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Meet the 19 Penn alumni running for Congress this year

By Lucy Curtis and Jamie Tomlinson 04/30/18 3:44pm
og-penn-alumni
Credit: Julia Schorr

This primary season, 19 Penn alumni have joined in congressional and senatorial races around the country. These alumni hail from 10 states, span three parties, and are running for both House and Senate seats.

Seven of these candidates are running in Pennsylvania, four of whom are running in the 5th district. Pennsylvania's congressional district map was redrawn in February after the state Supreme Court ruled that the previous map was illegally gerrymandered.

The primary elections in Pennsylvania for the 2018 midterms are on May 15, and the midterms themselves are on November 6. These midterms promise to be competitive, and many experts think that Democrats may see more success than they have in recent elections.

While Donald Trump may be Penn’s most famous current politician, come this November several more former Quakers may be making their mark on the American political landscape.

Democrat
Republican
United Utah Party

Penn Alumni Running in PA

Pearl Kim
Penn Affiliation
College 2000 (BA)
Office
U.S. House, Pa.
5th District
Mary Ellen Balchunis
Penn Affiliation
College 1979 (BA)
Office
U.S. House, Pa.
5th District
Molly Sheehan
Penn Affiliation
Medicine 2014 (PhD)
Office
U.S. House, Pa.
5th District
Matt Cartwright
Penn Affiliation
Law 1986 (JD)
Office (Incumbent in 17th, 2013)
U.S. House, Pa.
8th District
Gary Wegman
Penn Affiliation
Dental 1983 (DMD)
Office
U.S. House, Pa.
9th District
Clare Pozos
Penn Affiliation
Law 2007 (JD)
Office
U.S. House, Pa.
5th District
Conor Lamb
Penn Affiliation
College 2006 (BA), Law 2009 (JD)
Office (Incumbent in 18th, 2018)
U.S. House, Pa.
17th District

The two senatorial candidates hail from Ohio and Massachusetts, and the ten remaining candidates are running in 10 districts in eight states. While five alumni are incumbents, the remaining 14 are either running for the very first time or currently hold a position in state or local government.

Penn Alumni Running Nationally

Don Elijah Eckhart
Penn Affiliation
Wharton 1974 (MPA)
Office
U.S. Senate, Ohio
Josh Gottheimer
Penn Affiliation
College 1997 (BA)
Office (Incumbent, 2017)
U.S. House, N.J.
5th District
Trey Hollingsworth
Penn Affiliation
Wharton 2004 (BS)
Office (Incumbent, 2017)
U.S. House, Ind.
9th District
Eric Eliason
Penn Affiliation
Wharton 2001 (MBA)
Office
U.S. House, Utah
1st District
Ricardo Franco
Penn Affiliation
Wharton 2006 (BS)
Office
U.S. House, Calif.
22nd District
John McCann
Penn Affiliation
SAS 1995 (Master of Government Administration)
Office
U.S. House, N.J.
5th District
David Trone
Penn Affiliation
Wharton 1985 (MBA)
Office
U.S. House, Md.
6th District
Reuben D'Silva
Penn Affiliation
LPS 2011 (Master of Liberal Arts)
Office
U.S. House, Nev.
1st District
David Scott
Penn Affiliation
Wharton 1969 (MBA)
Office (Incumbent, 2003)
U.S. House, Ga.
13th District
John Kingston
Penn Affiliation
College, Wharton, 1988 (BA, BS)
Office
U.S. Senate, Mass.
David Min
Penn Affiliation
College, Wharton 1999 (BA, BS)
Office
U.S. House, Calif.
45th District
Chris DePizzo
Penn Affiliation
Law 2012 (JD)
Office
U.S. House, Ohio
13th District



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