James J. Christiana III (born October 3, 1983) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 2009 to 2019. The great-grandson of Italian immigrants, Christiana is a fourth-generation resident of

Beaver County, Pennsylvania Beaver County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,215. Its county seat is Beaver. The county was created on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny and Washington counties. It took ...

, and a member of the First Presbyterian Church in

Beaver, Pennsylvania Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, the borough population ...

. He graduated from Beaver High School in Beaver, Pennsylvania, in 2002. He attended

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

, where he played on the men's soccer team. As a college senior in 2005, Christiana became the youngest member of the Beaver Borough Council. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He also worked as a sales consultant at the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. As a Republican member of the Beaver Borough Council, Christiana served as the chair of the Finance Committee. In November 2008, he defeated Democratic incumbent

Vince Biancucci Vincent A. Biancucci (September 24, 1940 – November 24, 2018) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 15th District and was elected in 2002. He was defeated for re-election in the 2008 general election. ...

to represent the 15th legislative district in the

. In April 2017, Christiana announced he was running for Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, seeking to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator

Bob Casey Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Penn ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Christiana ran against Berwick borough councilman Andrew Shecktor and Representative

Lou Barletta Louis John Barletta (born January 28, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, from 2000 to 2010. ...

. He was defeated by Barletta in the primary 63 percent to 37 percent.

Electoral history

References

External links

Jim Christiana (R)
official PA House profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Christiana, Jim 1983 births 21st-century American politicians American people of Italian descent American Presbyterians Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections Living people Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania city council members People from Beaver County, Pennsylvania Washington & Jefferson College alumni