Summer Lee

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Summer Lee
Summer Lee 211019-4-50729 (51607982235) (cropped).jpg
Lee in 2021
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 34th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byPaul Costa
Personal details
Born (1987-11-26) November 26, 1987 (age 35)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationPennsylvania State University (BA)
Howard University (JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Summer Lynn Lee (born November 26, 1987)[1] is an American community organizer and politician serving as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 34th district.[2] With the support of the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, she defeated incumbent Paul Costa in the 2018 Democratic primary election with over 67% of the vote.[3] Lee is the first black woman to represent Southwestern Pennsylvania in the state legislature.[2]

Lee is the Democratic nominee in the 2022 election to represent Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. She won the primary by less than 1% of the vote over her closest opponent, Steve Irwin, a local attorney and activist who currently chairs the State Advisory Committee for the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

Early life and education

Lee was raised in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, and attended Woodland Hills High School. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2009 and earned a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law in 2015.[1][4][5] She campaigned for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries after graduating.[6]

Political career

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

See also: 2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election

Lee challenged incumbent Representative Paul Costa in the Democratic primary for the 34th district in 2018. An organizer from Pittsburgh's DSA chapter approached her about running after she led a successful write-in campaign for a school board candidate.[6] She defeated Costa by a 67.8-32.2% magin, attributing her victory to grassroots campaigning.[7] She was unopposed in the general election.

Committee Assignments

2022 United States House of Representatives campaign

Lee announcing her congressional campaign

In October 2021, Lee announced her candidacy for Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district after the incumbent representative, Mike Doyle, announced his retirement.[9] After Pennsylvania's new congressional districts were chosen in February 2022, most of the old 18th district, including Pittsburgh as well as parts of the Mon Valley and Westmoreland County, became the 12th district, and Lee announced she would run there.[10]

Lee won the Democratic primary election on May 17, 2022, defeating rival Steve Irwin. Though Irwin had an early lead on election night with early and mail-in ballots, Lee emerged with a victory of around 740 votes once in-person Election Day votes were counted. She won by carrying the Allegheny County portion of the district by almost 4,500 votes. Most networks had declared Lee the winner by May 20, and Irwin conceded that day.[11]

Electoral history

2018

2018 Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Representative District 34[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Summer Lee 6,914 67.77
Democratic Paul Costa (incumbent) 3,288 32.23
Total votes 10,202 100
2018 General election Pennsylvania State Representative District 34[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Summer Lee 21,240 100%
Total votes 21,240 100.0%
Democratic hold

2020

2020 Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Representative District 34[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Summer Lee 11,863 76.36
Democratic Christopher Roland 3,672 23.64
Total votes 15,535 100
2020 General election Pennsylvania State Representative District 34[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Summer Lee 27,129 100%
Total votes 27,129 100.0%
Democratic hold

Personal life

Lee lives in Swissvale, Pennsylvania.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Representative Summer Lee". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Deto, Ryan (May 23, 2018). "Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee say their victories can open doors for non-traditional and minority candidates in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "Pennsylvania Primary Election Results: State Legislature". WTAE-TV. May 16, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Taylor Jr., Rob. "Summer Lee strives to brighten her community, as she runs for state House seat". New Pittsburgh Courier. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. ^ Griswold, Eliza (May 12, 2018). "The Hard-Left Candidate Taking On the Democratic Establishment in Southwestern Pennsylvania". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Lancianese, Adelina; Davis, Kathleen (May 15, 2018). "Progressive Summer Lee Defeats Incumbent Paul Costa In 34th State House District". WESA. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  7. ^ Collier, Sean (October 17, 2018). "Q & A: Summer Lee – Why She Won and What's Next". Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Representative Summer Lee". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  9. ^ Gregory Krieg (October 19, 2021). "Progressive champion Summer Lee enters Pennsylvania primary to replace retiring Rep. Mike Doyle". CNN. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  10. ^ Koscinski, Kiley (February 23, 2022). "In new Pennsylvania congressional map, some U.S. House candidates find themselves in new districts". Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Solender, Andrew (May 20, 2022). "Summer Lee wins PA House primary in triumph for the Squad". Axios. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "Allegheny Primary Results 2018". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
  13. ^ "Allegheny General Results 2018". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
  14. ^ "Allegheny Primary Results 2020". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
  15. ^ "Allegheny General Results 2020". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Summer Lee.
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 34th district
2019–present 		Incumbent
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