Four Penn alumni won primary elections in Pennsylvania on May 15. Six Penn graduates ran in the elections, and three out of the four winners were uncontested.
This was the first Pennsylvania election under the recently revised congressional map. Approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Feb 19, the revised map was drawn by former Penn Law professor Nathaniel Persily after the Court found that the previous map violated the State constitution due to gerrymandering.
2000 College graduate Pearl Kim, the only Republican of the Penn alumni candidates, won the Republican primary for Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District. According to the Washington Post, Kim was the only GOP woman who was seeking election in Pennsylvania's primary.
In the same district, 1984 Penn Law graduate Mary Gay Scanlon won the Democratic primary over 2014 Penn Medicine graduate Molly Sheehan. 1983 Penn Dental graduate Gary Wegman finished second in the 9th Congressional District's Democratic primary, losing out to former Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Denny Wolff.
Two Penn graduates ran in a new district in the election due to the revised congressional map.
2006 College graduate and 2009 Law School graduate Conor Lamb, who won a tightly contested election in the 18th Congressional District in March, won the Democratic primary for the 17th Congressional District.
Matt Cartwright, who graduated from Penn Law in 1986, won the Democratic nomination for the 8th Congressional District. Cartwright currently represents the 17th District in Congress.
Kim, Scanlon, Lamb, and Cartwright will all seek election to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 6, when the country will vote in the 2018 midterm election.
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