A business group dropped four House Republicans over a wage vote. Twenty-five Republicans voted the same way

Americans for Prosperity, a business-backed advocacy group, has withdrawn its endorsements of four Republican state House members because they voted to expand Pennsylvania's prevailing wage law, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday. The four are Reps. Martina White of Northeast Philadelphia, Valerie Gaydos and Jeremy Shaffer of Allegheny County, and Joe Emrick of Northampton County. All four are on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The group's state director, Emily Brey, told the Inquirer that prevailing wage law is "a red line for our organization." Gaydos told the paper her "only obligation is to the people who elected me." The Inquirer reported that the group's volunteers will no longer ask voters to support the four while knocking on doors or making calls.

For residents, the law itself matters beyond the campaign. Prevailing wage rules set minimum pay on publicly funded construction, so they affect what school districts, towns and the state pay for projects.

What the law does

Senate Bill 908 amends the 1961 Prevailing Wage Act. According to the Inquirer, it extends the law to HVAC duct cleaning and to workers who custom-build parts off-site for publicly funded projects, while excluding residential rehabilitation jobs and some school improvements. Brey argued the wage requirement can raise project costs by up to 20%; Sen. Christine Tartaglione, a Philadelphia Democrat and co-sponsor, argued that off-site fabrication workers deserve the same pay as workers on the job site, the paper reported.

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it on Oct. 22. It is now Act 101 of 2026, according to the bill's history.

What the records add

A Republican sponsor. The prime sponsor is Sen. Frank Farry, a Bucks County Republican. The bill page lists 16 co-sponsors: 12 Democrats and four Republicans, Sens. Elder Vogel, Camera Bartolotta, Tracy Pennycuick and Joe Picozzi.

The Senate split Republicans almost in half. The Senate passed the bill 37-13 on June 10. All 23 Democrats voted yes. Republicans split 14 yes and 13 no. The Republican yes votes included Majority Leader Joe Pittman and Sen. Kim Ward. The 13 no votes were all Republicans, among them Sens. Doug Mastriano, Jarrett Coleman and Kristin Phillips-Hill.

In the House, 25 Republicans voted yes. The House passed it 128-75 on Oct. 19. All 103 Democrats voted yes. Republicans voted 75 no and 25 yes. Besides the four members the group named, the Republican yes votes were:

Eric Davanzo, Jonathan Fritz, Joe Hogan, Joshua Kail, Joe Kerwin, Roman Kozak, Andrew Kuzma, Shelby Labs, Abby Major, Kristin Marcell, Thomas Mehaffie, Natalie Mihalek, Eric Nelson, Timothy J. O'Neal, Jason Ortitay, Brenda Pugh, Jack Rader, Alec Ryncavage, Kathleen Tomlinson, Dane Watro and Craig Williams.

The Inquirer did not report whether the group has taken any action involving those other members.

Committee votes were close. The House Labor and Industry Committee sent the bill to the floor on a 14-12 vote on Oct. 5, and the House Appropriations Committee re-reported it 27-10 on Oct. 19, according to the bill's vote list. On Oct. 7, two amendments offered on the House floor failed by identical 81-122 votes.

Four months in a House committee. After the Senate vote, the bill was referred to the House Labor and Industry Committee on June 12 and was not reported out until Oct. 5, 115 days later. From there it took 17 days to reach the governor.

What happens next

The law is on the books regardless of what happens on Nov. 3. Democrats hope to flip the Emrick and Gaydos seats, the Inquirer reported, citing Spotlight PA, and all four Republicans face challengers. A Republican strategist told the paper that losing volunteer support "helps chip away at the base."

Every House seat and half of the Senate are on the ballot. Our earlier look at the state Senate races lists how targeted senators voted on other bills this session.