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Democrat · Pennsylvania Senate, district 43

Serving since May 13, 1996PA 2025–26 session

Portrait of Jay Costa, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
$1.8M
in itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle, in the top 5% of State Senate Democrats

The median for State Senate Democrats is $55.5K. Ranks 7th of 746, where 1st raised the most. 264 itemized donors.

Itemized contributions reported to the state in the 2026 cycle, ranked among State Senate Democrats. State filings leave small gifts out, and totals depend on whether the seat is up this cycle.

At a glance

6 measures against State Senate Democrats. The policy areas Costa talks about and legislates on agree at 0.64 on a 0–1 scale, in the top quarter of State Senate Democrats. 83% of Costa’s itemized money in the 2026 cycle came from Pennsylvania, in the bottom quarter of State Senate Democrats.

The measures on which Costa sits furthest from the middle of State Senate Democrats, each against the same group, with the CSIP score when there is one. Every number is explained in its own section below.

Itemized, 2026

$1.8M

State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K · ranks 7th of 746

Talk-to-bills agreement

0.64

State Senate Democrats average 0.56 · ranks 45th of 228

From Pennsylvania, 2026

83%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 542nd of 714 State Senate Democrats

Attendance

100%

Pennsylvania Senate average 98.9% · ranks 14th of 50 · 502 roll calls

Policy discussion

57%

State Senate Democrats average 43% · ranks 95th of 329

CSIP ideology

−0.59

Left of 0, the centre of the scale · ± 0.03

Peer group: State Senate Democrats. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; the thick bar is Costa, the thin grey bar the peer average. The headline is the measure on which Costa is most unusual among peers (Methods, §08).

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Costa says

Costa attacks opponents personally about as often as the median State Senate Democrat. Personal attacks in 0.7% of 1,771 statements, against 2.4% for the average State Senate Democrat; 140th of 329.

An AI model reads each of Costa’s 1,771 statements in the PA 2025–26 session (1,771 posts on X) and marks the kinds of statement it contains: a personal attack, criticism of a policy, discussion of policy, bipartisanship, credit claiming, and extreme labels. A statement can carry several. Every rate is compared with the average for State Senate Democrats and ranked among them.

Kinds of statement

Share of statements carrying each label, the PA 2025–26 session

0%80%
Costa
Peers
Rank
Policy discussion1,009 statements
57%
43%
95th of 329
Credit claiming332 statements
19%
16%
128th of 329
Policy criticism181 statements
10%
10%
134th of 329
Bipartisanship67 statements
4%
3%
111th of 329
Personal attacks12 statements
1%
2%
140th of 329
Show the data
Costa's share of statements in each category against the State Senate Democrats average.
RowCostaPeers
Policy discussion57%43%
Credit claiming19%16%
Policy criticism10%10%
Bipartisanship4%3%
Personal attacks1%2%
1,771

statements classified

1,771 posts on X.

posts on X: 1,771 (100.0%)posts on X 1,771
Show the data
Costa's statements by source
PartValue
posts on X1,771
How to read the bars

The thick bar is Costa; the thin grey bar is the average State Senate Democrats. A longer thick bar means Costa does this more than peers. Rank 1 is the highest rate in the group.

Extreme labels

Costa used extreme labels in 0.1% of statements, 13% of the peer average. 2 statements, most often aimed at rightwing; peers 0.8%.

  1. “far right”1

Who gets the labels

Targets named alongside an extreme label, by number of statements

  1. rightwing1
What an extreme label is

Calls a politician, a party or a policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who or what the label was aimed at. The lists show the five most used labels and targets; the toggle shows the rest.

