Altoona attorney running for Senate

An attorney from Altoona recently announced he is seeking the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania Senate seat currently held by John Eichelberger Jr.

Dan Kiss formally announced his candidacy in 30th District — which includes Greencastle and Antrim Township — during an event at the American Legion Hall in Hollidaysburg. Eichelberger is running for the U.S. House of Representatives Ninth District seat of Bill Shuster, who is not seeking re-election.

Kiss said he has passionately represented central Pennsylvanians over the course of the past 10 years first as a child sexual abuse prosecutor for the Blair County District Attorney’s Office and in private practice.

“My experience as a trial attorney has prepared me to take on the hard battles in Harrisburg," said Kiss, 36, who is married and has a 19-month-old son. "I know the law and I work with people every day in our community so I will not need to ‘get up to speed’ but will be ready on Day 1 to fight for our values and beliefs to make central Pennsylvania thrive once more.”

Pennsylvania's 30th District covers western Franklin County, including the boroughs of Greencastle and Mercersburg and Antrim, Fannett, Metal, Montgomery, Peters, St. Thomas and Warren townships, as well as all of Blair and Fulton counties and parts of Huntingdon and Cumberland counties.

Also running for the seat are:

• Rep. Judy Ward of Blair County, Republican
• Emily Best of McConnellsburg, Democrat

The primary election is May 15. The deadline to file paperwork to get on the ballot is March 6.