Katie Muth

Muth was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, she defeated incumbent Republican John Rafferty - who had represented the 44th District since 2003 - by a margin of 62,692 to 57,943 (52% to 48%). Her victory was part of the "blue wave" that increased Democratic and female representation in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Congressional delegation.

Muth sits on the following committees in the Senate:[2]

• Finance
• Rules and Executive Nominations
• Environmental Resources and Energy
• State Government
• Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness –- Minority Chair

Muth supports initiatives such as rebate programs to decrease property taxes, along with ending increasing property taxes. She supports increasing taxes for corporations, with an emphasis on the fossil fuel industry. She supports state-sponsored healthcare for all.[3]

During a budget debate in June of 2019, Senator Muth took the floor and read a letter from a disabled constituent who relies on the PA General Assistance Program. Throughout her reading, Republican Majority Leader Jake Corman of Bellefonte loudly raised a point of order which was not recognized by the president (Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman). The Republican-controlled Senate voted against renewing the program 26–24.[4]

On November 8, 2019 Muth tweeted her official endorsement of Senator Elizabeth Warren in her bid for President.[5]

Muth made headlines when she sued Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system amid a federal investigation into aspects of the agency’s undertakings, saying agency officials have refused to share documents with her, even though she is a board member. Muth’s lawsuit said board members are being asked to vote on approximately $1 billion in investments at Thursday’s meeting, “yet attempts to obtain information, data and documents that in her view could better inform” those decisions were rejected. The Associated Press has previously reported that subpoenas from federal investigators center on the pension system's purchases of parcels of land in downtown Harrisburg and its calculations about the fund's investment performance that help determine the balance of payments into the system by taxpayers and school employees.[6] On the matter, Senator Muth said "I demand transparency, especially when it comes to the use of public money.  When we are talking about allocating investments on such a grand scale, it is of the utmost importance that we are absolutely crystal clear on how decisions are being made.  Sadly, my experience so far has been beyond disappointing and I am deeply worried about why PSERS staff and counsel would want to leave board members without the necessary information we need to uphold our fiduciary duty.”[7]

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Muth received calls from families of veterans at the Southeastern Veterans Medical Center in Spring City, PA citing lack of transparency and communication from the administration of the state-run veterans home regarding the health status of their loved ones. Residents and their family members had no idea how many people were dying at the four-story veterans’ home near the Schuylkill River when the Philadelphia Inquirer broke a story on April 25. The news was stunning: 26 residents had died in what had clearly become one of the deadliest coronavirus outbreaks in the state. Muth, a vocal critic of the facility's response to the pandemic, last week urged state officials to remove top officials at the home, Blackwood and Mullane. “It’s their inability to manage a staff to provide a high level of patient care,” Muth said. “They need to replace the management and anybody that doesn’t want to be there to provide care to these veterans. There are some people who have been bullied into enabling their behavior.”[8]