Pennsylvania state Senate candidate Joe Picozzi (campaign photo)
In November, Joe Picozzi pulled off perhaps the most unlikely victory in any state Senate election. The 29-year-old Philadelphia native managed to unseat a Democratic incumbent in a northwest Philadelphia district that hadn’t been won by a Republican since 1996. He’ll be the youngest member of the Senate.
Picozzi attributed that success to his team’s ground game, though he had considerable financial help from the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Campaign Committee. He ran on kitchen table issues — crime, education and affordability.
He’s not a total political newcomer. Picozzi studied politics and political theory at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He also worked at the Manhattan Institute and served as an aide to the former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican.
Throughout the campaign, Picozzi presented himself as a moderate, willing to work with Democrats in both the state and local government to accomplish legislative victories. While, nationally, many Republicans leaned into culture war issues in their campaigns, Picozzi’s website describes him as “open-minded and committed to following through on good ideas no matter where they come from.”
Picozzi declined the opportunity to be interviewed for the “new faces” series. The following is taken from a Capital-Star interview with Picozzi conducted shortly after the race was called in his favor, edited for length and clarity.
Capital-Star: When did you get the idea to run for state Senate?
Picozzi: I think it’s something that built over time. I was always interested in the American experiment since I was a boy going to Independence Hall and the Constitution Center. And as I looked at things in my home, I saw just how crazy and how bad things have changed. When I was a kid, there was nothing to worry about in northeast Philly. It was completely safe. Everyone got along. It felt like something from TV Land. And it’s changed a lot. It’s gotten really tough here. So I felt a real sense of obligation to actually do something. I also looked at it like, ‘if I don’t do this, and the Northeast continues to decline, how can I look back at myself when I’m 40?’
Capital-Star: What were the major themes of your campaign you felt stuck with people when you were knocking on doors?
Picozzi: Public safety. We’re seeing violent crime in places where it was unthinkable not too long ago. It’s really sad. There are neighborhoods that were totally safe when I was growing up, neighborhoods that were just fun to hang out in. Northeast Philly was the place you moved to when you made it, and now it’s the place where people are really trying to get out. It was pretty surreal for me seeing how much things had changed, and it deepened my resolve to really deliver significantly for the people here.
Capital-Star: Do you have any specific policy plans you’re hoping to accomplish?
Picozzi: In the transition period, I want to meet with political leaders here and other leaders in Philadelphia. I’d love to sit down with the mayor and talk through policy priorities. I think good collaboration with the municipal governments can be really important for my agenda here in the northeast. A lot of quality-of-life issues the Senate doesn’t have direct purview over, so that relationship is gonna be really key. Getting more funding for our police. I think our officers should be paid more. I think they need more resources. We need a lot more officers here in the northeast. So that’s the 7th, 8th, 15th and 2nd police districts. We need a lot more officers.
There’s a lot of quality of life issues. Our park, Pennypack Park, has got a lot of problems. It needs to get cleaned up. I want to revive our business corridors like Torresdale Avenue, Frankfurt Avenue and Cottman Avenue as well. I want to do a lot to save our mall, Franklin Mills Mall. It’s struggling a bit and I think it needs some help. It needs more security. I’d love to help get them some security, but those are just some things I’m thinking about off the top of my head.
Also just getting the city in general ready for 2026. We’re gonna have the 250th anniversary celebration of America’s founding. We’re gonna have six World Cup games. We’re gonna have the MLB All-Star game and Home Run Derby. The NCAA semi finals are gonna all gonna be in Philly. So we really need to get ready for that.
Capital-Star: Any final thoughts?
Picozzi: I think we need more ambitious young people to step up, and I hope that this campaign can serve as a model and motivation for other young people who are thinking about jumping into public service to go ahead and just do it. People are craving new ideas. They’re craving fresh kinds of leadership. I think my generation can bring a different perspective to the table that’s going to offer a lot to people in all kinds of communities.