PA 5th Congressional District Race Preview: Scanlon Vs Goodwin

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — The general election is growing nearer, and Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District race is one to watch.

Incumbent Democrat Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon has represented the district — which includes parts of Philadelphia, as well as Delaware and Montgomery counties — since 2019.

On Nov. 5, voters in the region will decide whether they want to keep her in office, or usher in a new representative in Republican Alfe Goodwin.

Goodwin is touting endorsements from Laura Trump, Rep. Dan Mesuer (R-PA 9th District), and Pennsylvania senatorial candidate Dave McCormick.

A former Philadelphia Police officer, Goodwin aims to focus on removing politics from policing, protecting Constitutional rights, ensuring Social Security stability, and keeping neighborhoods and kids safe, according to her campaign website.

Goodwin is a 23-yera Army Veteran, having served during the Iraq War from 2003 to 2004, and has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration.

She has three children and one grandchild.

Scanlon, born in Syracuse and now a Swarthmore resident, holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and served as a judicial law clerk in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

She served the Education Law Center of Philadelphia pro bono before being elected to the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District School Board, where she was president from 2009 to 2011.

Due to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court redistricting the state's congressional boundaries, as well as the resignation of former Congressman Pat Meehan, Scanlon was in two separate elections in 2018: one for the newly redrawn 5th District, and one for the seat vacated by Meehan in the 7th District.

She won both races, and went on to win her reelection in 2020.

Scanlon serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Rules in congress.

She is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, Chair of the Legal Aid Caucus and the Youth Mentoring Caucus, Co-Chair of the Foster Youth Caucus, and Vice-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.

Scanlon's campaign website touts her efforts to restore funding for this critical program in the National Defense Authorization Act as the Boeing Plant in Ridley looked to cut hundreds of job, as well securing a $650 million contract to produce new ships at the Philadelphia Shipyard.

Her website says she was instrumental in passing legislation such as the Equality Act and the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women’s Act.

Patch will be following the results of this race on election night with live updates.