A strong conservative committed to fiscal discipline and putting the taxpayers first, Eric Nelson began serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2016.

For the 2023-24 Legislative Session, he serves on the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, of which he serves as the Republican chair of the Subcommittee on Care and Services, as well as on the House Appropriations and Insurance committees. He is a deputy chair of the Republican Policy Committee. He also serves as the Republican Chairman of both the Gas and Oil Caucus and the Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Caucus. He is also a member of the Pro-Life and 2nd Amendment caucuses.

A native of Hempfield, Eric graduated from Hempfield Area High School and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in safety sciences from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). After graduating from college, Eric enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served for eight years with deployments in Albania, Estonia, Okinawa, Spain and Thailand. He re-enlisted for an additional year of service after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Following his distinguished military career, Eric returned to serve his community as an entrepreneur and businessman creating jobs and meeting budgets for years. Previously a faculty member with IUP, Eric is a partner with Steel City Safety. A few years ago, he sold his family’s Bruster’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream franchise after 16 years of operation.

Eric remains a small business owner at heart and is committed to opposing broad-based tax increases, protecting the unborn, standing up for our veterans, combatting the local drug epidemic, delivering real pension reform, and returning the Pennsylvania General Assembly to its roots as a part-time Legislature.

He resides on a small farm in Hempfield with his wife, Susan, and their seven children – Brooke, Randy, Liberty, Will, Kennedy, Gretchen and Damien.