Names in the news: Primary election edition

Published in the April 25, 2012, Issue

The presidential primary news may be winding down, but for many of the Princeton alumni running for House and Senate seats, the campaign season is just beginning to heat up. Below, PAW provides brief updates on the candidates. If you know of other Princetonians running for office, please contact us.

Twelve alumni candidates are pursuing Congressional seats; two others lost primary races in March and April. (Photo: iStockPhoto.com)

Two alumni running for the U.S. Senate are primary underdogs, but both have shown promise, according to recent reports. Texas Republican Ted Cruz ’92 finished second in a recent poll, according to the Austin American-Statesman, trailing by 12 points with a month remaining before his primary vote. Minnesota Republican Pete Hegseth ’03, the former executive director of Vets for Freedom, has raised more money than his opponents, but he may have taken a hit when Ron Paul endorsed his top opponent, the Minnesota Post reported.

Democrat Hayden Rogers ’95 aims to earn the open seat in the crowded race for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Rogers was chief of staff for Rep. Heath Shuler, who decided not to run for re-election. One of Rogers’ Princeton contemporaries, Democrat Derek Kilmer ’96, received the endorsement of retiring Rep. Norm Dicks in the competition for Washington’s 6th Congressional District.

In California’s 9th Congressional District, Ricky Gill ’08 – the youngest of Princeton’s alumni candidates, just shy of his 25th birthday – has been raising more donations than incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney, according to the Associated Press. Fellow Republican Dan Schwartz ’72 has lagged in the fundraising race but hopes to stay competitive among those vying for the seat in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District.

Republican Randy Altschuler ’93, who lost a tight vote for New York’s 1st Congressional District race in 2010, is back in the ring again, trying to unseat five-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Timothy Bishop, The New York Times reported.

Democrat Jackson Eaton ’99 fell in his Pennsylvania primary race earlier this week, according to the Allentown Morning Call. Raja Krishnamoorthi ’95 also lost in Illinois March 20, but in the weeks that followed, the Democrat found a positive perk to being on the losing end: “[I] got to see my family in the daylight hours,” he told WBEZ radio.

Incumbent Rep. Leonard Lance *82, R-N.J., will face off against two primary challengers, including Tea Party rival David Larsen, his toughest Republican foe in 2010, according to the Asbury Park Press. There was no notable primary opposition for the other four Princetonians currently in the House of Representatives: Democrats Jared Polis ’96, John Sarbanes ’84, and Terri Sewell ’86, and Republican Nan Hayworth ’81.