Republican to challenge Cook in 50th District
Courtesy of Stephanie Waggett
By Brad Hundt
Staff writer
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
State Rep. Bud Book has a Republican challenger in the 50th Legislative District.
Stephanie Waggett, a Carmichaels resident, has announced her candidacy for the seat, contending that voters in the district “need new leadership in Harrisburg.” A news release from her campaign also characterized Cook as “embattled and controversial.”
Waggett, 44, is a registered nurse and former administrator at the Fayette Energy Facility in Masontown. She and her husband, Jeff Waggett, have two teenage children.
Cook and Waggett will be vying for Republican votes in the primary election on Tuesday, April 23. Cook has represented the 50th Legislative District since the beginning of last year as a result of redistricting. He was the representative for the 49th Legislative District from 2017 to 2022. The 50th Legislative District includes all of Greene County and portions of Washington County.
In a news release from her campaign, Waggett said she believes in “the power of individual liberty and with that freedom comes responsibility.” She also states that “our natural resources are the lifeblood of our region,” that “we must reject the notion of a nanny state,” and that “biological boys do not belong on girls’ sports teams or in girls’ bathrooms.”