Dan Wofford is an American lawyer and politician. Running for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in 2002, Wofford lost a close race in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

's 6th

US House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

District to

Jim Gerlach James W. Gerlach (born February 25, 1955) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term. Early life, education and caree ...

in 2002. Wofford is the son of the late

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Harris Wofford (D-PA). He worked in the Pennsylvania governor's office and later directed

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

's College Access Program, which helps low-income Philadelphia students prepare for college. The 6th

district in Pennsylvania is a district that was gerrymandered by a Republican-led House in order to elect a greater number of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

s, including State Senator Gerlach. The district was more competitive in 2002 than voter registration numbers suggested, and the election was close: Wofford lost by only 51% to 49%. In 2008, Wofford was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Democratic National Convention. He voted for Democratic

nominee A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

. Wofford earned a bachelor's degree in history from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1977 and a J.D. degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1983. As a student at Harriton High School of Lower Merion in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, Wofford was the captain of the soccer team and an All-Pennsylvania lacrosse player. Wofford's 2002 campaign website was given "The Candidate Vanity Award" by the political website

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the we ...

for its large photo of Wofford.

References

CNN.com Election 2002 - State Races: Pennsylvania
Accessed December 30, 2005.
Dan Wofford For Congress
Archived copy from December 3, 2002. Accessed December 30, 2005. * Eichel, Larry.

''Philadelphia Inquirer''. October 16, 2002. Accessed December 30, 2005. Living people Pennsylvania Democrats Year of birth missing (living people) Yale College alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Harriton High School alumni {{Improve categories, date=November 2022