Month by month

Share of statements per month, the PA 2025–26 session

Statements2025-01: 622025-02: 972025-03: 902025-04: 1022025-05: 1022025-06: 732025-07: 672025-08: 762025-09: 762025-10: 1232025-11: 722025-12: 622026-01: 592026-02: 822026-03: 762026-04: 792026-05: 812026-06: 902026-07: 1012026-08: 752026-09: 672026-10: 59peak 123 · Oct ’25Personal attackspeak 3.4% · Oct ’26 · latest 3.4%Personal attacks, 2025-01: 1.6% of 62Personal attacks, 2025-02: 0.0% of 97Personal attacks, 2025-03: 0.0% of 90Personal attacks, 2025-04: 0.0% of 102Personal attacks, 2025-05: 2.0% of 102Personal attacks, 2025-06: 0.0% of 73Personal attacks, 2025-07: 1.5% of 67Personal attacks, 2025-08: 0.0% of 76Personal attacks, 2025-09: 0.0% of 76Personal attacks, 2025-10: 0.0% of 123Personal attacks, 2025-11: 0.0% of 72Personal attacks, 2025-12: 0.0% of 62Personal attacks, 2026-01: 0.0% of 59Personal attacks, 2026-02: 0.0% of 82Personal attacks, 2026-03: 0.0% of 76Personal attacks, 2026-04: 0.0% of 79Personal attacks, 2026-05: 2.5% of 81Personal attacks, 2026-06: 2.2% of 90Personal attacks, 2026-07: 1.0% of 101Personal attacks, 2026-08: 0.0% of 75Personal attacks, 2026-09: 1.5% of 67Personal attacks, 2026-10: 3.4% of 59Policy criticismpeak 27.6% · Aug ’25 · latest 1.7%Policy criticism, 2025-01: 4.8% of 62Policy criticism, 2025-02: 6.2% of 97Policy criticism, 2025-03: 13.3% of 90Policy criticism, 2025-04: 11.8% of 102Policy criticism, 2025-05: 11.8% of 102Policy criticism, 2025-06: 19.2% of 73Policy criticism, 2025-07: 14.9% of 67Policy criticism, 2025-08: 27.6% of 76Policy criticism, 2025-09: 9.2% of 76Policy criticism, 2025-10: 25.2% of 123Policy criticism, 2025-11: 4.2% of 72Policy criticism, 2025-12: 0.0% of 62Policy criticism, 2026-01: 0.0% of 59Policy criticism, 2026-02: 8.5% of 82Policy criticism, 2026-03: 10.5% of 76Policy criticism, 2026-04: 3.8% of 79Policy criticism, 2026-05: 3.7% of 81Policy criticism, 2026-06: 16.7% of 90Policy criticism, 2026-07: 10.9% of 101Policy criticism, 2026-08: 1.3% of 75Policy criticism, 2026-09: 1.5% of 67Policy criticism, 2026-10: 1.7% of 59Policy discussionpeak 74.6% · Oct ’26 · latest 74.6%Policy discussion, 2025-01: 37.1% of 62Policy discussion, 2025-02: 56.7% of 97Policy discussion, 2025-03: 53.3% of 90Policy discussion, 2025-04: 52.9% of 102Policy discussion, 2025-05: 52.0% of 102Policy discussion, 2025-06: 63.0% of 73Policy discussion, 2025-07: 70.2% of 67Policy discussion, 2025-08: 63.2% of 76Policy discussion, 2025-09: 43.4% of 76Policy discussion, 2025-10: 61.0% of 123Policy discussion, 2025-11: 43.1% of 72Policy discussion, 2025-12: 54.8% of 62Policy discussion, 2026-01: 66.1% of 59Policy discussion, 2026-02: 47.6% of 82Policy discussion, 2026-03: 48.7% of 76Policy discussion, 2026-04: 57.0% of 79Policy discussion, 2026-05: 58.0% of 81Policy discussion, 2026-06: 55.6% of 90Policy discussion, 2026-07: 71.3% of 101Policy discussion, 2026-08: 69.3% of 75Policy discussion, 2026-09: 55.2% of 67Policy discussion, 2026-10: 74.6% of 59Bipartisanshippeak 12.3% · Jun ’25 · latest 3.4%Bipartisanship, 2025-01: 1.6% of 62Bipartisanship, 2025-02: 2.1% of 97Bipartisanship, 2025-03: 1.1% of 90Bipartisanship, 2025-04: 6.9% of 102Bipartisanship, 2025-05: 4.9% of 102Bipartisanship, 2025-06: 12.3% of 73Bipartisanship, 2025-07: 4.5% of 67Bipartisanship, 2025-08: 