Out of the ten Cornell alumni vying for congressional seats across the country this election cycle, seven won their bids. An even split among party lines, five are Republicans, while the other five are Democrats.
Here is the breakdown of how those races have played out.
Republican Joe Teirab ’09 Loses Minnesota’s Second Congressional District Seat
Republican challenger Joe Teirab ’09 lost his bid to unseat incumbent Rep. Angie Craig (D-M.N.). The district has voted blue since 2018, when Craig first won her seat, and voted to re-elect the incumbent by a decisive margin of over 13 percent.
Teirab served as the executive director of Cornell Republicans as an undergrad. This election was his first time running for office, and his campaign centered primarily on inflation reduction and public safety. Teirab was endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump among other top Republicans.
Republican Paul Hudson ’03 Loses Michigan’s Third Congressional District Seat
Republican candidate Paul Hudson ’03 lost against incumbent Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-M.I.). Scholten made history in 2022 when she became the first woman to represent the district, flipping the Republican stronghold previously held for over three decades.
Hudson’s campaign focused primarily on government spending and inflation reduction. He supported cutting back federal spending significantly, as well as significant tax cuts. Before running for Congress, Hudson ran for Michigan Supreme Court, losing his election in 2022.
Democrat Elissa Slotkin ’98 Wins Tight Michigan Senate Race
In one of the closest races across the country, Rep. Elissa Slotkin ’98 (D-Mich.) has taken the lead over former representative Mike Rogers, a Trump-endorsed Republican, in Michigan’s Senate race. The winner will replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), picking up a key battleground seat for their party. In this competitive race, Slotkin’s lead was narrow — .3 percent above Rogers at time of publication, with 99 percent of votes counted.
A representative for Michigan’s Seventh Congressional District, Slotkin campaigned on protecting democracy, community safety, increasing national production and expanding the middle class, according to her campaign website.
Incumbent Democrat Melanie Stansbury ’07 Wins New Mexico’s First District Seat
Incumbent Rep. Melanie Stansbury ’07 (D-N.M.) won reelection against retired energy executive Steve Jones in New Mexico’s first district House of Representatives race.
A representative since 2021, Stansbury has championed efforts to invest in infrastructure, expand access to education and drive economic growth, focusing on policies that address climate change and equitable access to natural resources.
Democrat Kristin Hook Ph.D. ’16 Loses Texas’ 21st Congressional District Seat
Kristin Hook Ph.D. ’16 lost to Republican incumbent Chip Roy in Texas’ 21st Congressional District.
After earning a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior from Cornell, Hook went on to serve as a science and technology expert in the U.S. Senate under Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the National Institutes of Health and in the Government Accountability Office.
Some of Hook’s priorities included enshrining abortion rights, increasing funding for public education, enhancing healthcare access and resources, boosting border security, expanding voting rights and improving access to clean air and water.
Incumbent Republican Wesley Hunt MPA’15 MBA’15 MILR’16 Reelected to Texas’s 38th Congressional District
Republican Incumbent Wesley Hunt MPA’15 MBA’15 MILR’16 won reelection in Texas’s 38th Congressional District, one of two districts added to the state after the 2020 census.
Since his initial election in 2022, the district has remained a Republican stronghold.
Hunt recently came under scrutiny for alleged ethics violations. Earlier this year, the Office of Congressional Ethics opened an investigation into his use of over $74,000 in campaign funds on private club memberships and fees associated with the club.
In a 2022 interview with The Sun, Hunt discussed his conservative heritage coming from a military family. Both Hunt and his sister attended West Point.
Hunt also mentioned the challenges he faced at Cornell as a Republican amidst a left-leaning student body, but he credited Cornell for shaping him into the politician he is today by putting him in situations where he had to frequently defend himself.
“I’ve had to defend my views, but, being in Ithaca for four years, I got really good at defending myself. And it actually made me a pretty good politician,” Hunt said. “I really owe Cornell for that.”
Incumbent Republican Dan Meuser ’88 Wins Pennsylvania’s Ninth District
Republican Incumbent Dan Meuser ’88 won Pennsylvania’s Ninth Congressional District, securing a victory against Democrat Amanda Waldman.
Meuser has served as a representative for the district since 2019. Prior to that, Meuser acted as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Revenue. He currently serves on the House committee of Financial Services and the House Committee on Small Business as well as several congressional caucuses.
Among Meuser’s policy priorities are reducing healthcare premiums, limiting drug and opioid abuse and working to reduce federal debt.
Incumbent Democrat Sharice Davids J.D. ’10 Wins Kansas’ Third District
For the fourth general election in a row, Rep. Sharice Davids J.D. ’10 (D-Kan.) safely won Kansas’ Third Congressional District, fighting off Republican challenger Dr. Prasanth Reddy by more than 10 percent.
Polling and prediction models ahead of the election indicated an all-but-guaranteed victory for Davids. She made history when she first won her seat in 2018, flipping the previously Republican district. In doing so, Davids became the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Kansas, as well as one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, alongside Secretary Deb Haaland.
Kansas’ third district is the only one in the state represented by a Democrat. The state votes overwhelmingly Republican and voted for former President Donald Trump in the presidential election.
Incumbent Democrat Katherine Clark J.D. ’89 Wins Massachusetts’ Fifth District Seat
Massachusetts Democrat Katherine Clark J.D. ’89 won the state’s fifth district seat after running unopposed in both the primary and general elections. Formerly a state senator and state representative, Clark first won election to the House in a special election in 2013. According to her campaign website, Clark’s policy priorities include a focus on climate change policy, childcare, healthcare and protecting access to abortion and contraception services.
Clark is currently the second top Democrat in the House, serving as Minority Whip since she was elected in 2022. She is the second woman to serve as whip in a major political party after Nancy Pelosi. After serving as Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus and senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, she was named Assistant House Speaker in 2020.
Clark gained recognition after she supported the attempt to impeach former President Donald Trump. She has sponsored and helped pass several bills, including the Support for Veterans in Effective Apprenticeships Act, the Pet and Women Safety Act and the Protecting Our Infants Act.
In an interview with the Sun in 2019, Clark said her interest in public service was in part driven by involvement in the Cornell Law School Legal Aid clinic and as the president of the Women’s Law Coalition at Cornell Law School.
Incumbent Republican Beth Van Duyne ’95 Wins Texas’ 24th Congressional District.
Beth Van Duyne ’95 won the congressional election with around 60 percent of the vote, a wider margin than her last performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
Van Duyne was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and has served in the House Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on Small Business.
Previously, Van Duyne served as the first female mayor of Irving, Texas from 2011 to 2017 before announcing that she was not seeking a third term. Soon after, she was appointed as a regional administrator for the Trump administration in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Xavier Rolston, Gabriel Muñoz, Giselle Redmond, Isabella Pazmino-Schell, Aryan Batada, Reem Nasrallah, Dorothy France-Miller and Eric Reilly contributed to reporting.
Correction, Nov. 16, 2:03 a.m.: A previous version of this article left out Joe Teirab ’09 and Paul Hudson ’03 from the summary of Cornell alumni who ran for Congress.