The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the seats are contested at each election. Even numbered seats and odd numbered seats are contested in separate election years. The president pro tempore of the Senate becomes the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in the event of the sitting lieutenant governor's removal, resignation or death. In this case the president pro tempore and lieutenant governor would be the same person. The Pennsylvania Senate has been meeting since 1791.

Kim Lee Ward is an American politician who served as acting lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and currently serves as President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate. She represents the 39th Senatorial District which covers the central portions of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Following the resignation of Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, Ward became acting lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania on January 3, 2023, and served until January 17, 2023. She is the first female president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate. She was succeeded by Austin Davis as Lieutenant Governor.