5.3% of 76Bipartisanship, 2025-09: 4.0% of 76Bipartisanship, 2025-10: 11.4% of 123Bipartisanship, 2025-11: 1.4% of 72Bipartisanship, 2025-12: 0.0% of 62Bipartisanship, 2026-01: 0.0% of 59Bipartisanship, 2026-02: 2.4% of 82Bipartisanship, 2026-03: 1.3% of 76Bipartisanship, 2026-04: 1.3% of 79Bipartisanship, 2026-05: 4.9% of 81Bipartisanship, 2026-06: 6.7% of 90Bipartisanship, 2026-07: 1.0% of 101Bipartisanship, 2026-08: 0.0% of 75Bipartisanship, 2026-09: 0.0% of 67Bipartisanship, 2026-10: 3.4% of 59Credit claimingpeak 34.6% · Jul ’26 · latest 15.3%Credit claiming, 2025-01: 24.2% of 62Credit claiming, 2025-02: 19.6% of 97Credit claiming, 2025-03: 13.3% of 90Credit claiming, 2025-04: 16.7% of 102Credit claiming, 2025-05: 20.6% of 102Credit claiming, 2025-06: 20.5% of 73Credit claiming, 2025-07: 14.9% of 67Credit claiming, 2025-08: 13.2% of 76Credit claiming, 2025-09: 10.5% of 76Credit claiming, 2025-10: 14.6% of 123Credit claiming, 2025-11: 33.3% of 72Credit claiming, 2025-12: 25.8% of 62Credit claiming, 2026-01: 20.3% of 59Credit claiming, 2026-02: 14.6% of 82Credit claiming, 2026-03: 21.1% of 76Credit claiming, 2026-04: 12.7% of 79Credit claiming, 2026-05: 16.1% of 81Credit claiming, 2026-06: 16.7% of 90Credit claiming, 2026-07: 34.6% of 101Credit claiming, 2026-08: 24.0% of 75Credit claiming, 2026-09: 10.4% of 67Credit claiming, 2026-10: 15.3% of 59Extreme labelspeak 1.4% · Nov ’25 · latest 0.0%Extreme labels, 2025-01: 0.0% of 62Extreme labels, 2025-02: 0.0% of 97Extreme labels, 2025-03: 0.0% of 90Extreme labels, 2025-04: 1.0% of 102Extreme labels, 2025-05: 0.0% of 102Extreme labels, 2025-06: 0.0% of 73Extreme labels, 2025-07: 0.0% of 67Extreme labels, 2025-08: 0.0% of 76Extreme labels, 2025-09: 0.0% of 76Extreme labels, 2025-10: 0.0% of 123Extreme labels, 2025-11: 1.4% of 72Extreme labels, 2025-12: 0.0% of 62Extreme labels, 2026-01: 0.0% of 59Extreme labels, 2026-02: 0.0% of 82Extreme labels, 2026-03: 0.0% of 76Extreme labels, 2026-04: 0.0% of 79Extreme labels, 2026-05: 0.0% of 81Extreme labels, 2026-06: 0.0% of 90Extreme labels, 2026-07: 0.0% of 101Extreme labels, 2026-08: 0.0% of 75Extreme labels, 2026-09: 0.0% of 67Extreme labels, 2026-10: 0.0% of 59Jan ’25Jul ’25Jan ’26Jul ’26Oct ’26
Show the data
Monthly rates for Costa, each row shaded against its own peak, with statement volume. Months with fewer than 10 statements are left blank.
ColumnStatementsPersonal attacksPolicy criticismPolicy discussionBipartisanshipCredit claimingExtreme labels
Jan ’25621.6%4.8%37.1%1.6%24.2%0.0%
Feb ’25970.0%6.2%56.7%2.1%19.6%0.0%
Mar ’25900.0%13.3%53.3%1.1%13.3%0.0%
Apr ’251020.0%11.8%52.9%6.9%16.7%1.0%
May ’251022.0%11.8%52.0%4.9%20.6%0.0%
Jun ’25730.0%19.2%63.0%12.3%20.5%0.0%
Jul ’25671.5%14.9%70.2%4.5%14.9%0.0%
Aug ’25760.0%27.6%63.2%5.3%13.2%0.0%
Sep ’25760.0%9.2%43.4%4.0%10.5%0.0%
Oct ’251230.0%25.2%61.0%11.4%14.6%0.0%
Nov ’25720.0%4.2%43.1%1.4%33.3%1.4%
Dec ’25620.0%0.0%54.8%0.0%25.8%0.0%
Jan ’26590.0%0.0%66.1%0.0%20.3%0.0%
Feb ’26820.0%8.5%47.6%2.4%14.6%0.0%
Mar ’26760.0%10.5%48.7%1.3%21.1%0.0%
Apr ’26790.0%3.8%57.0%1.3%12.7%0.0%
May ’26812.5%3.7%58.0%4.9%16.1%0.0%
Jun ’26902.2%16.7%55.6%6.7%16.7%0.0%
Jul ’261011.0%10.9%71.3%1.0%34.6%0.0%
Aug ’26750.0%1.3%69.3%0.0%24.0%0.0%
Sep ’26671.5%1.5%55.2%0.0%10.4%0.0%
Oct ’26593.4%1.7%74.6%3.4%15.3%0.0%
How to read the strips

