Union County Democrat Louis Trey Casimir is the sole candidate running for the Democratic nomination for the PA State Senate in the 23rd District, which includes Lycoming, Bradford and Sullivan counties as well as the western part of Susquehanna County and the following municipalities in Union County: the boroughs of Lewisburg and Mifflinburg as well as the townships of East Buffalo, Kelly, White Deer, Gregg, Union, Union Independent, Buffalo and West Buffalo.

Casimir is a Lewisburg Borough Councilman and serves as chair of the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority. He is past Secretary of the Lewisburg Business and Professional Association and helped found the Central Susquehanna Citizens Coalition. In 2007 he was chosen by the Center for Progressive Leadership to participate in their emerging political leaders program. Casimir is a licensed acupuncturist with a private practice on Market Street in Lewisburg.

Casimir said he thinks it's a sin that anyone in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must go without needed medical care. “It's time for Harrisburg to move ahead with health care legislation,” Casimir said. “The state could begin by giving employers a tax credit for providing health insurance to their employees. Eventually, the state Medicaid plan should be expanded to cover everyone who is not currently insured. Basic coverage under such a state health plan should include preventive care including cancer screening for at-risk populations and prenatal care for all pregnant women. It should also cover catastrophic illness and injury, to prevent bankrupting citizens and the hospitals that serve them.” Casimir added that any state-run plan should learn from insurance company best practices so that, for instance, patient outcome is incentivized over number of procedures performed.

The health of the state's economy is also a top concern for Casimir, who supports providing Pennsylvania working families a one-time tax rebate of up to $400 using money borrowed from the state's Rainy Day Fund. “This rebate will help nearly 500,000 families facing an uphill struggle to pay increasing utility, food and gas costs,” Casimir said. “By spending their rebate checks, these families will help stimulate our economy. But more needs to be done. We should also stimulate business expansion and job creation and retention by funding improvement projects on bridges, dams, rail freight and small airports. We need to enhance the Job Creation Tax Credit Program, lower the interest rate on loans the state makes to businesses and municipalities, and expand the Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) tax incentives. We also need to accelerate state support for the alternative energy industry and green industry in general, from grants and low-interest loans to funding for state university programs to develop the energy entrepeneurs of tomorrow.”

“We have the most advanced technology the world has ever seen, the most wealth the world has ever seen and the most political, cultural and military power the world has ever seen,” Casimir said. “What we don’t have is new ideas and the courage to put those new ideas to work. What we need are people who look at things in a different way, with the experience to know what works and what doesn’t work and the persistence to see it through. I have that perspective. I have that experience. And I have that persistence. I can help Pennsylvania's families get to a better place.”

Casimir grew up on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Lewisburg and graduated from Lewisburg Area High School in 1978. He is married to Amy Janel Casimir and is the father of Carter, Cole and Teddy. Like all parents, Casimir hopes his children don't have to move away if they don't want to, so he is determined to see that they have a thriving Pennsylvania to grow in. A lifelong fisherman, Casimir dreams of someday catching a shad at the shad dam in Lewisburg.