On Sunday afternoon, the Democratic Party announced its nominee for the State Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Mike Folmer.
Michael Schroeder will face off against the Republican nominee, Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold, in the special election scheduled for January 14.
Read More: Dave Arnold will be GOP nominee for 48th Senatorial District special election
The announcement followed the party’s SD-48 Nominating Convention, which saw five candidates pitching their platforms to Democratic Party voters from Lebanon, Dauphin, and York Counties.
Schroeder was selected from a field of candidates that included Matthew Duvall, Laura Quick, David Lloyd, and Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz.
Read More: Candidates begin hunt for nomination in 48th Senatorial District special election
Schroeder, a history professor at Lebanon Valley College and Executive Director of the Quittapahilla Creek Garbage Museum, laid out a platform that included healthcare, protecting women’s reproductive rights, expanding access to education, and raising the minimum wage.
Schroeder told the audience of 72 credentialed voters as well as observers and media that had assembled at WellSpan Philhaven’s Grace M. Pollock Training and Community center that he would characterize his politics as “more progressive than liberal.”
Schroeder pointed to combatting climate change his number one priority.
“For me the number one issue is climate change and the existential threat that it poses to humanity, and right here in Pennsylvania,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder also touched on environmental issues that have arisen due to fracking and pipeline construction.
“If elected to your state senator, one of the first things that I’ll do is introduce an amendment to ban fracking,” said Schroeder garnering a round of applause from the crowd in attendance.
Before the securing the majority of the vote, Schroeder already had his sights set on the Republican nominee.
“One of the first thing’s I’ll do is challenge Dave Arnold to a debate,” Schroeder said, a statement that elicited another round of applause.
Schroeder also outlined his plans for his campaign.
“I don’t think that this race will be won using the conventional playbook,” he said. “It’s going to be about registering new voters, getting people fired up about the election reaching out to communities of color, the Latino community, and really reaching out and talking to people about the issues that matter to them.”
Schroeder discussed his growing campaign team that he said already consists of 10 people, before ending his speech with a message to Republican opponents.
“On January 15, Republicans are going to wake up stunned. They’re not going to know what hit them on January 15.”
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