Each row is one kind of statement; each cell is a month, shaded against that row’s own peak (darker = closer to the peak), with the peak and the latest value written at the right. The top row counts statements. The strip covers every month of the PA 2025–26 session, the same span as the rates above, including months with no statements. A month with fewer than 10 statements is hatched, not shaded: one or two posts would swing its rate to 0% or 100%.

In Costa’s words

Real statements from the classifier’s example set, with the labels it assigned

Policy discussion

The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

Oct 26, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · policy discussion; Agriculture and Food · Source

Personal attacks

The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

Oct 20, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · personal attacks; policy discussion; Health; target: Donald Trump · Source

Extreme label

The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

Nov 5, 2025 · Posts on X (state legislators) · credit claiming; extreme label “extreme” aimed at rightwing · Source

Examples by category

Up to five recent statements in each category

Category

Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.

  1. Posts on X (state legislators)

    The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

    personal attacks · policy discussion · Health · target: Donald TrumpSource

  2. Posts on X (state legislators)

    The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

    personal attacks · policy discussion · Commerce · Economics and Public Finance · Families · target: TrumpSource

  3. Posts on X (state legislators)

    The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

    personal attacks · policy discussion · Government Operations and Politics · target: Donald TrumpSource

  4. Posts on X (state legislators)

    The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

    personal attacks · policy discussion · Government Operations and Politics · target: TrumpSource

  5. Posts on X (state legislators)

    The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

    personal attacks · target: Donald TrumpSource

All 1,771 statements

Newest first, the PA 2025–26 session

The full feed

Five statements at a time, newest first; filters apply to the statements loaded so far. Export saves the statements that match. Sources: 1,771 posts on X.

Back to topNext: Policy

Policy

Economics and Public Finance is what Costa talks about most: 22% of policy statements, 2.2 times the peer share. Talk and legislation agree at 0.64 on a 0–1 scale (State Senate Democrats average 0.56; 45th of 228).

Each policy statement is tagged by the AI model with one or more of 25 policy areas from the Congressional Research Service list, so the shares say what Costa talks about. The bills Costa sponsors and cosponsors carry the same areas, so the two can be compared.

What Costa talks about

Share of policy statements by area, the PA 2025–26 session

0%35%
Costa
Peers
Economics and Public Finance220 statements
22%
10%
Health171 statements
17%
17%
Transportation and Public Works121 statements
12%
5%
Government Operations and Politics116 statements
12%
14%
Education111 statements
11%
15%
Show the data
Policy areas Costa talks about, as a share of policy statements, against the State Senate Democrats average.
RowCostaPeers
Economics and Public Finance22%10%
Health17%17%
Transportation and Public Works12%5%
Government Operations and Politics12%14%
Education11%15%
How to read the bars

The thick bar is the share of Costa’s policy statements in an area; the thin grey bar is the average share for State Senate Democrats. A statement counts once in each of its areas, so shares can add to more than 100%. The five largest areas are shown; the toggle shows the rest.

Talks about · legislates on

Left: share of statements by policy area. Right: share of bills. Areas in order of their share of statements; both sides run from 0 to 35%. Grey ticks are the State Senate Democrats averages.

Talks aboutLegislates onEconomics and Public FinanceEconomics and Public Finance, talks about: 22% (State Senate Democrats 10%)22%Economics and Public Finance, legislates on: 2% (State Senate Democrats 3%)2%HealthHealth, talks about: 17% (State Senate Democrats 17%)17%Health, legislates on: 16% (State Senate Democrats 15%)16%Transportation and PublicWorksTransportation and Public Works, talks about: 12% (State Senate Democrats 5%)12%Transportation and Public Works, legislates on: 5% (State Senate Democrats 5%)5%Government Operations andPoliticsGovernment Operations and Politics, talks about: 12% (State Senate Democrats 14%)12%Government Operations and Politics, legislates on: 9% (State Senate Democrats 8%)9%EducationEducation, talks about: 11% (State Senate Democrats 15%)11%Education, legislates on: 6% (State Senate Democrats 9%)6%
Show the data
Costa's share of statements against share of bills in each policy area.
AreaTalks aboutState Senate Democrats, talks aboutLegislates onState Senate Democrats, legislates on
Economics and Public Finance22%10%2%3%
Health17%17%16%15%
Transportation and Public Works12%5%5%5%
Government Operations and Politics12%14%9%8%
Education11%15%6%9%
0.64

talk-to-bills agreement, 0 to 1

State Senate Democrats average 0.56. Ranks 45th of 228.

What agreement means, and what it doesn’t

Agreement is 1 minus the distance between the two distributions (Jensen–Shannon): 1 means Costa legislates on exactly the areas Costa talks about, in the same proportions; 0 means no overlap. It does not say whether the bills match the positions in the statements, only the subjects. Bills Costa sponsored count fully, cosponsored bills a quarter. Shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Costa sits at −0.59 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more conservative than 60% of State Senate Democrats. Approximate range −0.62 to −0.56, which understates the uncertainty; from 661 donors and 927 roll calls.

CSIP, the lab’s Common-Space Ideal Point, places every official, federal and state, on one left–right scale, estimated from roll-call votes, who gives money to whom, and the text of statements. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it; 0 is the centre of the scale, not a definition of “moderate”.

