Richard Saccone is an American educator and far-right politician who represented Pennsylvania's 39th district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, he was his party's nominee for the March 2018 special election to fill in the vacant U.S. House seat for the 18th congressional district. Saccone lost to Democratic candidate Conor Lamb by a margin of 0.3%.

The 2016 elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives were held on November 8, 2016, with all districts being contested. The primary elections were held on April 26, 2016. The term of office for those elected in 2016 began when the House of Representatives convened in January 2017. Pennsylvania state representatives are elected for two-year terms, with all 203 seats up for election every two years.