Candidate for
Governor; Democratic Party

Allyson Schwartz is a tenacious leader and respected policymaker with a demonstrated commitment to achieving commonsense solutions to the biggest challenges facing Pennsylvania'smiddle-class families.

Recognized as a "trailblazer" by the Philadelphia Daily News, Allyson has produced positive results for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. From finding bold solutions to the problems facing Pennsylvania families to taking on, and winning, the toughest legislative battles, Allyson has made a real difference in the lives of Pennsylvanians.

In 1990, after earning her degree and raising her family in the Commonwealth, Allyson took on establishment-backed candidates to become the third woman to ever serve in the Pennsylvania Senate. Immediately, she went to work to establish the Pennsylvania Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP + a program so successful that President Bill Clinton used Allyson's legislation as a national model. Today, CHIP provides health coverage to 11 million American children. To this day, Allyson is known by many as the "mother of CHIP."

In 2004, Allyson again took on a tough fight, winning an election in a swing district to earn the privilege of serving Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District in the U.S. Congress. The 13th District is comprised of working-class neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia as well as parts fiscally-moderate Montgomery County.

After arriving in Congress, Allyson's first bill, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush, established a tax credit for businesses that hire veterans returning from our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today, as the only woman serving in Pennsylvania's 20-member Congressional delegation, Allyson has received national renown for her work on behalf of education, lowering healthcare costs and easing the tax burden on middle-class families.

She is proud to have received perfect marks from the Human Rights Coalition for her work supporting equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans, and has received the endorsement of EMILY's List for her work fighting against the Republican Party's efforts to restrict the rights of women.

A first-generation American, born to a Holocaust survivor and a Korean War veteran, Allyson is a leader who will demand results and work tirelessly for all Pennsylvania families.