In the 187rd District, incumbent Gary Day, a Republican, is facing an election day challenge from Joseph Haas, a Democrat, who defeated William Bispels in the primary.

Day is running for a third term.

First elected in 2008 with 52 percent of the vote against opponent John Ritter, Day garnered 70 percent of the vote in 2010 against Richard Stine.

Day told The Press why he was seeking re-election.

"I'm running for office to make sure Pennsylvania is guided with the values of people of the 187th District," Day said. "The people in this district tell me what's important to them and I enjoy making sure our voice is heard."

Day says experience is the main factor that qualifies him and makes him productive in Harrisburg.

"My re-election is about experience," Day said. "While still relying on my education in economics, five years in city government, and over 11 years in the private sector, my experience as the state Representative is crucial to continuing to move Pennsylvania in the right direction."

Day sees the most important issues facing the state as "spending, jobs and a transportation plan."

"Being part of the legislative body, you must move a majority of the chamber to address these major issues," Day, a member of the current House majority, noted. "Getting spending aligned with our revenue, getting Pennsylvanians to work and agreeing on a transportation plan are three main issues that I believe will move Pennsylvania in the direction that the people of the 187th district have been telling me to take us."

Haas, director of User Experience for Grassroots Unwired Inc., a Pennsylvania-based digital technology company, is a summa cum laude graduate of Kutztown University.

He was asked why he is running for office.

"Every Pennsylvanian knows that the last four years have been among the most difficult economic periods in our state's history," Haas told The Press. "When Governor Corbett and the current legislature was elected in 2010, many of us hoped fiscal sanity would be restored and that sensible economic policies would lead to Pennsylvania's return to prosperity.

"Instead, we've seen massive cuts to public education and transportation funding, significant property tax increases, and a state government that has not been responsive to the challenges that we face or the specific needs of its constit-uents..."

Haas said he was running for office "to ensure that young Pennsylvanians have the same opportunities he did, to provide support to parents who now must choose between putting food on the table or financing their children's educations, to fight for senior citizens who are facing crushing property tax hikes and because the 187th District needs a Representative who is accountable, one who understands what it means to struggle, and knows that public service transcends partisan loyalties.

Hass questioned whether his opponent's experience in Allentown government translated to the 187th District and took issue with those who suggest, as Hass said, "that somehow, at 31, I cannot grasp what it means to serve and be accountable to my friends and neighbors in this district.

Haas says his priorities are those dealing with the economy.

"The property tax and public education issues go hand-in-hand," he noted.

He takes issue with House Bill 1776, the so-called "Property Tax Independence Act."

He says it will exempt business from funding the schools, raise personal income tax and sales tax, and remove many of the tax exemptions in place for essential purchases."

"Finally, the bill will take away the authority of our local school boards to make their own funding decisions, giving that power to Harrisburg instead, where each school district's funding level will be dictated on a yearly basis by members of our state legislature," he claims. "We can restore public education funding to its pre-Corbett levels and pay for it by enacting an extraction tax on the companies that drill for natural gas in our state.

"The highest extraction taxes in the country exist in some of our most conservative states Texas, Alaska, Wyoming, and Oklahoma. This is yet another example of where blind partisanship fails to account for the nature of reality.

"The Republican leadership in those states had the brilliant idea that all of their residents should share in the benefits of their natural resources, while our leadership has consistently placed the profit margins of the energy companies ahead of the interests of Pennsylvanians."

Haas says natural gas drilling will play an important role in Pennsylvania's economy for the next 50 years.

"I will fight to ensure that the tax revenue that we collect from it is used prudently to improve the lives of every Pennsylvanian," Haas says.

The 187th District in Lehigh County includes the Townships of Heidelberg, Lowhill, Lynn, North Whitehall, Weisenberg, Upper Macungie (districts 1, 2, 3, 5) and parts of Berks County.

In the 183rd Legislative District, incumbent Democrat state Rep. Julie Harhart once again has no Republican opposition.

She provided The Press with the following comment:

"This coming session, I will continue to focus on jobs, economic development and taxes. I believe we must keep state government on a stable sound fiscal ground. I am committed to reducing spending where feasible, but recognize the need for sufficient funding to maintain core government functions," Harhart wrote via email. "Developing a comprehensive workforce plan, cutting unnecessary red tape and improving our business tax structure will help Pennsylvania grow, prosper and compete with neighboring states.

"As chairman of the House Professional Licensure committee, I will work closely with my colleagues and job creators to insure our workforce is properly trained, educated and licensed when appropriate."