Eric Weaknecht

Eric J. Weaknecht^[6] (born c. 1965)^[3] is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who is the current representative for the 5th district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A Republican, he assumed office in 2025. Weaknecht was previously the sheriff of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from 2008 to 2024.

Eric Weaknecht
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 7, 2025
Preceded by	Barry Jozwiak
Sheriff of Berks County
In office January 7, 2008[1] – December 2, 2024[2]
Preceded by	Barry Jozwiak[3]
Succeeded by	Mandy Miller (acting)[4]
Personal details
Born	c. 1965 Berks County, Pennsylvania, U.S.[5]
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Kutztown Area High School[6]

Law enforcement career

Weaknecht began working as a deputy sheriff with the Sheriff's Office of Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1984.^[7] In 1996, Weaknecht was promoted to assistant chief deputy in charge of the court division. Three years later, Weaknecht became chief deputy sheriff.^[1] He was elected sheriff in 2007 and was reelected four times.^[7] In June 2012, Governor Tom Corbett appointed Weaknecht to the Deputy Sheriffs' Education and Training Board.^[1] Governor Tom Wolf would reappoint Weaknecht to an addition two terms.^[3] A month after his original appointment to the board, Weaknecht was elected secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association.^[1]

Weaknecht was one of 70 American sheriffs who joined Protect America Now, a group founded by Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb to push for "election integrity" following President Donald Trump's false claims of massive voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Concerns about election integrity led Weaknecht to station armed officers at ballot drop boxes during the 2020 and 2022 elections.^[8]

Political career

After Pennsylvania State Representative Barry Jozwiak retired in 2024, Weaknecht was elected to represent the 5th district after defeating Democratic candidate Heather Hanna in the general election.^[7]

Political positions

Weaknecht opposes sanctuary city policies and red flag laws. ^[9] He believes Pennsylvania has enough gun laws and should focus on enforcement rather than making new laws.^[10]

Electoral history

2007 Berks County sheriff election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Weaknecht	33,948	51.07
	Democratic	Mike Garipoli	32,512	48.91
	Write-in		16	0.02
Total votes			66,476	100.00

2011 Berks County sheriff election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Weaknecht (incumbent)	34,233	65.42
	Democratic	Daniel Billings	18,077	34.55
	Write-in		15	0.03
Total votes			52,325	100.00

2015 Berks County sheriff election^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Weaknecht (incumbent)	37,167	65.05
	Democratic	Lester Klock	19,954	34.93
	Write-in		12	0.02
Total votes			57,133	100.00

2019 Berks County sheriff election^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Weaknecht (incumbent)	45,515	60.24
	Democratic	Bart Ganster	30,004	39.71
	Write-in		39	0.05
Total votes			75,558	100.00

2023 Berks County sheriff election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic/Republican	Eric Weaknecht (incumbent)	72,918	99.23
	Write-in		564	0.77
Total votes			73,482	100.00

2024 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 5^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Weaknecht	23,664	66.66
	Democratic	Heather Hanna	11,801	33.24
	Write-in		36	0.10
Total votes			35,501	100.00