Summer Lee
Summer Lee, a Democrat who has represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district since 2023, is seeking re-election in 2026 in a rematch against Republican James Hayes, a manufacturing executive.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Summer Lee.
- Born
- November 26, 1987
- Birthplace
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Education
- Woodland Hills High School
Pennsylvania State University (Bachelor of Arts in journalism, 2009)
Howard University School of Law (Juris Doctor, 2015)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Summer Lee was raised in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, and attended Woodland Hills High School. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, with minors in international studies and French, and earned a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law in 2015. After graduating, she campaigned for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries.
Career
Lee entered elected office by challenging incumbent Paul Costa in the 2018 Democratic primary for the 34th district of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, defeating him 67.8% to 32.2% before running unopposed in the general election.
She was the first Black woman to represent Southwestern Pennsylvania in the state legislature, where she served on the Education, Health and Judiciary committees, and she resigned the seat on December 7, 2022, to take her place in Congress.
After Pennsylvania's new congressional districts were chosen in February 2022, most of the old 18th district became the 12th, and Lee ran there.
She won the Democratic primary on May 17, 2022, by around 740 votes over Steve Irwin and defeated Republican Mike Doyle in the November 8 general election, becoming the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress.
In 2024 she defeated Edgewood councilwoman Bhavini Patel in the primary and Republican James Hayes in the general election, 56.4% to 43.6%.
In the 119th Congress she serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on the Judiciary, and she is vice chair of the Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment.
In February 2026 she delivered the Working Families Party response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address.
2026 race
Summer Lee is the incumbent in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, which is based in Pittsburgh and its eastern and southern suburbs, including parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
In the May 2026 Democratic primary she defeated William Parker, an app developer and perennial candidate whom she had also beaten in the 2022 primary, taking 81.2% of the vote, while Turtle Creek mayor Adam Forgie withdrew from the race.
In the general election on November 3, 2026, Lee faces Republican James Hayes, a manufacturing executive who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in a rematch of their 2024 contest.