The results of the 2024 election marked a decrease in the number of Penn affiliates serving in Congress, according to an analysis by The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Five Penn affiliates — all members of the Democratic Party — will serve in the 119th Congress, including four alumni and one former professor. Prior to the 2024 election, seven Penn affiliates served in Congress, including six alumni.
Besides former University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the rest of the Penn affiliates serving in the 119th Congress will be alumni serving in the United States House of Representatives.
Next year's Congress, which takes office on Jan. 3, 2025, has the lowest number of Penn alumni and affiliates since 2015, when two Democrats and one Republican took office. After reaching eight affiliates in 2019 — the highest since the 93rd Congress in 1973 — that total has decreased, with seven affiliates serving in 2022.
An average of six Penn affiliates have served in the legislative branch since the nation’s founding, meaning the 119th Congress fell below average in terms of electing Penn alumni.
1999 College and Wharton graduate Dave Min won his election in California’s 47th district, defeating Republican opponent Scott Baugh in a competitive race. This will be Min’s first term and marks the first time a Penn alumnus will represent the state of California in Congress.
With Min's election, Penn affiliates will have represented 27 states in Congress since the nation's founding. He will be the first Penn alumnus to represent the Western United States since 1992 College and Wharton graduate Charles Djou, a Republican-turned-Democrat who represented Hawaii in the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2011.
Penn affiliates have represented Pennsylvania in Congress more than any other state, with 107 Penn affiliates representing Pennsylvania since the first Congress. New Jersey comes in second with 25 Penn affiliates, with the most recent affiliate being 1997 College graduate and current Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). Gottheimer also won reelection to New Jersey’s 5th district and quickly announced his campaign for New Jersey governor.
1984 Penn Carey Law graduate and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) won reelection to Pennsylvania 5th Congressional District. She most recently visited Penn's campus on Oct. 11 at a Penn Democrats tabling event, where she advocated for youth voter turnout.
Warren and 1969 Wharton MBA graduate and Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) easily won reelection in their respective races.
Three Penn alumni were not reelected to their positions.
Pennsylvania — a key swing state during the election — was part of a political rightward shift across the United States, and was pivotal in securing the election of President-elect and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump. One seat flipped by Republicans in the Keystone State was held by 1986 Penn Carey Law graduate and Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), who lost reelection to Republican Rob Bresnahan as a six-term incumbent.
1998 Wharton MBA graduate and Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.) — who introduced a bill alongside Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) to make federal funding for higher education institutions contingent upon campus free speech — lost his election to Democratic challenger John Mannion. Williams' loss leaves no Republican Penn affiliates in Congress, marking the first time this has happened since 2011.
1985 Wharton MBA graduate and Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) opted not to seek reelection to the House after losing in the Democratic primary for Maryland's open Senate seat.
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