−0.59

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range −0.62 to −0.56. From 661 donors and 927 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Costa −0.6State Senate Democrats −0.7Pennsylvania Senate +0.2All State Senate +0.1

The outlined dot is Costa, coloured by its side of 0 (blue left, red right, deeper further out); the bar through it is the approximate range (±1.96 standard errors), which understates the uncertainty; the grey ticks below are the medians of Costa’s groups. 0 is the centre of the scale, not “moderate” by definition.

What this means, and what it doesn’t

The score summarises how an official votes, who funds them and how they talk, relative to everyone else. It does not grade positions as good or bad, and two officials with the same score can differ on any single issue. The ± range is 1.96 standard errors, which understates the uncertainty: scores whose ranges overlap may not differ at all, and even scores whose ranges do not overlap may not differ.

Where Costa sits

Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale

−2.0−1.00.0+1.0+2.0← More liberalMore conservative →State Senate Democratsmedian −0.7Costa −0.6Pennsylvania Senatemedian +0.2All State Senatemedian +0.1
Show the data
Costa's CSIP score of −0.59 placed against State Senate Democrats, Pennsylvania Senate, All State Senate.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Costa
State Senate Democrats825−0.760%
Pennsylvania Senate50+0.230%
All State Senate1909+0.126%
How to read the strips

Every small dot is one official on the same scale, coloured by its own score (blue left of 0, red right of 0, grey at 0, deeper further out) and spread up and down only to keep dots apart; where a group is crowded the dots overlap, and darker patches mean more officials. The large outlined dot is Costa in every row; the rule is each group’s median. The table under the figure gives the share of each group to the left of Costa.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Costa reported $1.8M in the 2026 cycle, 32.4 times the State Senate Democrats’ median of $55.5K. State filings report no small-donation total. 83% of itemized individual money came from Pennsylvania.

Campaign money from state campaign-finance filings, as aggregates only; the lab never shows an individual donor. Campaigns must report by name every person who gives them more than $200 in a cycle (“itemized”); smaller gifts are reported only as one total (“unitemized”), so donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations describe itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift total, so these figures add up itemized contributions only.

Election cycle
$1.8M

itemized in the 2026 cycle

From 264 itemized donors. State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K.

Where the money came from

Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle.

Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)Individuals (itemized): $512.3K (28.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)PACs and other committees: $1.3M (71.5%)
  • Individuals (itemized)28 squares$512.3K
  • PACs and other committees72 squares$1.3M
Show the data
Sources of Costa's money, 2026 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$512.3K28.5%
PACs and other committees$1.3M71.5%
What this means, and what it doesn’t

Totals say how much a campaign took in, not how it was spent, and they rise sharply when a seat is up for election; compare cycles with that in mind.

Receipts by cycle

Itemized contributions, 2020 to 2026. The grey line is the State Senate Democrats’ median for 2026.

2020 cycle: $2.2M$2.2M20202022 cycle: $1.7M$1.7M20222024 cycle: $2.1M$2.1M20242026 cycle: $1.8M$1.8M2026State Senate Democrats median $55.5K
Show the data
Costa's receipts by cycle against the 2026 State Senate Democrats median.
ItemValue
2020 cycle$2.2M
2022 cycle$1.7M
2024 cycle$2.1M
2026 cycle$1.8M

Top donor states, 2026

Itemized contributions by donor state. 83% came from Pennsylvania.

  1. Pennsylvania$427.6K
  2. Illinois$50.0K
  3. New Jersey$23.5K
  4. New York$5,500
  5. Missouri$1,000

Small donations

State filings report no total for small gifts.

Not reported in state filings.

Where itemized donors live

Individuals who gave more than $200, by donor state

Alaska: no dataAKMaine: no dataMEVermont: no dataVTNew Hampshire: no dataNHWashington: no dataWAIdaho: no dataIDMontana: no dataMTNorth Dakota: no dataNDMinnesota: no dataMNIllinois: $50.0KILWisconsin: no dataWIMichigan: no dataMINew York: $5,500NYRhode Island: no dataRIMassachusetts: $500MAOregon: no dataORNevada: no dataNVWyoming: no dataWYSouth Dakota: no dataSDIowa: no dataIAIndiana: no dataINOhio: $500OHPennsylvania: $427.6KPANew Jersey: $23.5KNJConnecticut: no dataCTCalifornia: $250CAUtah: no dataUTColorado: $500CONebraska: no dataNEMissouri: $1,000MOKentucky: no dataKYWest Virginia: no dataWVVirginia: no dataVAMaryland: $1,000MDDelaware: no dataDEArizona: no dataAZNew Mexico: no dataNMKansas: no dataKSArkansas: no dataARTennessee: no dataTNNorth Carolina: no dataNCSouth Carolina: no dataSCDistrict of Columbia: no dataDCOklahoma: no dataOKLouisiana: no dataLAMississippi: no dataMSAlabama: no dataALGeorgia: $1,000GAHawaii: no dataHITexas: no dataTXFlorida: $500FL
Show the data
Costa's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2026 cycle
StateValue
Pennsylvania$427.6K
Illinois$50.0K
New Jersey$23.5K
New York$5,500
Missouri$1,000
Maryland$1,000
Georgia$1,000
Massachusetts$500
Ohio$500
Colorado$500
Florida$500
California$250
AlaskaNo data
MaineNo data
VermontNo data
New HampshireNo data
WashingtonNo data
IdahoNo data
MontanaNo data
North DakotaNo data
MinnesotaNo data
WisconsinNo data
MichiganNo data
Rhode IslandNo data
OregonNo data
NevadaNo data
WyomingNo data
South DakotaNo data
IowaNo data
IndianaNo data
ConnecticutNo data
UtahNo data
NebraskaNo data
KentuckyNo data
West VirginiaNo data
VirginiaNo data
DelawareNo data
ArizonaNo data
New MexicoNo data
KansasNo data
ArkansasNo data
TennesseeNo data
North CarolinaNo data
South CarolinaNo data
District of ColumbiaNo data
OklahomaNo data
LouisianaNo data
MississippiNo data
AlabamaNo data
HawaiiNo data
TexasNo data
264

