Joe Sestak

Joe Sestak
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 7th district
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byCurt Weldon
Succeeded byPat Meehan
Personal details
Born
Joseph Ambrose Sestak Jr.

(1951-12-12) December 12, 1951 (age 72)
Secane, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyForward (2022–present)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (2006–2022)
Independent (before 2006)[1]
Spouse
Susan Clark
​
(m. 1998)​
Children1
EducationUnited States Naval Academy (BS)
Harvard University (MPA, PhD)
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1974–2005
Rank Vice admiral (Retired as a Rear Admiral)
CommandsDirector of Navy Operations Group
Awards Defense Distinguished Service Medal (3)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Legion of Merit (2)
Meritorious Service Medal (2)
Joint Service Commendation Medal
This article is part of a series about
Joe Sestak
U.S. Representative from PA-7
2010 Senate Campaign

Joseph Ambrose Sestak Jr. (born December 12, 1951) is an American politician and retired U.S. Navy officer. He represented Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 2010. A three-star admiral, he was the highest-ranking military official ever elected to the United States Congress at the time of his election.[2] He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election, launching his campaign on June 23, 2019 and ending it on December 1, 2019,[3][4] subsequently endorsing Amy Klobuchar.[5]

Graduating second in his class at the United States Naval Academy, Sestak served in the United States Navy for over 31 years and rose to the rank of three-star admiral.[6] He served as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff under President Bill Clinton and held a series of operational commands, including commanding the USS George Washington carrier strike group during combat operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean in 2002.[7]

Sestak was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006,[8] and reelected in 2008 by a 20% margin.[9] He declined to run for reelection in 2010, instead running for the Senate. In the Democratic primary he defeated incumbent Senator Arlen Specter, in office since 1981, 54% to 46%, but lost the general election to Republican nominee Pat Toomey in a close race. Sestak sought a rematch with Toomey in the 2016 election, but lost the primary to Katie McGinty by just under ten points,[10] in the closest and costliest Senate primary of the 2016 cycle, while facing opposition from prominent Democrats.[11][12]

Sestak announced a campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in on June 23, 2019. His campaign attracted little support and he failed to qualify for any debates. He dropped out of the race on December 1, 2019.[13]

Sestak has also served as president of FIRST Global, a nonprofit with the objective of promoting STEM education that brought high-school age teams from 157 countries to Washington, D.C., for the inaugural robotics Olympics.[14] In 2022, he announced he was leaving the Democratic Party and joining the centrist Forward Party.[15]

  1. ^ Falcone, Michael (July 20, 2009). "Specter takes hard line on Sestak". Politico. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Joe Sestak, the 60th Democrat". The New York Times. August 18, 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  3. ^ Quilantan, Bianca (June 23, 2019). "Former Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak announces presidential bid". POLITICO. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  4. ^ LeBlanc, Paul (December 1, 2019). "Joe Sestak ends long-shot 2020 Democratic presidential campaign". CNN. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  5. ^ @JoeSestak (February 7, 2020). "Honored to be on team @amyklobuchar. Respectfully, Joehttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/blog/meet-press-blog-latest-news-analysis-data-driving-political-discussion-n988541/ncrd1132386 …" (Tweet). Retrieved February 7, 2020 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Joseph Sestak :: Notable graduates". United States Naval Academy.
  7. ^ "USS George Washington Battle Group Returns Home". Navy News Service. December 18, 2002. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  8. ^ Krawczeniuk, Borys. "Sestak, Toomey hope for wonkish election". Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "Why Joe Sestak Will Be the Democratic Nominee Against Pat Toomey". Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  10. ^ "RealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - Pennsylvania Senate - Democratic Primary". realclearpolitics.com.
  11. ^ Everett, Burgess (April 7, 2016). "Joe Sestak's last stand against the Democratic Party". POLITICO. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  12. ^ "BREAKING: Documents Prove McGinty's Lobbying Career". NRSC. April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  13. ^ LeBlanc, Paul (December 1, 2019). "Joe Sestak ends long-shot 2020 Democratic presidential campaign | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  14. ^ Sexton, Adam (September 18, 2019). "Joe Sestak, Democratic candidate for president". WMUR. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  15. ^ "Joe Sestak, Christine Todd Whitman join Forward Party, a new third political party". WHYY. August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.