Aaron Kaufer

Aaron D. Kaufer (born July 11, 1988) is an American politician currently serving as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 120th district.[2]

Aaron Kaufer
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 120th district
Assumed office
January 6, 2015[1]
Preceded byPhyllis Mundy
Personal details
Born (1988-07-11) July 11, 1988
Kingston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAnnie
Children1
Residence(s)Kingston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationLafayette College (BA)
Alma materWyoming Valley West High School
Websitewww.repkaufer.com

Early life and education

Kaufer was born on July 11, 1988, in Kingston, Pennsylvania, the son of Neil and Larinda Kaufer.[2][3] He graduated from Wyoming Valley West High School in 2007 and earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in 'government and law' and 'international affairs' from Lafayette College in 2011.[2][4]

Political career

Kaufer first ran for state representative in 2012 against incumbent Democrat Phyllis Mundy, losing 56% to 43%.[5] In December 2013, Mundy announced that she would be retiring. For the 2014 election, Eileen Cipriani was chosen as the Democratic nominee.[6] Kaufer ran again against Cipriani and won, defeating her 56% to 44%.[7] He was reelected in 2016 with 68% of the vote against Democrat Robert McDonald.[8] Kaufer was reelected for a third term in 2018 unopposed.[9] He again won reelection to a fourth term in 2020, defeating Democrat Joanna Bryn Smith 63% to 37%.[10] Kaufer won against Democrat Fern Leard in the 2022 election by a similar margin.[11]

Kaufer was a co-founder of the PA HOPE (Heroin, Opioid, Prevention and Education) Caucus as part of his effort to improve Pennsylvania's drug and alcohol services.[3]

Kaufer was appointed to the Higher Education Funding Commission in 2019.[2]

In 2023, Republican State House Leader Bryan Cutler named Kaufer to be the top Republican on the House Government Oversight Committee.[12]

Political positions

Kaufer believes in a smaller state government and has focused on pursuing job and economic development initiatives. He also supports efforts to address the opioid epidemic.[13]

Kaufer is known for his commitment on bipartisan cooperation.[3]

Abortion

According to Kaufer himself, he has never supported an outright ban on abortion and believes in exceptions for rape, incest, health of the mother, and viability of the child.[14]

Gambling

Kaufer believes that online gambling should not be tied to a credit card. Prior to being elected, Kaufer worked at Mohegan Sun Pocono where he would see customers repeatedly taking out, often large, sums of money on their credit card "just so they could play one more game."[3]

Israel-Palestine

Following Ben & Jerry's 2021 announcement that the company would not longer sell its ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Kaufer called for the enforcement of 2016 Act 163, which says the state will not associate with businesses that boycott Israel.[15][16]

Kaufer has said the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) "is little more than a poorly hidden anti-Semitic economic attack."[15]

Taxation

Kaufer supports the elimination of property taxes. During his first term as a state representative, Kaufer supported a homestead exemption so that property tax would be eliminated on a person's primary residence.[3]

In 2023, Kaufer was among a group of Republicans who signed onto several bills meant to give tax breaks to families in areas such as child care, school supplies, and home improvement.[17]

Term limits

Leading up to the 2014 Pennsylvania state house election, Kaufer campaigned as a supporter of term limits stating he would only serve four terms.[6] In 2022, however, Kaufer ran for a fifth term.[18]

Welfare reform

Kaufer believes in reforming what he describes as Pennsylvania's "bloated welfare system".[13] In 2015, he helped to pass a bill that closed a loophole in Pennsylvania that allowed individuals to accept welfare from multiple states.[3]

Personal life

Kaufer is Jewish.[13] He is married to his wife Annie; they have one daughter.[19] He resides in Kingston, Pennsylvania..[20]

In 2019, Kaufer visited Poland where he saw the graves of relatives who were victims of the Holocaust.[21]