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

83%

from Pennsylvania

Of itemized individual dollars

How to read the map

Every state the same size. Darker states gave more itemized money; hatched states had no itemized donors; the outlined state is Pennsylvania. Gifts of $200 or less carry no address and are left out.

Top donor occupations

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

  1. PRESIDENT$72.9K 29 donors
  2. BUSINESS MAN$62.5K 7 donors
  3. CEO$34.8K 14 donors
  4. ATTORNEY$32.3K 24 donors
  5. OWNER$29.8K 11 donors

Top committees

PAC and committee contributions, 2026 cycle.

  1. AFSCME COUNCIL 13$115.0K
  2. COMMITTEE FOR A BETTER TOMORROW$75.0K
  3. INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS-LOCAL 66 PAC CLUB$70.0K
  4. PENNSYLVANIA LABORERS' DISTRICT COUNCIL PAC FUND$55.0K
  5. PSEA PACE$42.4K

Top employers

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Costa voted with the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats on 97.1% of party-line votes and missed none of 502 roll calls. Pennsylvania Senate on average: 93.4% party unity, 98.9% attendance. Across all roll calls, Costa voted against the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats 5 times.

502 roll calls Costa could vote on in the PA 2025–26 session, compared with Pennsylvania Senate. Attendance is the share with a vote recorded. Party unity counts only party-line roll calls, where most Democrats and most Republicans voted on opposite sides, and is the share of those where Costa voted with the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

5

votes against the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats

Party unity 97.1%, Pennsylvania Senate average 93.4%, ranks 20th of 50. 502 roll calls in the PA 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

The thick bar is Costa, the thin grey bar the Pennsylvania Senate average. The scale runs from 80% to 100% to show the gap.

80%100%
Costa
Peers
Rank
Attendance
100%
98.9%
14th of 50
Party unity
97.1%
93.4%
20th of 50
Show the data
Costa's attendance and party unity against Pennsylvania Senate.
RowCostaPeers
Attendance100%98.9%
Party unity97.1%93.4%
What this means, and what it doesn’t

A missed roll call has many causes, from illness to campaigning, so attendance says how often, not why. A vote against the majority can be on procedure as well as substance, and many fall on roll calls where both parties split; the key votes below show the ones that decided something.

Key votes

25 roll calls the lab flagged as key in the PA 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
Oct 21, 2026
HB 2187
An Act amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, in administrative organization, further providing for criminal history background checks of employees and contractors with access to Federal tax information.
FINAL PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 27–0Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 naybecame law
Oct 21, 2026
HB 558
An Act amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, in creation of leases, statute of frauds and mortgaging of leaseholds, providing for rental applications.
FINAL PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 13–14Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 13 yea, 14 naybecame law · party crossover
Oct 21, 2026
HB 1098
An Act amending the act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274), referred to as the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Law, providing for Investigation and Prosecution of Internet Crimes Against Children Program.
FINAL PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 27–0Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 naybecame law
Oct 21, 2026
SB 807
An Act amending the act of November 6, 1987 (P.L.381, No.79), known as the Older Adults Protective Services Act, in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions; in administration, further providing for investigations of reports of need for protective services, for immunity from civil a
FINAL PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 15–8 · R 27–0Democrats 15 yea, 8 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 nayparty crossover
Oct 21, 2026
HB 2437
An Act amending Title 58 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in unconventional gas well fee, further providing for Statewide initiatives.
FINAL PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 22–1 · R 27–0Democrats 22 yea, 1 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 naybecame law
How key votes are chosen

Automatically: a final-passage or override vote where the measure became law, the margin was under 10%, at least 10% of either party voted against its majority, or the bill was among the 25 most mentioned in officials’ own statements. Up to 25 per window, most recent first; five are shown. Bars show yea on the left, nay on the right, per party.

