Parke Wentling is a Republican state representative from Mercer County who has represented Pennsylvania House District 7 since December 2022 and is seeking re-election on November 3, 2026.[1][2] A former teacher, he served 17 years as an educator in the Wilmington Area School District.[1]
Wentling was born and raised in Greenville and graduated from Greenville Area High School in 1990.[1] He earned a B.S. in education from California University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.[1] He began his working life as a track laborer for the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad and is a past president of the Mercer County Trails Association and the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance.[1]
For the 2025-26 session Wentling serves on the Game and Fisheries (Republican vice chairman), Local Government, Environmental Resources and Protection, and Tourism and Economic and Recreational Development committees, and he is a deputy whip.[1] His biography lists his top priority as policies that support family-sustaining jobs, along with reducing the tax burden on working families and seniors and preserving family farms.[1] Ballotpedia lists Democrat Christopher Ford as his opponent in the general election.[2]
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.