Susan Wild
Susan Wild | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania | |
| Assumed office November 27, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Charlie Dent |
| Constituency |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Susan Ellis June 7, 1957 Wiesbaden Air Force Base, West Germany |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Russell Wild
(m. 1981; div. 2002)Kerry Acker
(m. 2003; died 2019) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | American University (BA) George Washington University (JD) |
| Website | House website |
Susan Ellis Wild (born June 7, 1957) is an American attorney and politician from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A Democrat, she is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district. The district is located in the heart of the Lehigh Valley, and includes Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. She spent the last two months of 2018 as the member for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district after Charlie Dent resigned in 2018.
Early life[]
Wild is the daughter of Norman Leith and Susan Stimus Ellis.[1] Wild's mother was a journalist. Her father served in the United States Air Force during World War II and the Korean War. She was born at Wiesbaden Air Force Base, West Germany, while her father was stationed there. She also lived in France, California, New Mexico, and Washington D.C.[2]
Early political career[]
Wild volunteered on Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign.[2] She graduated from American University in 1978.[3] She earned her Juris Doctor at the George Washington University Law School in 1982.[4] She studied under John Banzhaf.[2] Wild became a partner at the law firm Gross McGinley in 1999.[5]
Wild ran for Lehigh County Commissioner in 2013, but lost.[6] She was appointed the first female solicitor of Allentown, Pennsylvania in January 2015.[7] She served as Solicitor of Allentown starting on January 7, 2015, when she was confirmed by the Allentown City Council.[8]
U.S. House of Representatives[]
Elections[]
- 2018 general
On December 31, 2017, Wild resigned from office to pursue her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives to succeed retiring Representative Charlie Dent (R) in 2018.[9] Dent's district had previously been the 15th, represented by seven-term Republican Charlie Dent. She won the Democratic Party primary election and faced Republican Lehigh County commissioner Marty Nothstein in the November 6 general election.[10][11] She defeated Nothstein in the general election with 53.4% of the vote.[12][13]
- 2018 special
On the same day, Wild also ran in a separate special election for the balance of Dent's term; he had resigned in May after announcing the previous fall that he would not run for reelection.[14][15] On November 15, 2018, it was announced that Wild had won the 15th congressional district's special election, receiving 130,353 votes to Nothstein's 129,593 votes.[16][17]
There was a closer margin in the special election because that election was under the former 15th district, which had been thrown out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February 2018. The former 15th had stretched from the Lehigh Valley into heavily Republican territory between Lebanon and Harrisburg, by way of a tendril in Berks County. The new 7th district is a more compact district centered in the Lehigh Valley, and includes a sliver of the Poconos.[citation needed]
- 2020
Wild ran for reelection to a second term. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary[18] and faced former Lehigh County commissioner Lisa Scheller[19] in the general election. Wild defeated Scheller with 51.9% of the vote.[20]
Tenure[]
Wild has been critical of Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro, for holding views characterized as 'far-right', 'misogynistic', 'homophobic' and 'anti-immigrant'. In March 2019, Wild and 29 other Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; the letter read in part, "Since the election of far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro as president, we have been particularly alarmed by the threat Bolsonaro’s agenda poses to the LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities, women, labor activists, and political dissidents in Brazil. We are deeply concerned that, by targeting hard-won political and social rights, Bolsonaro is endangering Brazil’s long-term democratic future."[21]
Donald Trump[]
On December 10, 2019, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee advanced two articles of impeachment against Republican President Donald Trump. On December 18, 2019, Wild voted 'Yes' on the first article of impeachment, "abuse of power", and 'Yes' on the second article of impeachment, "obstruction of Congress".[22]
Joe Biden[]
As of September 2021, Wild had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[23]
Committee assignments[]
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations (Vice Chair)
- Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment
- Committee on Education and Labor
- Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
- Committee on Ethics
Caucus memberships[]
Electoral history[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susan Wild | 15,001 | 33.3 | |
| Democratic | John Morganelli | 13,565 | 30.1 | |
| Democratic | Greg Edwards | 11,510 | 25.6 | |
| Democratic | Roger Ruggles | 2,443 | 5.4 | |
| Democratic | Rick Daugherty | 1,718 | 3.8 | |
| Democratic | David Clark | 766 | 1.7 | |
| Total votes | 45,003 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susan Wild | 140,813 | 53.5 | |
| Republican | Marty Nothstein | 114,437 | 43.5 | |