Electoral history
2012 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 120[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Phyllis Mundy (incumbent) 14,133 56.05
Republican Aaron Kaufer 11,050 43.82
Write-in 31 0.12
Total votes 25,214 100.00%
2014 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 120[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Aaron Kaufer 9,514 55.92
Democratic Eileen Cipriani 7,472 43.92
Write-in 28 0.16
Total votes 17,014 100.00%
2016 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 120[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Aaron Kaufer (incumbent) 18,843 67.8
Democratic Robert J. McDonald 8,929 32.13
Write-in 20 0.07
Total votes 27,792 100.00%
2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 120[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Aaron Kaufer (incumbent) 16,677 96.04
Write-in 688 3.96
Total votes 17,365 100.00%
2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 120[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Aaron Kaufer (incumbent) 20,397 63.1
Democratic Joanna Bryn Smith 11,913 36.85
Scattered 16 0.05
Total votes 32,326 100.00%
2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic primary election, District 120[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Write-In Fern Leard 590 46.06
Write-In Aaron Kaufer 418 32.63
Write-In Kaufer 35 2.73
Other write-in candidates 238 18.58
Total votes 1,281 100.00%
2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 120[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Aaron Kaufer (incumbent) 17,548 65.97
Democratic Fern Leard 9,014 33.89
SCATTER 38 0.14
Total votes 26,600 100.00%

References
  1. "SESSION OF 2015 - 199TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 2015-01-06.
  2. "AARON KAUFER". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  3. "Aaron Kaufer seeks second term representing 120th District". Times Leader. November 4, 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  4. admin (January 16, 2012). "ABOUT AARON". Kaufer Now. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  5. "2012-General-ElectionResults-PDF" (PDF). Luzerne County, PA Official Website. November 6, 2012. p. 3. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  6. Buffer, Michael P. (November 4, 2016). "120th: Kaufer defeats Cipriani". The Citizens' Voice. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  7. "11/04/14 General Election". Luzerne County, PA Official Website. November 24, 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  8. "Pennsylvania 120th District State House Results: Aaron Kaufer Wins". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  9. Almukhtar, Sarah; Andre, Mike; Andrews, Wilson; Bloch, Matthew; Bowers, Jeremy; Buchanan, Larry; Cohn, Nate; Coote, Alastair; Daniel, Annie; Fehr, Tiff; Jacoby, Samuel; Katz, Josh; Keller, Josh; Krolik, Aaron; Lee, Jasmine C.; Lieberman, Rebecca; Migliozzi, Blacki; Murray, Paul; Quealy, Kevin; Patel, Jaymin; Pearce, Adam; Shorey, Rachel; Strickland, Michael; Taylor, Rumsey; White, Isaac; Whitely, Maxine; Williams, Josh (May 15, 2019). "Pennsylvania Election Results". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  10. "Pennsylvania Election Results". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  11. Guydish, Mark (November 8, 2022). "Kaufer-Leard vie for 120th; Kaufer leading". Times Leader. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  12. O'Boyle, Bill (January 26, 2023). "Kaufer named Republican chair of House Government Oversight Committee". Times Leader. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  13. "About Aaron Kaufer". PA State Rep Aaron Kaufer. PA House Republican Caucus. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  14. "Where Pa. law stands on abortion". Times Leader. June 26, 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  15. "Kaufer Calls on Wolf, Shapiro, Garrity to Enforce Procurement Law Following Ben & Jerry's Israel Announcement". PA State Rep Aaron Kaufer. PA House Republican Caucus. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  16. "2016 Act 163". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  17. Stockburger, George (March 1, 2023). "Pennsylvania House Republicans unveil package of tax relief bills". abc27 WHTM. Nexstar Media, Inc. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  18. Carroll, Kevin (May 17, 2022). "Ryncavage claims victory in 119th; Williams waiting for mail-ins". Times Leader. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  19. O'Boyle, Bill (November 7, 2022). "Election Day 2022 is finally here — get out and vote". Times Leader. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  20. "Representative Aaron D. Kaufer". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  21. Strub, Chelsea (October 12, 2020). "UPDATE: No charges being filed against person who wrote hateful messages to State Rep". WNEP-TV. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  22. 2016 General election, Luzerne County, PA
  23. 2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 120th District election
  24. 2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 120th District election
  25. 2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 120th District Democratic primary election
  26. "REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 120TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT". Luzerne County, PA General Election November 8, 2022. scytl.us. December 1, 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
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