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Political Note #304 Susan Wild PA CD 07
2020 General election
Is it possible that Republicans know what they are doing? They have targeted fourteen first year Democratic Members of Congress. Booked hundreds of thousands of dollars for television advertisements against them. I have already written Notes about most of them. Susan Wild https://wildforcongress.com is one of the few about whom I have not yet written in this election cycle.
The PA 07 which Susan Wild represents would be rectangularish, angled toward the northeast, if the New Jersey border did not get in the way of the northeastern end. The rectangle stands on its southeastern point. PA 07 is north of Philadelphia. One side extending northeast from the point is bordered by Bucks County, the other side extents northwest along Berks County. The district includes the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton (Joe Biden-like country). PA 07 includes some of the Main Line suburbs as well as universities as varied as Quakerish Haverford, Roman Catholic Villanova, and Cheyney, the first of the Historically Black Universities.
The context for the 2018 Congressional elections in Pennsylvania was the State Supreme Court’s imposed Congressional Boundaries. The Court had found the state’s gerrymandered Congressional Districts to be a violation of the state constitution. It found the legislature’s proposed new districts were no more constitutional. So the court created new district boundaries – for the 2018 election and for 2020. After the 2020 census, the legislature will get another chance to get it right.
2018 was particularly chaotic for PA 07. The Republican Member of Congress resigned after a sex scandal. Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon (now representing the 5th Congressional District) was elected to take his place. Absent the scandal, Charlie Dent resigned from his seat in what was PA 15. Susan Wild was elected in the Special Election to replace him. She was elected in November of 2018 to represent the newly formed PA 07 as formed by the Court.
Perhaps the Republicans find the chaotic experience of PA 07 somehow inviting and believe Susan Wild can be beaten. They have set aside $3.6 million dollars for television stations that reach into her district and into Andy Kim’s adjacent NJ 03.
Susan Wild become a promising Congressional candidate after a three-year stint as City Solicitor for Allentown during which she distinguished herself for her integrity. A successful attorney, she took on the task of City Solicitor. Six months into her term, the role become complicated.
A search warrant was issued for city records. Susan Wild was responsible for collecting the required documents and turning them over to the FBI. The prosecutors credited her cooperation, her ability to maintain her independence and produce the necessary evidence as crucial for destroying the city’s culture of corruption. The prosecutors described Allentown’s corrupt cultures as having been characterized by “perjury, destruction of evidence, and lies to the FBI.”
Unusually, the prosecutor endorsed Susan Wild’s run for Congress – describing her as someone who “exudes honesty, integrity and independence.” Susan Wild had had a tough three years in Allentown. Congress was easier, but not easy.
Consistent with her experience in Allentown, Susan Wild was appointed to the House Ethics committee. She also served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, from which she and 29 other Democrats wrote to Secretary of State Pompeo expressing alarm at the erosion of Democracy in Brazli. She served on the Education and Labor Committee as well.
Congress was hard personally. A little more than a year ago, Susan Wild spoke to Congress. She told the Members her husband had committed suicide. She had been advocating for labor and for health care. The death changed her emphasis. She has organized an effort to address suicide prevention and mental health care.
Help Susan Wild https://wildforcongress.com get reelected. We need her in Congress – for her advocacy and her integrity.
2018 Winners by narrow margins are in jeopardy. The amount of money Republicans have reserved for television advertising against them is noted below.
Elected by fewer than 1,000 votes $ Figure is value of Republican television advertisement planned
California 21 TJ Cox. $1.16 Million
Utah 04 Ben McAdams
Elected by 5,000 votes or fewer
Florida 26 Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Georgia 06 Lucy McBath. $1.45 Million
Maine 02 Jared Golden
New Mexico 03 Xochitl Torres Small. $350 Thousand
New Jersey 03 Andy Kim. $1.8 Million
New York 22 Anthony Brindisi. $1.58 Million
Oklahoma 05 Kendra Horn. $725 Thousand
South Carolina 01 Joe Cunningham. $630 Thousand
Elected by fewer than 10,000 votes
California 10 Josh Harder
California 39 Gil Cisneros
Iowa 03 Cynthia Axne. $835 Thousand
Virginia 07 Abigail Spanberger. $600 Thousand
Elected by 15,000 votes or fewer
Illinois 14 Lauren Underwood
Michigan 08 Elissa Slotkin
Minnesota 07 Collin Peterson
New York 11 Max Rose
New York 19 Anthony Delgado
Texas 07 Lizzie Fletcher. $2.06 Million
Other close races
Illinois 08 Sean Casten
Iowa 01 Abby Finkenauer. $1.3 Million
Minnesota 02 Angie Craig $2.6 Million
New Jersey 07 Tom Malinowski
Pennsylvania 07 Susan Wild $1.8 Million
Texas 32 Colin Allred
Washington 08 Kim Schreier
Open Democratic Seat
Iowa 02 Rita Hart $2.5 Million
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