Sen. Jarrett Coleman, the Republican who represents Pennsylvania’s 16th Senate District, has cast 39 votes as the only senator voting no. That’s more than any other member of the Pennsylvania Senate — about one of every three such votes cast by all fifty senators during his time in office. Of 30 bills he stood alone against: 28 became law.
He faces Democrat Mark Pinsley, the Lehigh County Controller, on November 3, 2026.
The numbers
Since January 2023, the Senate has taken 1,232 recorded floor votes. Coleman voted yes 1,053 times, no 161 times, and missed 18.
Of his 161 no votes:
- 39 times, he was the only senator voting no.
- 39 more times, he was one of only two or three.
Across the whole Senate, there were 119 lone “no” votes in that time. Coleman cast 39. The next closest senator cast 17.
Those 39 votes covered 37 separate measures — two bills came up twice, once on final passage and again on concurrence with the House. Of the 37:
- 30 were bills. 28 of them became law.
- 4 were amendments or procedural motions on a bill, not the bill itself.
- 3 were resolutions. All three were adopted.
Laws he alone voted against
- Protecting pets in domestic violence cases — letting judges include pets in protection-from-abuse orders. Passed 47–1 in 2024. Now law. (Roll Call 722)
- Expanding the veterans registry, which connects veterans with their benefits. Passed 48–1 in 2024. Now law. (Roll Call 604)
- Creating a state office to oversee public transit safety, including LANTA. Passed 48–1 in 2024. Now law. (Roll Call 621)
- Extending Main Street grants, which help revitalize downtowns like Quakertown, Perkasie, Macungie, Coopersburg and Slatington. Passed 49–1 in 2024. Now law. (Roll Call 714)
- Updating a 1961 stuffed toy law to allow recycled materials. Passed 47–1. Now law. (Roll Call 513)
He was also the only senator to vote against extending the disaster declaration for the I-95 bridge collapse, and against a resolution urging automakers to keep free AM radio in cars.
Coleman’s record on state budgets
In July 2026, Coleman was one of four Republican senators to vote against the $50.1 billion state budget, which passed with strong bipartisan support. It included more than $920 million in new money for public schools, free breakfast for every student, and expanded career and technical education. (Roll Call 484 · Pennsylvania Capital-Star) He was also one of five senators to vote against the school funding bill, which passed 45–5. It included $20.3 million in new adequacy and equity funding for the Allentown School District, which he represents. (Roll call 483 · Lehigh Valley Public Media)
In 2025, he also voted against the final version of the state budget, after voting for two earlier versions. (Roll Call 270) In 2024, he did vote for the state budget — but over the next eight minutes he cast seven votes as the only senator opposed, against the money for the Public Utility Commission, the Office of Consumer Advocate, both state retirement boards, and the State Gaming Fund. (Roll Call 520 · Roll Call 529) A year earlier he was also the only senator voting against six of the nine small appropriations bills that accompany the state budget, including the Office of Small Business Advocate and, again, the State Gaming Fund — the bill that pays for the Gaming Control Board, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Attorney General. He has voted against that one four years running. (Roll Call 203 · Roll Call 402)
He has also voted against all four capital budgets of his time in office — the bills that set how much the state can borrow for construction projects. (RC 301 · RC 650 · RC 287 · RC 498)
Pinsley makes the point in this video: “It’s easy to vote no. It’s hard to work with others and negotiate something that works for all Pennsylvanians.” When everyone else is doing the work, he says, voting no just means not bringing money back home — “for their schools, for their parks, for their healthcare.”
Two more where he was nearly alone
- No cancellation fees when a customer dies. A bill to stop companies from charging early termination fees to grieving families canceling a phone or cable contract. Passed 46–4 in 2024. Coleman was one of the four. Now law. (Roll Call 538)
- Labeling AI-generated content. Passed 48–2 in June 2026. Coleman was one of the two. (Roll Call 421)
A senator’s job is to get legislation passed
A senator’s job has two parts: voting your conscience, and persuading enough colleagues to get things done for your district.
Twenty-eight bills Coleman alone opposed are now law. In none of them did he persuade a single colleague — not one Republican, not one Democrat, in a chamber his own party controls.
The question for voters isn’t whether those votes were principled. It’s whether being the only one is a way of representing Lehigh and Bucks counties — or a way of not representing them.
Pinsley’s record is different
Pinsley has a record of finding problems and putting them on the public record for others to answer:
- He found the county’s health plan overpaying hospitals, with about $4 million a year in possible savings. (Report 22-16)
- He pushed a prescription contract rebid, which saved $3 million in its first year, according to the County Executive. (WFMZ, October 2022 · Report 24-25)
- He found ICE hadn’t paid county rent in 38 months, and the rent was paid. (City & State Pennsylvania · CBS News Philadelphia)
None of that happened by casting a lone “no” vote.
Every figure about Sen. Coleman comes from the official roll call records at palegis.us. All 1,232 floor votes of his tenure were reviewed.
