Kathleen McGinty

Katie McGinty
Chief of Staff to the Governor of Pennsylvania
In office
January 20, 2015 – July 23, 2015
Governor Tom Wolf
Preceded by Leslie Gromis-Baker
Succeeded by Mary Isenhour
Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection
In office
January 2003 – July 2008
Governor Ed Rendell
Preceded by David Hess
Succeeded by John Hanger
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
In office
January 5, 1995 – November 7, 1998
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Michael Deland
Succeeded by George Frampton
Personal details
Born Kathleen Alana McGinty
(1963-05-11) May 11, 1963
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Karl Hausker
Alma mater St. Joseph's University (BS)
Columbia University (JD)
Website Campaign website

Kathleen Alana "Katie" McGinty (born May 11, 1963) is an American former state and federal environmental policy official.[1] She served as an environmental advisor to Vice President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton. Later, she served as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in the Cabinet of Governor Ed Rendell.

Prior to the nomination of Lisa P. Jackson, she was mentioned as a possible United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator under President Barack Obama,[2] and as a possible candidate to succeed Ed Rendell as Governor of Pennsylvania, but was not a candidate in the 2010 election.[3]

McGinty was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2014.[4]

After Democrat Tom Wolf won Pennsylvania's 2014 gubernatorial election, he appointed McGinty as his Chief of Staff.[5]

On August 4, 2015, she officially announced her candidacy for the United States Senate in 2016.[6] McGinty won the Democratic nomination on April 26, 2016, but lost, with 47.2% of the vote, to incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey in the general election.

Early life and education

The ninth of ten children of a retired police officer and a waitress, McGinty was born in Philadelphia and is of Irish Catholic descent.[7]

She grew up in a three bedroom house in Northeast Philadelphia[7][8] She graduated from St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, Saint Joseph’s University in 1985 (with a BS in chemistry), and Columbia Law School in 1988 (with a JD).[7][9]

Prior to the publication of a BuzzFeed story on the subject, she had occasionally erroneously stated that she was the first in her family to attend college; her elder brother John attended college before her.[10] McGinty has since stated that she was the first in her family to attend a four-year college directly out of high school.[10]

Career

After law school, McGinty clerked for a federal judge but did not ultimately take the bar exam or practice law.[7] She was a legislative assistant to Al Gore when he was serving as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. In 1993, she became a deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton. She chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality from 1995-98. She later became head of Pennsylvania‘s Department of Environmental Protection, serving in Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's administration for over five years.[11]

In 2007, when she was head of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, her agency awarded grants to groups for which her husband consulted. The situation prompted a state Ethics Commission ruling that prohibited department heads from awarding money to any entities that employ a spouse.[7][12]

In October 2008, McGinty took a board position with NRG Energy, an American energy company. Between 2008-13, McGinty received $1.2 million in cash and stock awards from the company. In 2009, McGinty joined the board of Iberdrola USA, a subsidiary of a Spanish energy company. In 2010, Iberdrola received a $10 million federal stimulus grant through Pennsylvania to build a wind farm. While serving in the administration of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, she sought to help Iberdrola merge with a New York company, Energy East.[12]

McGinty later became an executive at Weston Solutions, where she oversaw brownfield re-development and green business initiatives.[13]

She served as a lobbyist at Troutman Sanders, where she lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency to increase its allotment of chlorofluorocarbons on behalf of British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.[14]

Political campaigns

2014 Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign

On April 12, 2013, McGinty announced she would be a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2014.[4] McGinty finished fourth in the primary behind Allyson Schwartz, Rob McCord, and eventual general election winner Tom Wolf, who appointed her his chief of staff. She served in that capacity from January 2015 until July 2015, amid speculation that she was considering running for the United States Senate in the 2016 election.[15]

2016 U.S. Senate campaign

On August 4, 2015, McGinty officially announced her candidacy for the United States Senate in 2016. She was endorsed by EMILY's List, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and President Barack Obama.[16][17]

In April 2016, she defeated former U.S. Representative Joe Sestak and Mayor John Fetterman in the Democratic primary.[18] As of June 30, 2016, financial disclosures showed that McGinty's campaign had spent $4,312,688 and raised $6,713,202.[19]

