DV Journal

What a difference a tweet makes.

Less than a month before the general election, the race for the state Senate seat in Northeast Philadelphia, now held by Sen. Jimmy Dillon (D-Philadelphia), has gone from leaning Democratic to a toss-up, according to an evaluation by CN Analysis.

Republican Joe Picozzi told DVJournal he’s not surprised.

“Our momentum is incredible,” said Picozzi, 29. “People here in Northeast Philly are gunning for change. They’re drawn to a young, energetic, and vibrant campaign that’s full of hope.”

Picozzi said he and his campaign volunteers have knocked on “tens of thousands” of doors. “We’re getting out our message. People here are really craving change.”

Dillon, 45, has been mocked by critics as the “accidental senator,” placed on the ballot by Democratic Party insiders only when his better-known brother failed to meet the ethics requirements to run for the seat.

Dillon has faced tough questions during this campaign about social media posts from a decade ago using problematic language under his @Hoops24_7 Twitter handle. The posts included the “N” word and a gay slur. Dillon also had an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to pay traffic violation penalties in New Jersey.

“Jimmy Dillon has once again demonstrated that he doesn’t have the character nor temperament to be a leader in Harrisburg, and today’s allegation added another twist to his disturbing past,” said RSLC Deputy Communications Director Mason Di Palma. “While the latest allegation is shocking, it is not surprising, and while Jimmy Dillion looks to blame everyone but himself, his colleagues have remained silent, which speaks to their hypocrisies. If Democrats can’t condemn one of their colleagues for alleged heinous actions like these, how can we trust their judgment to lead in Harrisburg?”

Picozzi grew up in Somerton and is an Eagle Scout who Councilman Brian O’Neill appointed to serve on the Philadelphia Youth Commission. He had worked for the Manhattan Institute, a think tank. After graduating from Holy Ghost prep, he studied government at Georgetown University and worked for the U.S. House of Representatives in public policy. If elected, Picozzi sees crime and education reform as two issues he’d tackle.

Dillon became a state senator in 2022. He won a special election after the sitting Democratic senator was appointed to the bench. Dillon’s brother, Shawn, was going to fill the vacancy but was bumped from the ballot after he failed to file documents required under the state’s ethics laws. Party insiders then chose Dillon to replace his brother.

Dillon played basketball for Notre Dame and runs Hoops 24-7 Basketball Academy, a chain of 27 gyms.

Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) said, “The people Jimmy Dillon know what he’s worked on, know that his values are much greater than those represented in those tweets.” Hughes is the chair of the Pennsylvania SDCC.

Mark Nevins, a political advisor to the Dillon campaign, came out swinging.

“Anyone who knows Northeast Philly knows it’s always a battle. That’s no surprise,” said Nevins. “But voters have a pretty clear choice. Jimmy Dillon, who’s the only Democrat in the Senate to support impeaching Larry Krasner, or Joe Picozzi, who is part of the wacko wing of the Republican Party and is backed by the same crackpots who want to take away women’s basic rights. That’s not going to go well for Picozzi. He’s just too extreme for the district.”

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On April 23, Republicans in the 17th State Senate district, including parts of Montgomery and Delaware Counties, voted to nominate Greg Harris as the Republican nominee for November. The district is currently represented by Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D-Norristown).

Harris received more than 2,200 write-in votes from Republican voters across the district.

Harris told DVJournal that friends and family suggested that he run for office and he decided to “throw his hat in.”

When he was campaigning, Harris talked with local residents. He found that people in Norristown were concerned with crime and homelessness. Residents were worried about crime “throughout my travels,” he said.

Authorities “are trying to gaslight us and make it seem like it’s not as high, that it’s gone down,” said Harris. “Well, tell that to the victims. People who have been killed by violence, by guns, people out here who are not supposed to have them. They’re the ones doing the shooting.”

Harris supports the $3 billion tax cut bill that the state Senate passed.

If elected, he’d like to help bring more businesses and jobs into the Delaware Valley. He said many companies are moving from high-tax states like New York and New Jersey to southern states, and Harris would like to bring those businesses to southeastern Pennsylvania.

If companies relocate here, “it will be a lot cheaper for their bottom lines,” he said.

“Hopefully, that will provide good-paying jobs,” said Harris. “That will offset higher prices [caused by inflation].”

Harris is currently employed as an arbitrator with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He’s worked for Bank of America and Capital One.  Before joining the financial industry, Harris served more than eight years in the U.S. Navy.

“I served on a destroyer for five years, a guided missile destroyer,” he said. “I deployed twice. Once to the Mediterranean and another time to the Persian Gulf, after 9/11.”

“It was hot,” he said of the Middle East. “We managed to get through it, and everyone came home alive and in one piece. So that’s something we could all be thankful for.”

Harris has an adult daughter and three grandchildren who live in Philadelphia.

“That’s been an experience, being a grandfather,” said Harris, a Norristown resident.

Harris noted that the former Norristown Area School Board president Schae Ashe had been employed by Cappelletti before a series of articles in the Delaware Valley Journal exposed his inappropriate social media messages to teenage girls. Cappelletti suspended Ashe from that job after the allegations came to light.

Harris is now the 21st state Senate candidate that the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Campaign Committee will support in its efforts to help hold and grow the Republican Senate majority.

“We are excited to have Greg Harris throw his hat in the ring to be our Republican nominee in the 17th District,” said SRCC Communications Director Michael Straw. “Senator Cappelletti is one of the most radical members of the Senate Democrat caucus. She’s stood against legislation that would crack down on crime, supported taxes on utility bills, and voted ‘no’ on a law that increased penalties on repeat DUI offenders. Greg Harris will instead campaign on bringing commonsense solutions to the 17th District.”

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