The FFRF Action Fund is pleased to endorse Fern Leard in her bid for the Pennsylvania House’s District 120.
District 120 holds a Republican-leaning seat, but Leard described the effort to flip the district to FFRF Action Fund as a “chip-away” endeavor, increasing blue votes with each election. Efforts to flip District 120’s seat have been a years-long process. Leard first ran for the seat in 2022 as a write-in candidate and again in 2024, working to build name recognition in the district. The district is roughly evenly split between registered Democrats and Republicans, and Leard is looking to increase Democratic voter turnout. The congressional district race in which District 120 is nestled is garnering national attention and will likely draw voters to the polls in November.
Leard has extensive political experience, fighting for fair health care policy before Congress, which helped lead to the passage of the bipartisan Lymphedema Treatment Act. In District 120, Leard has spent years politically building and has worked in local races to successfully flip seats blue on both the county board and various school boards. Leard is facing freshman Republican incumbent Brenda Pugh in November, who is devoutly Christian and is especially pro-life.
Leard is openly agnostic and committed to keeping religion out of government. She has worked alongside people from all backgrounds and believes everyone deserves an equal voice in their government. She pledges to protect the right to practice any faith just as strongly as she will protect someone’s right not to practice a faith. Leard will fight to keep religion out of Pennsylvania’s public schools, protect reproductive freedom and prevent public money from being misused to promote one religion or set of beliefs.
The FFRF Action Fund joins the Center for Freethought and Equality, PA Working Families Party, PA State Education Association, VoteMama PAC, Conservation Voters of PA and many others in endorsing Leard.