John Yudichak


John T. Yudichak is an American politician from Pennsylvania currently serving as an Independent member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for 14th District since 2011. The district includes parts of Carbon, Luzerne, and Monroe Counties. He previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 119th district from 1999 to 2010.

Early life and education

John Yudichak was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Joseph and Sarah Yudichak. He graduated from Nanticoke Area High School in 1988, and attended Wyoming Seminary for one year before transferring to the Pennsylvania State University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993 and a Master of Arts degree in American Studies from Pennsylvania State University in 2004.

Career

Yudichak worked as an intern for U.S. Representative Paul E. Kanjorski before serving as director of development at the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre. In 1996, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Stanley Jarolin for the Democratic nomination for the 119th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, losing by 600 votes. However, he ran for the nomination again in 1998, and defeated Jarolin by more than 800 votes. In the general election, he defeated Republican Jean Sepling.
Yudichak was elected to the State Senate in 2010. He easily won the Democratic nomination for the 14th District seat when he defeated Wilkes-Barre mayor Tom Leighton by a 2 to 1 margin in the May 18, 2010 primary. Yudichak won the general election on November 2, 2010, defeating Luzerne County Commissioner Stephen Urban.
On November 19, 2019, Yudichak changed his voter registration from Democrat to Independent, and ceased to caucus with the Democrats, caucusing instead with the Republican majority.

Personal life

Yudichak and his wife, Heather, have four daughters: Sarah, Anna, Evelyn, and Grace.