Paula Jean Swearengin (born June 13, 1974) is an American activist and politician who was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 U.S. Senate election in West Virginia, and a candidate in the Democratic primary for the state's other Senate seat in

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 ...

. Her 2018 campaign was one of four campaigns featured in the 2019 documentary '' Knock Down the House''. Swearengin lost the 2020 election to Republican incumbent Shelley Moore Capito by more than 40 percentage points, and the 2018 primary to incumbent Joe Manchin. She left the Democratic Party in 2021 and joined the

Movement for a People’s Party The People's Party (formerly the Movement for a People's Party) is a self-described progressive political organization in the United States aimed at "forming a major new political party free of corporate money and influence." Nick Brana form ...

. She left the organization in 2022.

Early life

Swearengin was born in Mullens, West Virginia to a family of coal miners historically affiliated with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). One of her grandfathers served in the Korean War, and her father in the Vietnam War. She lost her grandfather and several uncles to black lung disease contracted in the coal mines. Her father died of cancer at age 52.

Career

Swearengin was professionally employed as an office manager. She has advocated for economic diversity, clean air and clean water in her community, and all of West Virginia, since 2001. She is a former board member and representative of the Keepers of the Mountain Foundation, a West Virginia organization that opposed mountaintop removal mining. She has also spoken on behalf of the

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. T ...

and the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

at public fora and events, including

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

hearings on the Clean Power Plan. She supported

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kir ...

. On February 20, 2022, Swearengin left the People's Party.

2018 election

In May 2017, Swearengin announced her candidacy against Joe Manchin in the U.S. Senate election in West Virginia. She was one of the first candidates supported by Brand New Congress. Swearengin refused all

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramili ...

donations in the election and received no contributions over $200. Swearengin's campaign was highlighted in the 2019 documentary '' Knock Down the House'' alongside the primary campaigns of

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...

Amy Vilela Amy Lynnette Vilela (born 1974 or 1975) is an American politician from the state of Nevada. She worked as an accountant before becoming an advocate for single-payer healthcare, also known as Medicare for All, after her daughter was turned away fr ...

, and

Cori Bush Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of ...

, three other Democrats who ran for Congress in the

2018 midterm elections The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...

, with Ocasio-Cortez winning her election. The film premiered at the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * ''B ...

. and was released on Netflix on May 1, 2019.

Positions

Swearengin supports a

Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...

healthcare plan. She favors legalization of both medical and recreational cannabis. She also supports raising the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

to $15 and free public college tuition. She has spoken out against the influence of pharmaceutical companies in addressing the opioid epidemic and argues that long-term treatment centers and a harm reduction model both have roles to play in addressing the epidemic.

2020 election

In June 2019, Swearengin announced her campaign for Senate against Republican incumbent Shelley Moore Capito. She had two opponents in the June 9 Democratic primary, Richie Robb and Richard Ojeda. Swearengin won with 38% of the vote to Ojeda's 33% and Robb's 29%. In the November 3 general election she faced Capito, who has been a Senator since 2015, and unaffiliated candidate Franklin Riley, losing to the former. Swearengin joined her three other '' Knock Down the House'' co-stars in endorsing Vermont Senator

for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. Sanders endorsed Swearengin's campaign for Senate on July 8, 2020. In the November general election, Capito defeated Swearengin. Swearengin left the Democratic party less than one year later, writing in July 2021 of the West Virginia Democratic Party and the DNC that "I can't support racism or them ignoring Appalachian children dying & suffering."

Electoral history

Personal life

Swearengin is a single mother. She has four children and one grandson. She lives in Coal City, West Virginia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swearengin, Paula Jean 1974 births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Activists from North Carolina Activists from West Virginia American environmentalists American women environmentalists Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections People from Raleigh County, West Virginia People from Mullens, West Virginia People from Yadkin County, North Carolina West Virginia politicians West Virginia Democrats