Votes most often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Costa most often

  1. Vincent HughesD491 shared votes99%
  2. Wayne FontanaD496 shared votes98%
  3. Nick PisciottanoD493 shared votes98%
  4. Patty KimD494 shared votes98%
  5. Tina TartaglioneD502 shared votes97%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Costa least often

  1. Jarrett ColemanR502 shared votes67%
  2. Dawn KeeferR502 shared votes67%
  3. Doug MastrianoR496 shared votes70%
  4. Scott HutchinsonR502 shared votes72%
  5. Chris GebhardR502 shared votes73%
How to read the agreement lists

The share of roll calls both members voted on where they voted the same way, among colleagues sharing at least 50 such votes. High agreement with members of the other party is common on routine votes.

Full voting record

PA 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Costa sponsored 20 bills in the PA 2025–26 session; none became law. Cosponsored 858 others. 15% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Pennsylvania Senate average 24%; 31st of 49).

The bills Costa sponsored and cosponsored in the PA 2025–26 session, from the official bill records, and how far each got: introduced, referred to or acted on in committee, passed one chamber, passed both, became law. A bill counts at every stage it has reached, so the blocks only shrink to the right.

Bills by stage

Counts for the PA 2025–26 session

Sponsored20 billsSponsored, Introduced: 2020Sponsored, In committee: 2020Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 22Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 00Sponsored, Became law: 00Cosponsored858 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 858858Cosponsored, In committee: 858858Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 8585Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 3939Cosponsored, Became law: 3636IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Costa sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored2020200
Cosponsored858858853936
How to read the blocks

Ink blocks are bills Costa sponsored, ochre blocks bills Costa cosponsored; the figure above each block is the count. Most bills in any legislature never leave committee, so a short staircase is the norm.

15%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Pennsylvania Senate average 24%. Ranks 31st of 49.

Cosponsorship partners

Colleagues who most often cosponsor with Costa, by number of shared bills in the PA 2025–26 session; the square shows their party.

  1. John Kane546
  2. Art Haywood535
  3. Tina Tartaglione487
  4. Wayne Fontana473
  5. Judy Schwank422
What this means, and what it doesn’t

The score is the share of sponsored bills that a committee reported out or a chamber passed, with at least 5 sponsored bills, ranked within the peer group. Members of the majority party and committee chairs move more bills, so the rank reflects position in the chamber as well as effort. Cosponsorship partners are the five colleagues who share the most of Costa’s bills; the toggle shows more.

Bill list

Sponsored and cosponsored, with status and policy area; five are shown, the toggle shows the rest

Bills sponsored and cosponsored
SR 403A Resolution noting with great sadness the passing of the Honorable Timothy Francis Murphy, whose life greatly benefited all those who lived, served and worked with him; and extending heartfelt condolences to Dr. Murphy's wife, Nanette Missig Murphy, daughter, Bevin DeSantis, grandchildren, ThomasinCosponsorOct 19, 2026Passed one chamberUnassignedIntroduced and adopted Oct 19, 2026
SB 1306An Act amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in public safety, providing for Hospital Security Grant Fund.CosponsorOct 19, 2026In committeeHealth(model)First consideration Oct 19, 2026
SB 965An Act amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program.CosponsorOct 19, 2026In committeeHealth(model)First consideration Oct 19, 2026
SR 399A Resolution designating the month of October 2026 as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.CosponsorOct 15, 2026In committeeUnassignedReferred to Rules & Executive Nominations Oct 15, 2026
SR 396A Resolution recognizing the week of October 25 through 31, 2026, as "Respiratory Care Week" in Pennsylvania.CosponsorOct 14, 2026In committeeUnassignedReferred to Rules & Executive Nominations Oct 14, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

A site that changed 22 times in 90 days. Costa’s official site had 12 pages when last crawled on Oct 1, 2026.

The lab crawls Costa’s official and campaign websites (weekly for Congress, monthly for the states) and keeps every page’s text, so changes can be read later; it also records social accounts and describes the images Costa posts with a vision model.

Websites

  • Official site

    senatorcosta.com

    Last crawled Oct 1, 2026

    12

    pages crawled

    22

    changes in 90 days

  • Campaign site

    jaycosta.org

    Last crawled Oct 1, 2026

    7

    pages crawled

    7

    changes in 90 days

How to read the counts

“Pages crawled” is the size of the site at the last crawl; “changes in 90 days” counts pages whose text differed from the previous crawl. Sites change for many routine reasons, such as new press releases, so a high count is not by itself notable.

