Primary 2026: 2 compete for GOP nod in 48th Senatorial District

Republican voters in the 48th Senatorial District will have a choice to make this spring.

Lebanon County horse farmer Clovis Crane is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Chris Gebhard. The winner of the race will run unopposed in the general election.

The district includes northern and western Berks County as well as parts of northern Lancaster County and all of Lebanon County.

State senators serve a four-year term and receive an annual salary of $113,591.

We asked the candidates to respond to two questions:

Chris Gebhard

Residence: Lebanon County.

Age: 52.

Background: Gebhard was first elected to the post in a 2021 special election following the death of Sen. Dave Arnold. He owns Hoaster Gebhard & Company, an insurance and risk management firm in Lebanon. He has also served on numerous community organizations.

Website: gebhardforsenate.com

Why should voters elect you and not your opponent?

I am a lifelong Republican and a strong supporter of President Trump and his America First agenda. I have consistently stood with our party’s values and fought to advance them.

In contrast, my opponent was never a registered Republican until just weeks before announcing his candidacy. Prior to that, he spent his entire life outside our party and has never even voted in one election as a Republican.

Protecting life is one of my highest priorities. I am proud to have earned a 100% rating and the endorsement of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, reflecting my unwavering commitment to defending the unborn.

My opponent, on the other hand, has openly stated that he has been “pro-choice his entire life” and has had his pro-life rating rescinded by the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.

Choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term — name it and describe what you want to accomplish.

I will continue my mission to protect our children from harmful, woke ideologies. This includes ensuring that girls’ sports remain fair by preventing biological males from competing, stopping taxpayer funding for health care providers that perform gender-transition procedures on minors, and strengthening parental rights in our schools so families, not bureaucrats, have the final say in their children’s education.

Clovis Crane

Residence: Lebanon County.

Age: 46.

Background: Crane and his wife own a business training thoroughbred horses to compete at the highest levels of the sport, including the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup races. He has also competed as a professional cowboy and jockey.

Website: clovisforpa.com

Why should voters elect you and not your opponent?

I’m running because politicians have failed us for too long. I’ve been blessed to live the American Dream, and I know what it means to work hard, build a life and provide for your family. But that dream is slipping away for too many Pennsylvanians because of rising home costs, runaway government spending and a system built to benefit the well-connected.

My opponent has a very liberal voting record for a Republican and does not represent our district. He rubber-stamped nearly every bloated Democrat budget he had the chance to vote on, helping grow spending from $40 billion to more than $50 billion in just five years. He pushed a massive tax hike on small businesses and is pushing data centers onto our farmland.

I’m running to be the conservative choice. I’ll fight to eliminate property taxes, stand up to the woke agenda, defend our farmland and fight the “go along to get along” crowd in Harrisburg. It’s time for real conservative leadership.

Choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term — name it and describe what you want to accomplish.

My top priority would be eliminating property taxes. There is no reason Pennsylvanians should have to keep paying the government for a home they already own, often over and over again. And it is wrong that senior citizens on fixed incomes can be forced out of their homes because property taxes keep going up.

Senate Bill 962 is the best current proposal because it actually has a plan. But we also need to think bigger and outside the box, including ways to use Pennsylvania’s energy resources to help close the funding gap and lower utility bills at the same time. A low consumption tax tied to increased energy production could do both.

We also have to rein in spending. Republicans talk about that all the time, but too often they vote for more of it. Republicans won the White House in 2024 because of inflation and affordability, and it’s time Harrisburg started acting like it.

© 2026 the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.). Visit readingeagle.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.