My name is Andrew Harbaugh, and I’m running for State Representative for Pennsylvania’s 63rd District. Why? Because we deserve better! Our current representative isn’t serving us the way he should. I’m tired of seeing our community wither away. I refuse to stand on the sidelines any longer. That’s why I’m running for office.
Issues
Affordability
Whether a person works in retail like I did, or owns their own business, they should be able to afford the necessities: food, clothes, and a safe place to live. But in our district, any affordable housing opportunities are taken up by landlords who mass-purchase buildings, which leads to minimized competition. Food and what we need to survive day to day have become a burden that no one could have ever expected. In our area, we are being left behind in ways we shouldn’t be that would allow us to go from surviving to thriving. As electric and other utility costs rise and strain renters and homeowners alike, we need to find ways to protect ourselves from the increasing costs driven by the rising demand for electricity for data centers and AI.
Health Care
It shouldn’t matter if a person lives in a rural community or in the city. We all deserve access to good health care. Here in our community, the uncertainty of our healthcare facilities has forced residents to travel to find the care they need and deserve. Decisions made in Washington, D.C., have created a tidal wave of chaos that has crashed into our community. Health care premiums have risen, costs for testing is beyond the scope of imagination, and we need to be protected from these surges. With the focus being that more responsibility fall on the states, who we choose to fight for us is more important than ever. I am the right person to send into this fight because I am experiencing these rises firsthand, and I know the pain they can inflict on our families.
Farming
No matter where they live in our state, farmers should be able to thrive and pass on their farms to the next generation. Over the decades, we have seen our farms struggle to get by, with some even forced to take second jobs, while those around us have seen growth and profit. Regulations and mandates should not choke the success of family-owned farms. They deserve to find the prosperity they have worked for and earned without the fear of oversight setting them back further than where they started.
Education
In order for Pennsylvania to thrive, our public schools have to thrive. While recent changes and funding were put in place through the latest state budget, more needs to be done to ensure our kids have access to the resources they need. If charter schools are taking public education funds, they need to be held to the same standards. Until that is achieved, there will be a discrepancy that is unfairly affecting too many of our children.
Husband, Father, Sportswriter
Passionate about west PA
Andrew Harbaugh came to Clarion, Pennsylvania after graduating high school in 2013. He attended Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion while working retail in town. During this time he met his wife, Lexi, and they were married in 2015. In the years that followed, Andrew and Lexi started a family that now includes two boys, Eli (9) and Grayson (7), their dog Mud and their cat Ellie.
In starting a family and working in the community, Andrew realized he wanted more. He decided to pursue his dream job of becoming a sports writer and he worked as a freelance writer while working full-time in retail. His nights were spent staying up to write and cover various teams and sports before earning a full-time job with USA Today in 2024. Working for what you want is something Andrew has never shied away from, and it is an example he hopes his boys see and learn that you can achieve anything you set your mind to and work for.
When he isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with famly as his boys keep him busy. Grayson enjoys games such as baseball or the video type,while Eli is always looking for a new fact on the Titanic or world geography. With his wife, Lexi, he is always looking to take in the latest episode of their favorite shows.
Family is paramount to the principles and beliefs he practices every day. That is why he ran for Clarion Borough Council in 2025 and won a seat in the general election in November. He now is looking for his ideas to reach beyond the borough of Clarion as he is running to represent the residents within the 63rd district of the Pennsylavnia House of Representatives.