Images Costa posted

No images from Costa’s posts have been described.

About the descriptions

Written by a vision model and may be wrong. Open the post to see the original. Five are shown; the toggle shows the rest.

State floor speeches

1,459 turns, Jan 7, 2020 to Sep 28, 2026

Floor speeches

Transcribed from chamber video or captions by the lab. They are not classified for kinds of statement.

Back to topNext: Methods and sources

Methods and sources

How this page was made. Profile built Oct 28, 2026; site last built Oct 28, 2026. Every number on the page is computed from the sources listed here, by the same rules for every official; nothing is written by hand.

The headline

The headline is the measure on which Costa is most unusual among State Senate Democrats, chosen by one rule for every official of every party. The candidates are the rate of each kind of statement and of extreme labels, party unity, attendance, the small-donor share, the in-state share and total receipts of the latest cycle, the share of sponsored bills that got out of committee, talk-to-bills agreement, and the CSIP score’s place within the party group.

The builder ranks every measure within the same peer group the page compares it with, and writes each official’s percentile: the share of the group below the value, ties counting half, so 0.5 is the median and a value shared by many never ranks first. A measure’s score is how far that percentile sits from the median (0 in the middle, 0.5 at either end), and the highest score leads if it is above 0.25, outside the middle half of the group. Scores within 0.03 of each other are a tie, broken in this order: votes against the party majority, kinds of statement, ideology, roll calls missed, small donations, in-state money, legislation, agreement, extreme labels, receipts.

A measure counts only with at least 200 statements, 100 roll calls or 5 sponsored bills behind it and a peer group of at least 10. Two things never lead: high party unity or attendance, where most members sit, and a high rate of a kind of statement backed by fewer than 10 statements. When nothing qualifies, the headline is a neutral fact instead: statements classified, or years in office. The wording always names the direction (“in the bottom 5% of …”, “votes against the majority of …”).

Identifiers

Profile id
ee6b52c3-d92c-4cd6-a6ea-6869a8c93df0
Open States
ocd-person/ee6b52c3-d92c-4cd6-a6ea-6869a8c93df0

Bulk files with the same data for every official:

Freshness of this profile’s data

  • What politicians sayOct 27, 20261 days agoMembers of Congress: tweets since 2017; press releases, newsletters and floor speeches since 2022. State legislators: tweets since May 2024. Governors: tweets since January 2025. Labels from an LLM classifier.
  • Roll calls (state)Oct 21, 20267 days agoOpen States floor roll calls, 2019 on (none for AK and MO).
  • Bills (state)Oct 28, 2026todayOpen States bills and sponsors, 2019 on; stages from roll calls.
  • Campaign money (state)no dateState campaign-finance agencies, 2019 on; aggregates only.
  • Ideology (CSIP)Oct 25, 20263 days agoCommon-Space Ideal Points (CSIP), current validated run.
  • WebsitesOct 25, 20263 days agoWeekly crawls of federal sites since April 2026; monthly state crawls since June 2026.
  • State floor speechesOct 21, 20267 days agoState floor speech turns (published transcripts and captions), 2020 on; not LLM-classified.

How the measures work

What politicians say
Every post, press release, newsletter and congressional floor speech is read by a language model and marked for personal attacks, policy criticism, policy discussion, bipartisanship and credit claiming. A statement can be in several. Rates are shares of statements in the window. The methods paper.
Extreme labels
A statement has an extreme label when it calls a politician, party or policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who the label is aimed at.
Policy areas and agreement
Statements and bills share 25 Congressional Research Service policy areas (state bills are assigned by a language model). Agreement is 1 − Jensen–Shannon distance between the two distributions, shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Ideology (CSIP)
Common-Space Ideal Points place federal and state officials on one left–right scale, estimated jointly from roll calls, campaign contributions and the text of statements, with standard errors. Only a validated run is shown. The methods paper.
Campaign money
Campaigns report by name only donors who give more than $200 in a cycle; smaller gifts are reported as one total. Federal totals and the small-donor share come from the FEC’s financial summaries of each campaign committee. Donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations cover itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift totals, so state figures are itemized only. The lab never publishes donor names.
Votes and key votes
Attendance, party unity and the count of votes against the majority of an official’s own party come from roll calls (Voteview for Congress, chamber records for the states). Key votes are final-passage or override votes that became law, were decided by under 10%, saw at least 10% of a party vote against its majority, or concerned one of the 25 bills most mentioned in officials’ statements.
Peers and ranks
Comparisons are with the same party, chamber and level (for example House Democrats); state legislators are compared within their state and chamber for votes. Every comparison names its group. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; tied values share the average of their ranks, and the percentile is the share of the group below the value, ties counting half.

America’s Political Pulse · Polarization Research Lab

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