Tigers of the Week: Nan Hayworth '81 and Terri Sewell '86

In an election season filled with fresh faces, at least two new Princeton alumni have earned seats in the House of Representatives.

Nan Hayworth '81 (Courtesy nanhayworth.com)

Nan Sutter Hayworth ’81, a Republican in New York's 19th district, won her race against Democratic Rep. John Hall. Hayworth is a retired ophthalmologist and former PAW contributor (she wrote an essay for our 2006 Reunions Guide). After receiving the news that she was headed for Capitol Hill, she told The Journal News that her victory “belongs to a country that is desperate for change and eager for the change we have made here in District 19. We did it with darn hard work.” Hayworth had campaigned on a platform aimed at spurring economic growth with free-market policies.

Terri Sewell '86 (Courtesy sewellforcongress.com)

Terri Sewell ’86, a Democrat in Alabama’s seventh district, also stressed economics in her campaign, listing job creation as her lead issue (unemployment in her district far exceeds the national average). Sewell’s win was historic: She will be the state’s first African-American woman to serve in Congress. As Sewell told The Selma Times-Journal, her family has a tradition of political firsts. “I have a wonderful role model in my mother,” she said. “Some people ask me, ‘Where do you get your tenacity?’ My mom was the first African-American woman to sit on the city council of Selma and was also the person who gave me my first book. I traveled through those books long before I ever had this chance.”

For a full list of alumni election results, click here.

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