| Libertarian | Tim Silfies | 8,011 | 3.0 | |
| Total votes | 263,261 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susan Wild | 130,353 | 48.54% | +10.52% | |
| Republican | Marty Nothstein | 129,594 | 48.26% | -10.13% | |
| Libertarian | Tim Silfies | 8,579 | 3.19% | -0.40% | |
| Total votes | '268,526' | '100.0%' | N/A | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susan Wild | 76,878 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 76,878 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susan Wild | 195,713 | 51.9 | |
| Republican | Lisa Scheller | 181,569 | 48.1 | |
| Independent | Anthony Sayegh (write in) | 0 | 0 | |
| Total votes | 377,282 | 100.0 | ||
Personal life[]
Wild and her husband, Russell Wild, divorced in 2003 after 22 years of marriage. They have two adult children, Clay and Adrienne. Following her divorce, Wild reunited with her law school boyfriend, Kerry Acker, who remained her life partner until his death by suicide on May 25, 2019.[26] She lives in South Whitehall Township, west of Allentown.[2] She is Jewish.[27]
See also[]
- List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
References[]
- ^ "Susan Stimus Ellis". Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Five things you probably don't know about the Lehigh Valley's first congresswoman – The Morning Call". Mcall.com. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ Veitch, Abbie (February 21, 2018). "Alumna Susan Wild runs for Pennsylvania congressional seat". Theeagleonline.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ Baskerville, Jessica (March 5, 2018). "Inspired by her classes, law school alumna runs for House seat – The GW Hatchet". Gwhatchet.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ "Allentown solicitor plans congressional bid in 15th District – The Morning Call". Mcall.com. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Susan Ellis Wild to serve as Allentown's next solicitor – The Morning Call". Mcall.com. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Allentown solicitor plans congressional bid in 15th District – The Morning Call". Mcall.com. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ Sieger, Edward (January 8, 2015). "Allentown City Council appoints new city solicitor". The Express-Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- ^ Opilo, Emily (November 22, 2017). "Allentown Solicitor Susan Wild resigning as congressional campaign heats up". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- ^ "How Susan Wild went from a relative unknown to PA-7 primary winner – The Morning Call". Mcall.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ "Susan Wild claims Lehigh Valley's Democratic primary for Congress". lehighvalleylive.com. May 15, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ Ellis, Niv (November 7, 2018). "Democrat Susan Wild wins House race in Pennsylvania". The Hill.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Election Results: Seventh House District – Election Results 2018 – The New York Times". Nytimes.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Marty Nothstein leads in race to finish Charlie Dent's term – The Morning Call". Mcall.com. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "15th District candidates set for special 2018 election". lehighvalleylive.com. July 31, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Susan Wild wins special congressional election to finish Charlie Dent's term – The Morning Call". Mcall.com. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ 69 News (June 23, 2016). "Susan Wild announces victory in 15th district special election". WFMZ. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ Boockvar, Kathy. "Pennsylvania Elections – Office Results | Representative in Congress". electionreturns.pa.gov. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Radzievich, Nicole; Olson, Laura (October 14, 2019). "Republican Lisa Scheller announces congressional bid for Lehigh Valley based district". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Presidential Election - Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "Brazil's far-right president tweeted out a pornographic video to condemn Carnival". Vox. March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Here's how the House voted on Trump's impeachment". Politico. December 18, 2019.
- ^ Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "Leadership | New Democrat Coalition". newdemocratcoalition.house.gov. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Olson, Laura. "Susan Wild wins special congressional election to finish Charlie Dent's term". mcall.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ Kate Sullivan (June 27, 2019). "Rep. Susan Wild reveals partner's recent death was suicide | CNN Politics". CNN.
- ^ "Democrat Holds Slim Lead In Jew vs. Jew Race For Pennsylvania Swing Seat". Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Susan Wild. |
- Congresswoman Susan Wild official U.S. House website
- Susan Wild for Congress official campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Appearances on C-SPAN
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Authority control  |
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- 1957 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- 21st-century American women politicians
- American women lawyers
- American University alumni
- Candidates in the 2018 United States elections
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- George Washington University Law School alumni
- Living people
- Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
- Jewish women politicians
- Pennsylvania Democrats
- Pennsylvania lawyers
- People from Wiesbaden
- Women in Pennsylvania politics