This week we close with our final coverage of New Members of Congress by profiling new Members from Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
You can find all of our editions at the links below:
- Edition I (AZ, CA)
- Edition II (CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA)
- Edition III (ID, IL, IN, KS, MA)
- Edition IV (MD, ME, MI, MN)
- Edition V (MO, MS, NC, ND, NH, NJ)
- Edition VI (NM, NV, NY)
- Edition VII (OH, OK, PA, SC)
- Edition VIII (SD, TN, TX)
- Edition IX (UT, VA, WA, WI, WV)
In Utah, Republican Mitt Romney replaced Sen. Orrin Hatch, who chose not to seek re-election. Sen. Romney, a former governor and Republican nominee for president, has a significant record on education from his past political campaigns/experience. Education Week recently did a deep dive into Sen. Romney's education record. Sen. Romney has also been named as a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
In Virginia's Second Congressional District, Democrat Elaine Luria defeated Republican Rep. Scott Taylor. Rep. Luria spent her career in the U.S. Navy, retiring at the rank of Commander. On the campaign trail, she talked about ensuring "every child has access to a quality public education—from pre-K to college or technical training." In the Commonwealth's Fifth Congressional District, Republican Denver Riggleman replaced Republican Rep. Tom Garrett, who did not seek re-election. Rep. Riggleman is a former U.S. Air Force officer and NSA contractor, who later became a small business owner by opening a craft distillery. He is also a community college graduate. In Virginia's Sixth Congressional District, Republican Ben Cline replaced Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who retired. Rep. Cline, a lawyer by trade, is a former state legislator who also worked in government and was president of a sales and marketing company. Rep. Cline serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor.
In Virginia's Seventh Congressional District, Democrat Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Rep. Dave Brat. Rep. Spanberger spent most of her career in federal law enforcement and the CIA. However, upon exiting government service, she worked with academic institutions who sought to diversify their student bodies. On her website, Rep. Spanberger spoke about her commitment to public schools, pledged to address college affordability, and stated her "support [for] building more skills/career training and apprenticeship programs." In the Commonwealth's Tenth Congressional District, Democrat Jennifer Wexton defeated Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock. Rep. Wexton is a former state legislator and prosecutor. On the campaign trail, Rep. Wexton spoke about her work in the state legislature to address college affordability and campus sexual violence. She also pledged her "support [for] policies that raise teachers' pay and benefits, promote STEM courses and careers, and incentivize career and technical training."
In Washington's Eighth Congressional District, Democrat Kim Schrier replaced Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, who did not seek re-election. Rep. Schrier is a pediatrician and daughter of a public school teacher. During her campaign, Rep. Schrier talked about improving STEM outcomes, and said she would work to make college more affordable, including at "trade schools."
In Wisconsin's First Congressional District, Republican Bryan Steil replaced former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who did not seek re-election. Rep. Steil is an attorney who once worked for a plastics manufacturer. He was also on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. Touting that experience on the campaign train, he said that he had "seen first-hand the importance of quality high schools, effective technical colleges and affordable, high quality universities." He also spoke about ensuring that "the federal government does not interfere with [Wisconsin's] efforts to improve and grow [its] workforce."
In West Virginia's Third Congressional District, Republican Carol Miller replaced Evan Jenkins, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. During her campaign, Rep. Miller pledged to bring "West Virginia values to Washington," in part by "funding education."
Regardless of whether you are represented in Congress by a freshman legislator or an incumbent, you can visit ACTE's Action Center to ask your senators and representative to join the CTE Caucus, increase Perkins CTE state grant funding, and more!
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