Kathy Ellen Manning (born December 3, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. She is the U.S. representative from

North Carolina's 6th congressional district North Carolina's 6th congressional district is located in north central portion of the state. As a result of court-mandated redistricting in 2019, it was shifted into the central Triad region and contains all of Guilford County and a portion ...

. The district is in the heart of the

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group of cities lies in the Piedmon ...

and includes

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

and most of

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. She was the nominee for

North Carolina's 13th congressional district The thirteenth congressional district of North Carolina was re-established in 2002 after the state gained population in the 2000 United States census. Previously, the state had 13 districts from the first election following the 1810 census unti ...

in the 2018 election, and ran for and won the neighboring 6th in the 2020 election after court-ordered redistricting.

Early life and education

Manning was born to a Jewish family in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, on December 3, 1956. Her father worked for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

for 40 years, and her mother was a public school teacher. Manning attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where she sang

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

with the

Radcliffe Pitches The Radcliffe Pitches are a premier treble-voiced a cappella singing ensemble at Harvard University, founded in 1975 at the Hasty Pudding Club. The group is made up of 12 to 14 Harvard undergraduates who perform at Harvard and internationally on t ...

. She also attended the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

, earning a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

Early career

After graduating from college, Manning moved to Greensboro, her husband's hometown, in 1987. She was the first woman to serve as board chair of the

Jewish Federations of North America The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 146 Jewish Federations and 300 independent Jewish communities across North America, which rais ...

, from 2009 to 2012. She also was the founding board chair of Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools in New York.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In 2018, Manning ran against Republican incumbent

Ted Budd Theodore Paul Budd (born October 21, 1971) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, his district covers the north-central part of the state. Budd was ...

for the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in . At the time, the district stretched from southwestern Greensboro to the northern exurbs of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. On paper, the district tilted Republican;

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

had carried the district two years earlier with 53% of the vote. She lost to Budd, 51%–45%.

2020

After a court-ordered redistricting in 2019, Manning's home in Greensboro was drawn into the neighboring , represented by three-term Republican Mark Walker. The new 6th included all of Guilford County and swept west to grab the more Democratic areas of neighboring Forsyth County, including almost all of Winston-Salem. The old 6th included eastern Greensboro, as well as much of the eastern Triad and some outer suburbs of the Triangle. On December 2, 2019, hours before the new map was issued, Manning announced she would run in the 6th. The new district was significantly more compact and Democratic than its predecessor. Had it existed in 2016,

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

would have won it with over 59% of the vote–a near-mirror image of Trump's 56% in the old 6th. On paper, the new 6th was one of the most Democratic white-majority districts in the South. With most observers believing the 6th was a likely Democratic pickup, Walker announced he would not run for a fourth term. Manning won the Democratic primary, and in the general election, she defeated Republican nominee Lee Haywood with 62% of the vote. Upon her swearing-in on January 3, 2021, she became the first Democrat to represent this district since 1985, and the first white Democrat to represent a Triad-based district since Steve Neal left office in 1995. Manning has championed healthcare issues throughout her time in office, in part because she faced barriers with insurance coverage after her daughter was diagnosed with a chronic illness.

Tenure

Committee assignments

* Committee on Foreign Affairs ** Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation ** Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism *

Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

** Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education ** Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...

* Bipartisan Historically Black Colleges and Universities Caucus * Labor Caucus * Democratic Women's Working Group * Black Maternal Health Caucus * Women's Caucus * Pro-Choice Caucus * Equality Caucus

Personal life

Manning and her husband, Randall Kaplan, have three children.

Electoral history

References

External links

Representative Kathy Manning
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* , - } {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Kathy 1956 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Female members of the United States House of Representatives Harvard College alumni Jewish American attorneys Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers People from Greensboro, North Carolina Politicians from Detroit University of Michigan Law School alumni Women in North Carolina politics 21st-century American politicians