Princetonians who are running for federal office in November:
Herb Conaway ’85, Democrat
Running for Congress in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, which is currently represented by Congressman Andy Kim. Conaway majored in politics at Princeton and wrote his thesis about Black political strategy. After Princeton, he went to medical school, practicing internal medicine even after being elected to the New Jersey State Legislature.
Ted Cruz ’92, Republican
Running for reelection in Texas. The border state Republican has been consistently criticized for his refusal to certify the 2020 election results and for social media posts that have been called racist.
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Vince Fong *03, Republican
Running for reelection in California’s 20th Congressional District, which includes Bakersfield. He was first elected in a special election to replace former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. He’s an alumnus of the master’s program in the School of Public and International Affairs.
Glenn Ivey ’83, Democrat
Running for reelection in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, which includes Prince George’s County, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
Raja Krishnamoorthi ’95, Democrat
Running for reelection in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, which includes the Chicago suburbs of Rosemont and Elgin. He majored in mechanical and aerospace engineering while at Princeton.
Joe Salerno ’84, Democrat
Running as a Democrat for Congress against Republican incumbent Jeff Van Drew in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Atlantic City. Salerno majored in mechanical and aerospace engineering while at Princeton.
Terri Sewell ’86, Democrat
Running for reelection in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, and Tuscaloosa. Sewell was the Class Day speaker for the Class of 2023.
George Whitesides ’96, Democrat
Whitesides, a former CEO of Virgin Galactic and onetime chief of staff at NASA, is running in California’s 27th Congressional District, north of Los Angeles, against incumbent Rep. Mike Garcia.
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8 Responses
Colby McArthur ’24
2 Months AgoLooking for Balance, Fairness
As a new reader of PAW, I very much enjoyed the coverage of election related news. However, I was surprised to see the difference in the description of Ted Cruz ’92 and other alums (“Election Day,” October issue).
I’m no fan of Cruz and agree that a mention of his controversies is appropriate. However, spending the entire blurb talking about them and failing to mention that he is running for Senate (every other candidate had their race named) nor anything about his connection with Princeton (as most of the other candidates have) seems a bit unfair to him. I hope PAW’s coverage can be more balanced going forward.
Robert C. Lang Jr. ’70
2 Months AgoPrincetonians in Federal Elections
Why am I not surprised that there are more Princeton Democrats running for federal office than Princeton Republicans (6 to 2, per the article above)? One can only hope and pray that the electorate has more sense than Princeton grads have.
Richard Golden ’91
2 Months AgoWhy Is Cruz Covered Differently?
Even if I lived in Texas, I would be unlikely to vote for Ted Cruz ’92. Yet it was blatantly obvious that Cruz was the only candidate whose profile took note of his policy positions.
A simple description of the race they’re in, professional background, and Princeton major was sufficient for the other candidates. Why not Cruz?
Princeton Alumni Weekly
2 Months AgoFor the Record
An earlier version of this story omitted congressional candidate George Whitesides ’96.
Richard Bramhall ’69
2 Months AgoSkewing the Political Narrative
Less than subtle skewing of the narrative in this article: objective reporting of factual data on seven of our alumni; selective emphasis on criticisms of the most visible candidate. PAW can do better.
Robert Hills ’67
2 Months AgoCruz Description Is Accurate
The description of Sen. Cruz is accurate. It’s selective only in that it reflects two of the things that a great university must stand for, calling out lies in the public discourse and a rejection of racism. If, however, Sen. Cruz were noteworthy for his leadership and positive contribution “in the nation’s service,” such as fighting for universal education, health care, or a reduction in inequality, then I agree, that should have been included. Unfortunately, he is not.
Houghton Hutcheson ’68
1 Week AgoUnfair Labeling of Cruz
The letter from Robert Hills ’67 in the December edition of Inbox rather explicitly calls out Sen. Ted Cruz ’92 (R-Texas) as both a liar and a racist, yet fails to provide even a shred of evidence supporting either of these labels. You were properly called out by other letter writers for the lack of balance in your coverage of alumni candidates, and publishing this absurd letter only adds fuel to the fire. It is perfectly fine to disagree with a politician’s policy positions and legislative record, and I am confident that your editorial staff (and the vast majority of Princeton alumni) feel that way about Ted Cruz. However, as others have noted, you should not have singled him out among all of the alumni candidates whom you covered, and you certainly should not have given voice to a letter calling him a liar and a racist.
Anthony DiTommaso ’86
4 Days AgoOne-Sided Commentary
The hypocrisy and intolerance of Republican policy positions is shameful. Our alumni talk about having robust conversations so long as it sticks to the Democrat narrative.