Jennifer O’Mara (born November 12, 1989) is a
Democratic member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the
165th Legislative District. The district includes parts of
Springfield Township,
Marple Township,
Radnor Township and the borough of
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...
.
Early life and education
The oldest of three children, O’Mara was born in
Southwest Philadelphia
Southwest Philadelphia (formerly Kingsessing Township) is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River to the city line, with the SEPTA. The nor ...
. She moved to
Delaware County with her mother and siblings after her father, a Philadelphia firefighter, died by gun suicide. O’Mara cites the importance of her father's pension and public program such as
CHIP Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...
in supporting her family while she was a teenager. She graduated from the
Interboro High School in 2007 and became the first in her family to attend college.
She earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in History and a certificate in Secondary Education from
West Chester University
West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...
in 2011. She received a
Master’s degree in liberal arts from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in 2017.
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Elections
2018
On , O'Mara launched her campaign for the 165th District. The district had never elected a Democratic representative before, and had previously been represented by one-term Republican
Alex Charlton.
O'Mara was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Charlton defeated primary challenger Regina Scheerer with 65.72% of the Republican vote. O'Mara upset Charlton in the
2018 general election, becoming the first Democrat and first woman to represent the district.
2020
O'Mara ran for re-election in 2020. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced Republican Robert Smythe Jr. in the general election. O'Mara retained her seat by defeating Smythe with 51.51% of the vote.
Results
Tenure
O'Mara was sworn in on January 1, 2019, and was elected first vice-chair for the Democratic Caucus's Southeast delegation.
Committee assignments
*Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness
*Transportation
*Aging and Older Adult Services
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:OMara, Jennifer M.
Living people
People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Women in Pennsylvania politics
Women state legislators in Pennsylvania
21st-century American politicians
West Chester University alumni
1989 births
21st-century American women politicians