Continuing with our coverage of new Members of Congress, in this post we profile new Members from Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico and New York.
Minnesota
Minnesota will have one new Member of Congress come January, Republican Michelle Fischbach, who defeated incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) to become the representative of Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District. Fischbach has previously served as Lieutenant Governor and State Senate President, where she served as the Chairman of the Higher Education Committee. Although there is no specific education platform section on her campaign website, under her “supporting our farmers” platform, she states she will work to “invest in workforce development programs that prepare our workers for the jobs of tomorrow.”
Missouri
Like Minnesota, Missouri will only have one new Member of Congress come January. In the First Congressional District, Democrat Cori Bush defeated incumbent Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) in the Democratic primary, before going on to win the November general election. Bush is a registered nurse, pastor and community activist, and now the first African American woman U.S. representative from Missouri. She has an extensive education policy platform that includes two mentions of CTE. First, she will “Push for high school reforms and incentivize certificate programs to train a new generation of skilled workers without college degrees.” Further, she will fight for tuition-free public colleges, universities and trade schools.
Montana
Representing Montana’s At-Large Congressional District in the 117th Congress will be Republican Matt Rosendale, who will replace Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-MT), who stepped down to successfully run for Governor. Rosendale has previously served as state auditor, in both chambers of the state legislature and is a member of the state land board. He also owns a family ranch and real estate company. Rosendale does not have an education platform listed on his campaign website, but has previously stated that he believes “we need to return control of education to states, local school districts and parents. A national one-size-fits-all curriculum is not best for Montana students, and bureaucrats in Washington do not know better than school superintendents, teachers and parents.”
New Mexico
New Mexico will have three new Members of Congress come January, one in the Senate and two in the House. In the Senate, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) was elected to replace Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), who decided to retire at the end of the 116th Congress. Lujan is currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he serves as the assistant speaker of the House. He has held other public offices including serving on the state public regulation commission, deputy state treasurer and CFO for the NM Cultural Affairs Department. During his time in Congress, he has been an active and long-time supporter of STEM education and CTE, introducing numerous pieces of legislation throughout his time in Congress. He is also a member of the House CTE Caucus, and we expect he will join the Senate Caucus shortly after being sworn in.
In the House, Republican Yvette Herrell defeated incumbent Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) to become the new representative for New Mexico’s Second Congressional District. Herrell has previously served four terms in the New Mexico state legislature and works in the real estate industry. She will become the first Cherokee woman and first native Republican to serve in the U.S. Congress. Workforce development seems to be the majority of her education platform, according to her campaign website. She believes that the public education system should be “training our students and producing skilled workers on day one.” Further, Herrell believes that schools should offer students the opportunity to learn the trades and skills to enter the workforce directly from high school.
Replacing Sen-elect Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) in New Mexico’s Third Congressional District will be Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez. Fernandez has spent her entire career as a lawyer, but has also spent time in various roles in several presidential Administrations. She served as a White House fellow in the Clinton Administration and worked as a liaison between the White House and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to her campaign website, her education platform includes early childhood education, eliminating college tuition at public colleges and universities and “providing opportunities in the trades through vocational schools and job training programs.”
New York
New York will have five new Members of Congress starting in the 117th Congress, all in the House. In New York’s Second Congressional District, Republican Andrew Garbarino will replace the incumbent Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who is retiring after serving almost 30 years in the House. Garbarino is a lawyer and small business owner who has also served as a member of the state assembly for the last seven years. During his time in the state assembly, he served on the higher education committee. Garbarino does not list an education policy platform on his campaign website.
In New York’s Eleventh Congressional District, Republican Nicole Malliotakis defeated incumbent Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) in the November general election. Malliotakis is currently serving in the state assembly and has previously served as a community liaison for various elected officials. Although she lists her two top priorities as transportation infrastructure and public safety, she believes in “investing more resources in vocational training opportunities, so that those who choose not to attend college can obtain a life skill, earn higher wages and build a career in which they can support themselves and their families.”
Replacing Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), who is retiring after 30 years in Congress, in New York’s 15th Congressional District is Democrat Ritchie Torres. Torres has served as a member on New York’s City Council since 2014. He is an avid supporter of public schools and teachers but makes no mention of CTE on his campaign website.
In New York’s 16th Congressional District, Democrat Jamaal Bowman defeated incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel in the democratic primary, before going on to win the November general election. Bowman has spent his career in various roles within the education system, beginning his career as a crisis management teacher before ascending to become a principal. For obvious reasons, education is a major tenet of his platform, as he calls for a “New Deal for Education.” His platform includes “dramatic increases” to Title I and IDEA, educational equity, ending standardized testing and large scale investments into community schools, among others.
Finally, Democrat Mondaire Jones will replace retiring incumbent Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) in New York’s 17th Congressional District. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Jones worked for the Department of Justice during the presidency of Barack Obama. He has also spent time as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court of Southern New York and for the Westchester County law department. According to his campaign website, his education platform includes increasing funding for education, expanding access to free pre-k, forgiving college debt and providing tuition-free public college.
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