Election 2014: Princetonians Vie for Seats in Congress

Published in the Oct. 22, 2014, Issue

Election day is one week away, and several alumni are on the campaign trail as candidates for office, including 10 who are running for seats in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives.

Sen. Jeff Merkley *82, D-Ore., made headlines this week as the first U.S. Senator to support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, in a Talking Points Memo interview (the issue will be on the ballot as a statewide referendum). Princeton’s other Senate candidate, Kansas independent Greg Orman ’91, continues to attract national attention and local endorsements, including a nod from The Kansas City Star.

Two Princetonians are vying for Congressional seats in Colorado: incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Polis ’96, who represents the second district, and Ken Buck ’81, the district attorney for Weld County and the Republican candidate in the fourth district. Both sat down for election forums with moderator Aaron Harber ’75 earlier this month.

Former Rep. Nan Hayworth ’81, a New York Republican, is trying to recapture the Hudson County seat that she lost to Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., in 2012, and the race is tightening, according to polls cited by CBS New York. D. Peter Theron ’78, a Wisconsin Republican, is making his second run for Congress — and his first since 2008.

Four other alumni are frontrunners in races to retain their House seats: Derek Kilmer ’96, D-Wash.,Leonard Lance *82, R-N.J., John Sarbanes ’84, D-Md., and Terri Sewell ’86, D-Ala, who is running unopposed after a commanding win in June’s Democratic primary.

Princetonians also are in the running for statewide offices in at least two states: Republican Dan Schwartz ’72 is the Republican candidate for treasurer in Nevada; and Nellie Gorbea ’88 is the Democratic candidate for secretary of state in Rhode Island.

UPDATE Nov. 3, 2014: PAW readers sent one more name for our list of candidates — DemocratPaul Clements *92 *96, a political science professor at Western Michigan University who is challenging longtime Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich. Read more about Clements in National Journal.

READ MORE: Running the Race, PAW’s Oct. 23, 2013, feature about alumni on the campaign trail.

Let us know about alumni candidates not listed above. PAW will be tracking election results next week.