The Senate election between McGinty and incumbent Republican Pat Toomey was among the most expensive Senate races in America. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, as of October 2016, more than $52 million had been spent on the general and primary election between the two candidates.[20]

In the general election on November 8, 2016, she was defeated by Toomey. McGinty received 47.2% of the vote.[21]

Political positions

McGinty has been described as a pro-business environmentalist. She supports same-sex marriage, tighter gun control, the Affordable Care Act, and abortion rights.[13]

Personal life

McGinty is married to Karl Hausker. They have three daughters and reside in Wayne, Pennsylvania.[22]

Electoral history

2014 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Democratic primary[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Wolf 488,917 57.86
Democratic Allyson Schwartz 149,027 17.64
Democratic Robert McCord 142,311 16.84
Democratic Katie McGinty 64,754 7.66
Total votes 845,009 100
2016 United States Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Katie McGinty 669,774 42.50
Democratic Joe Sestak 513,221 32.57
Democratic John Fetterman 307,090 19.49
Democratic Joseph Vodvarka 85,837 5.45
Total votes 1,575,922 100.00
United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2016 [25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Pat Toomey (inc.) 2,923,742 48.94%
Democratic Katie McGinty 2,817,619 47.16%
Libertarian Edward T. Clifford III 233,043 3.90%
Total votes 5,974,404 100.00%
Republican hold Swing NA

References

  1. ↑ Levy, Marc (April 26, 2016). "Pennsylvania Democrats pick establishment's Senate candidate". Charlotte Observer. Associated Press. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  2. ↑ 3 possibilities for Obama's EPA chief Shiffman, John and Jonathan Tamari. The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 22, 2008; accessed December 5, 2008. Archived January 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Rendell casts doubt over McGinty's EPA chances.Roarty, Alex. PolitickerPA.com December 1, 2008; accessed December 5, 2008. Archived December 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. 1 2 Thomas Fitzgerald (April 14, 2013). "McGinty becomes second woman seeking to be Pennsylvania governor". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  5. ↑ "Gov.-Elect Tom Wolf Names Kathleen McGinty Incoming Chief of Staff". Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ Tamari, Jonathan (August 4, 2015). "Dem McGinty announces run for US Senate". Philly.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Philly native Katie McGinty might be the political surprise of 2014". Philly.com. Associated Press. November 19, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Levy, Marc (January 3, 2016). "Three Dems will seek nod to run against U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey". Delco Times. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Tamari, Jonathan (June 2, 2016). "Why the Katie McGinty college flap should worry Dems". Philly.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  11. ↑ Jackson, Peter (March 19, 2013). "Ex-Pa. DEP chief McGinty weighing run for governor". Daily Times News. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Potter, Chris (November 16, 2015). "Senate candidate McGinty's role in energy industry is questioned". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Vickers, Robert (April 11, 2013). "McGinty makes five Democrats seeking Corbett's job". Penn Live. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  14. ↑ Carney, Timothy (April 19, 2016). "The revolving-door path Katie McGinty took to the Pennsylvania Senate race". Washington Examiner. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  15. ↑ Olson, Laura; Esack, Steve (July 23, 2015). "Katie McGinty resigns from governor's office post, clearing way for U.S. Senate run". The Morning Call. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  16. ↑ Roarty, Alex (April 21, 2016). "Pennsylvania Democrats Want to Know: Why McGinty?". Roll Call. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Obama, Biden endorse McGinty in Pa. Senate primary". Philly.com. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  18. ↑ "McGinty wins Pennsylvania Senate primary". POLITICO. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Congressional Elections: Pennsylvania Senate Race: 2016 Cycle". opensecrets.org. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Money talks loudly in attack ads for Pennsylvania's Senate campaign". philly-archives. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Results: Patrick J. Toomey Wins". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  22. ↑ Daniels, Melissa (March 23, 2014). "Gubernatorial candidate McGinty builds name recognition, support". Trib Live. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ "April 26, 2016 Primary Election Official Returns". Pennsylvania Secretary of State. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  25. ↑ http://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/ENR_NEW
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kathleen McGinty.
Political offices
Preceded by
Michael Deland		 Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
1995–1998 		Succeeded by
George Frampton
Party political offices
Preceded by
Joe Sestak		 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
(Class 3)
2016 		Most recent
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