Republican horse farmer Clovis Crane jockeys for PA Senate seat in District 48

A Bethel Township horse farmer has announced a campaign to unseat the Republican incumbent in the 48th District of the state Senate.

Clovis Crane, who is the founder, owner, and operator of Crane Thoroughbreds, on Monday announced he is running against Chris Gebhard, who was elected in a May 2021 special election to replace the late state Senator David Arnold. Gebhard was elected to his first full four-year term in November 2022.

The 48th Senatorial District covers all of Lebanon County, as well as parts of Berks and Lancaster counties. Gebhard announced his campaign for re-election in December.

In a statement Monday, Crane said he “grew up poor in Grantville, often needing to sleep by the fire to stay warm. I rode horses to victory across the country, wrestled to the top ranks, and built a business from the ground up by tackling the horses no one else could. Every step taught me that success comes from hard work, honesty, and never backing down.”

Crane said Pennsylvania “faces threats to our freedoms, our farms, our families, and our future. Property taxes crush homeowners and farmers. Illegal immigration strains resources and drives up costs. Woke indoctrination harms our kids in schools. Overdevelopment threatens our rural way of life. And too many politicians put special interests over the people they serve.

“I’m running for State Senator to fight for you. I’ll defend the Second Amendment, protect life, eliminate property taxes, champion school choice and parental rights, demand election integrity with paper ballots, deport criminal illegals, cut wasteful spending to lower inflation, shield generational farms, stop overdevelopment, and end the radical WOKE agenda poisoning our classrooms.”

He adds that he stands with President Donald Trump and the America First agenda.

“I achieved the American dream, and I’m entering this race to ensure that every Pennsylvanian has the same opportunities I had to succeed,” Crane said in the release. “Together, we will win back our state. I humbly ask for your support as we build a stronger, freer Pennsylvania.”

Although Crane’s statement on Monday does not specifically mention Gebhard, the challenger’s website is more direct.

“Our district has been ‘represented’ by a Senator who votes with the establishment and is loyal to the suit and tie political class,” his campaign website states. That needs to change and that’s why I’m running. I will represent the people of District 48 who’ve been left behind with grit, honesty, and backbone, because we deserve a Senator who knows our struggles and works for us, not party bosses.”

His platform listed on the website includes lowering inflation, eliminating property and death taxes, cutting regulations, deporting “criminal illegals,” defending the Second Amendment, stopping overdevelopment and ensuring election integrity.

“Too many politicians are corrupt, and too many Republicans govern like Democrats,” he states in his online biography. “Dishonest politicians are a cancer on our system.”

Last summer, Crane and his wife Joanna placed their 64-acre horse farm into the state’s farmland preservation program. The couple trains competitive thoroughbred horses and is raising four children.

According to Crane’s online biography, he became a jockey at age 16, dropped out of high school and traveled the Northeast competing in horse races. “After two years I grew too big to continue riding, so I re-enrolled in school and was recruited to wrestle at Purdue University,” the bio says. At Purdue, he earned a degree in education and was a two-time national championship qualifier in collegiate wrestling. He also competed as a “professional cowboy,” winning 26 rodeo circuit titles and the All-Around National Championship in 2009.

He coaches wrestling at Northern Lebanon High School and built a wrestling club on his farm, where more than 300 kids have an opportunity to train.

Gebhard, in his announcement in December, said he remains committed “to protecting our constitutional liberties, putting Pennsylvania and America first, supporting small businesses, strengthening our economy, and crafting fiscally responsible budgets that prioritize families and taxpayers.”

According to the state Senate website, Gebhard chairs the Banking & Insurance committee and serves as vice chair for the Community, Economic, & Recreational Development committee. In the 2025-26 session, Gebhard was prime sponsor of 11 bills and three resolutions and co-sponsored 46 bills and 10 resolutions.

Republican voters will choose a candidate at the May 19 primary election. The general election is on Nov. 3.