Senator Kim Ward is the Senate President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate and first woman in Pennsylvania Legislature history to serve as President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader.
In 2008, Ward won the Pennsylvania 39th Senatorial District seat and was the first woman to hold that seat. She was re-elected in 2012, 2016 and 2020. Ward’s no-nonsense style made her a natural choice for leadership, and she was appointed Majority Caucus Administrator during the 2019-2020 legislative session. Earning the respect of her colleagues, Ward advanced her leadership position when she was elected to serve as the Senate Majority Leader for the 2021-2022 legislative session.
Throughout her time in the Senate, Ward has been a champion for Pennsylvanians and their communities first. Having served as a Westmoreland County Commissioner and chairwoman of the Hempfield Township Board of Supervisors, Ward brings her local government experience and practical knowledge to the table when making legislative and budgetary decisions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ward worked diligently to protect the rights of people and their businesses from government overreach. Defending the rights of Pennsylvanians, Ward led efforts to advance a constitutional amendment which instituted the largest transfer of executive power since President Herbert Hoover. Additionally, Ward advance legislation that set best practices in the areas of regulatory reform including hospital funding – making some health care and business waivers permanent – while also ensuring the fiscal solvency of the state.
Helping the Commonwealth transition out of crisis and onto a path of prosperity, Ward also worked to ensure Pennsylvania was positioned to quickly recover economically from the pandemic. Ward’s efforts continue to focus on unleashing Pennsylvania’s energy potential, helping businesses to thrive and encouraging large corporations to stay or relocate to Pennsylvania while creating good-paying jobs. Ward’s efforts have resulted in reducing the Corporate Net Income Tax while helping to provide more certainty for businesses through regulatory reform and tax code adjustments for small and medium-sized businesses.
A trailblazer and history maker, Ward’s legislative accomplishments have not only helped Pennsylvanians, but also ranked Pennsylvania as a leader among states. As a breast cancer survivor, Ward saw gaps in the system she knew could be fixed. Transferring experience into action, Ward sponsored first of its kind in the nation legislation that eliminates all costs associated (including co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance) with breast MRIs, breast ultrasounds and BRCA-related genetic testing and counseling for Pennsylvanians at high risk insured under state law. The legislation passed the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law as Act 1 in May of 2023. This landmark law and will save lives and help many families throughout Pennsylvania.
An advocate for the welfare of children and youth, Ward led efforts to enact legislation reforming Pennsylvania’s child abuse laws and providing greater protections for children against abuse. Most recently, Ward championed legislation to expand Megan’s Law to include the sex trafficking of minors to the sex offender registry, offering one more resource to reduce such heinous acts – also another first in the nation.
Ward is a member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Hempfield Township, the Italian Sons and Daughters of America and the NRA. Ward is a native southwestern Pennsylvania resident who grew up in Meadowlands, Washington County. She attended The Community College of Allegheny County Respiratory Therapy program, the University of Pittsburgh and Middle Tennessee State University.
Before entering government, Ward worked as a board-certified respiratory therapist at Allegheny General Hospital, Vanderbilt University Hospital and Hershey Medical Center.
She and her husband, Dr. Thomas Ward, have three sons: Tom, Michael and Matthew. They also have eight beautiful “grand angels,” Josie Jane, Thomas, George, Roman, Kennedy, Beau, Noah, and Jacob.