Democrats in Pa.’s 9th Congressional District face off (again) for party’s nomination

As voters get ready to head to the polls, or mail-in their ballots, here is a look at the Democratic challengers in Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District.

• Julia Agos/WITF
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  Julia Agos was a reporter and the host of All Things Considered for WITF.

Voters will see some familiar faces this year on the Democratic primary on June 2. Laura Quick and Gary Wegman are running again for the nomination for Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District after losing the primary to dairy farmer Denny Wolff in 2018.

The district, in the east-central region of the state, encompasses all of Carbon, Columbia, Lebanon, Montour, and Schuylkill counties, as well as parts of Berks, Luzerne and Northumberland counties.

Republicans have had a strong hold on the seat. In presidential elections since 2008, the district went for Republicans Sen. John McCain, Sen. Mitt Romney and Donald Trump by double digits.

Republican incumbent Dan Meuser won the seat in 2018 by 19 points. Before joining Congress, Meuser was the head of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from 2011 to 2015. He is running for re-election and will face either Quick or Wegman in November.

Wegman, a dentist and fifth generation farmer, said he’s running for Congress because he’s tired of partisan politics.

“We need to start putting candidates in that aren’t going to play partisan politics but actually do the hard work of reaching across the aisle and working together to solve problems,” he said.

Wegman said his over 30 years of experience as a healthcare provider will help him reform what he calls a broken system. He says high healthcare costs are to blame for the lack of wage growth in the United States.

He said his experience as a small business owner and health care provider has prepared him for the challenge of serving in the U.S. House. “As a doctor you are taught to identify and diagnose what the problem is and then set out on a path to heal. We’re not having the conversation in the halls of Congress that actually address the problems that are driving the costs in healthcare,” he said.

Quick, a former public school teacher who works for UPS, has focused her campaign on healthcare and higher education. She said she wants to make higher education more affordable and de-couple healthcare from employers.

“I know there’s a way to have the political will to help the 99% without raising taxes and without adding to the national debt. We just need the right people down there to fight for the people that are struggling every day,” Quick said.

Quick, Lebanon County resident, said she is running to serve as a voice for her community.

“The people down in Washington, D.C. who try to represent us do not. And we need somebody who is going to fight for not just the 1% but the 99% — the rest of us,” she said.

Neither Quick, 53, nor Wegman, 63, have previously held public office.