Surrounded by 13 Democratic ward chairs, Pennsylvania State Rep. Jake Wheatley will kick off his re-election campaign at the Rivers Casino on Jan. 31. Thirteen ward chairs are endorsing Wheatley's candidacy to retain his 19th District seat.

Wheatley has represented the 19th District, which includes the Hill District, North Side, South Side, Allentown, Hazelwood, Downtown Pittsburgh, The Bluff, Knoxville, Beltzhoover, Manchester, Arlington, Arlington Heights and, North, South and West Oakland, for 13 years.

The list of those endorsing Wheatley includes ward chairs Fred Wilbun, Walter Anderson, Bill Tenney, Jeff Koch, Sonny Seiler, Anthony Mosesso, Bruce Williams, Bob Lewis, Bernard Grady, Janet Mundy, Kevin Quigley, Terrence Matuszak and Pittsburgh City Councilor Darlene Harris. 

The campaign kickoff event will begin at 1 p.m. at Grand View Buffet in Rivers Casino.