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives primary results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
11. "2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
12. "2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives primary results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
13. "2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
14. Ulrich, Steve (September 19, 2022). "PA House Preview: North by Northwest". PoliticsPA. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
15. "2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives primary results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
16. "2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election results". Pennsylvania Department of State.
17. "Bernstine named to four House committees". New Castle News. January 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
18. "Pa. representative to propose bill regulating drag shows as adult entertainment". CNHI. April 7, 2023. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
19. "House GOP leadership calls on lawmaker to resign over vulgar videos". Spotlight PA. October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
20. "Bernstine not resigning: Embattled state legislator vows to work at rebuilding trust". New Castle News. October 9, 2020. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
21. "UPDATE: House GOP calls on Bernstine to resign immediately". New Castle News. October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
22. "Pa. Rep. Bernstine posted on Snapchat enticing his son, 5, to smoke cigar. He was re-elected". The Beaver County Times. November 17, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
23. "Western Pa. reacts to Roe v. Wade decision". The Beaver County Times. July 5, 2022. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
24. "Bernstine joins GOP letter asking DAs to ignore COVID-19 shutdown violations". The Beaver County Times. May 15, 2020. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023.
25. "Legislature sends bill raising purchasing age for tobacco to 21 to governor's desk". The Beaver County Times. November 22, 2019. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023.
26. "Bernstine: Insurrection was not Trump's fault". The Beaver County Times. January 7, 2021. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023.
27. Murphy, Jan (27 November 2020). "26 Pa. House Republicans call for withdrawing certification of presidential electors". PennLIVE Patriot-News.
28. "GOP state lawmakers work to remove Biden from ballot: 'We must fight back'". WBMA-LD. December 22, 2023. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024.
29. "Eye on the Capitol: How county legislators voted in Harrisburg last week". New Castle News. April 18, 2022. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
30. "American Conservative Union Ratings of Pennsylvania 2021" (PDF). American Conservative Union. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 30, 2023.
31. "Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard 2021-2022" (PDF). Sierra Club. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 30, 2023.
32. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Pennsylvania". NRA-PVF. November 5, 2022. p. 18. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
33. "Rep. Aaron Bernstine Receives Plaque for Signing U.S. Term Limits Pledge". U.S. Term Limits. October 26, 2023. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by Jaret Gibbons	Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 10th district 2017–2022	Succeeded by Amen Brown
Preceded by Timothy R. Bonner	Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 8th district 2023–present	Incumbent