Attack ads in key Pa. Senate race draw on Malone’s old blog posts, D&D fan fiction
Attack ads in a key Pennsylvania Senate race are targeting incumbent Democrat James Malone, drawing on his old blog posts and fan fiction. Malone's campaign, in turn, criticizes his opponent, state Rep. Tom Jones, for his 'no' votes on bills that would regulate data centers regarding water and energy use and require them to pay for electricity transmission network upgrades.
The November general election in Pennsylvania's 36th District, covering Lancaster County, is seeing Republicans launch attack ads against incumbent Democrat Sen. James Malone. The ads claim Malone disrespects women, mocks Christian values, and is an outsider to the county, leveraging his old blog posts and Dungeons & Dragons fan fiction from 2023.
Malone, a former East Petersburg mayor, flipped the heavily Republican district in a 2025 special election, becoming the first Democrat from Lancaster County elected to the state Senate since the 19th century. He is now defending his seat against state Rep. Tom Jones in a race crucial for Democrats' hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority. While Jones's campaign highlights Malone's writings as questions of 'judgment, character and the values,' Malone's campaign manager Jake Dupont confirmed the authorship of the fan fiction but focused on Malone’s legislative record of 'delivering on affordability, police funding and delivering tax relief for working families'.
Malone's campaign has run TV ads criticizing Jones's voting record as the 98th House District representative since 2023. Specifically, Malone has attacked Jones for his 'no' votes on bills that aimed to regulate data centers by imposing water and energy use restrictions and requiring developers to fund upgrades to electricity transmission networks. Neither candidate agreed to be interviewed for the story.