PA-06: How a Pennsylvania industrial engineer became the odds-on favorite to win a seat in Congress
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA—Before Chrissy Houlahan decided to run for Congress in southeastern Pennsylvania, she made a list of things she felt anyone serving in that body needed to understand. At the top were how to protect the country, how to grow the economy, and how to educate the nation’s children.
Houlahan, who holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and a master’s degree in technology policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, realized she was well-suited to tackle all three questions with her experience as a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, an executive with two successful startup companies, and a chemistry teacher in an urban high school. But before throwing her hat into the ring, Houlahan applied one more lesson from her time in the classroom, on the job, and in the military: She gamed out a way to win the election.
Some 15 months later, Houlahan has implemented that plan to perfection. Thanks in part to a near-flawless campaign and prodigious fundraising, she is now the only Democrat on the 15 May primary ballot for Pennsylvania’s sixth congressional district (PA-6), an area southwest of here. Because of some good fortune, she’s also a heavy favorite to win the general election in November for what is now an open seat.
The 50-year-old Houlahan says she isn’t afraid of competition. “But it’s very draining if there are lots of us [Democrats] fighting among ourselves” in the primary election, she notes. And although she says her ultimate goal is to turn the district “from a red dot to a blue dot,” it’s no secret that she wants to be that blue dot.
“Our system is in desperate straits, and you can either run away and hide or try to be part of the solution,” she says. When asked why she chose Congress for her first foray into politics, rather than a local post, she doesn’t mince words. “I don’t have time for that. The stakes are too high, and I think I’m qualified.”
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/05/how-pennsylvania-industrial-engineer-became-odds-favorite-win-seat-congress