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Joe Sestak

Former U.S. Representative (January 2007-2011)

Why He Matters

Initially a longshot to beat an incumbent senator with the support of President Obama and the national Democratic establishment, Sestak came from behind to topple party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the May 2010 Senate primary. The former Navy vice admiral waged a smart campaign playing on voter suspicion of Specter's loyalty to Democratic causes and tying the veteran GOP senator to unpopular former President George W. Bush.

But a few months later, Sestak lost to ex-Rep. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.) in a tight and heated general election. (Full results here.)

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Vice admiral, U.S. Navy (1974-2005)
Birthday: Dec. 12, 1951
Hometown: Edgmont, Pennsylvania
Alma Mater: U.S. Naval Academy, B.S., 1974; Harvard University, MPA, 1980; Harvard University, Ph.D., 1984.
Spouse: Barbara Clark-Sestak
Religion: Roman Catholic

Committees: Armed Services; Education and Labor; Small Business
DC Office: 1022 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-2011
District Office: Media, 610-892-8623
Email
Website

Path to Power

Sestak was born and raised in Delaware County, Pa. Following in the footsteps of his father who served as a Navy captain during World War II, Sestak enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he graduated second in his class.

While he was in the Navy, Sestak rose to the rank of three-star admiral. He served as director for defense policy on the National Security Council during President Clinton's administration. After 9/11, Sestak was selected to serve as the first director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's antiterrorism unit, where he helped develop strategy to fight terrorism.

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He also commanded the George Washington aircraft carrier battle group, which consisted of 30 U.S. and allied ships and 100 aircraft. Under his leadership, the George Washington battle group conducted combat operations in Afghanistan and operations leading up to the Iraq war.

2006 Congressional Campaign

After retiring from the Navy, Sestak decided to run for Congress but faced an uphill climb. Pennsylvania's 7th district was represented by 10-term Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), who had been reelected in 2004 with 59 percent of the vote, even as the district favored 2004 Democratic presidential contender John Kerry.

When Sestak entered the race for the Democratic nomination, he was slated to face two opponents. One, 2004 Democratic nominee Paul Scoles, who had the backing of the Delaware County Democratic Party, withdrew from the race after Sestak announced he wanted to run.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell later brokered a deal with the other candidate, Bryan Lentz, where Lentz would serve in the state legislature and Sestak would run for Congress. Pennsylvania Democrats had pushed the compromise to avoid a bloody primary, which they feared would weaken their candidate against Weldon.

Once in the general election, Sestak proved to be a formidable opponent and good fundraiser. For months, Weldon and Sestak seemed evenly matched. Then, in October 2006, FBI agents raided the homes of Weldon's daughter, Karen, and Springfield GOP Chairman Charlie Sexton, a close ally of Weldon's, as part of an investigation into lobbying contracts from foreign clients won by a firm headed by Sexton and Karen Weldon. The investigation also tried to determine whether Curt Weldon had used his influence as vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee to help his daughter and friend receive those contracts.

Although Weldon denied any wrongdoing, the campaign suffered a serious blow, allowing Sestak to gain the upper hand. Sestak defeated Weldon on Election Day by a 56 to 44 percent margin.

2008 Congressional Campaign

In 2008, the freshman Sestak was challenged by Republican Craig Williams of Concord, Pa., an attorney and 21-year Marine Corps veteran who had served as deputy legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Navy Adm. Michael Mullen and had also advised former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace and Gen. Richard Myers. Williams was also the only candidate to receive an endorsement from 2008 vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin (R) of Alaska.Palin endorsed Williams because she had already met him through his brother, who served as her speech-writer during her 2006 campaign for governor.

Despite Williams' qualifications, Sestak's military credentials, reputation for hard work and moderate image helped him win easily. On Election Day, Sestak defeated Williams, 59.6 percent to 40.4 percent.

2010 Senate Run

After Specter's April 2009 defection from the Republican Party, Sestak dropped hints about possibly challenging the new Democrat in the 2010 Democratic primary.

Sestak expressed disappointment that the White House, national Democrats and Gov. Rendell attempted to clear the field for a former Republican to win the Democratic nomination. Sestak said he believes this will backfire among Pennsylvania Democrats.

"There's no kings, certainly, in America, but there's no kingmakers, either," he said.

After Specter's defection, Sestak was interviewed on multiple television networks and questioned whether Specter would be embraced or rejected by Democrats. During an April 30, 2009 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program, Sestak said: "I don't know if it's a good thing, I know what the Washington political establishment has said. But if you know Pennsylvanians, we are really independentThis is not Washington's decision."

By May 2009, some netroots support had formed for a Sestak candidacy. In addition, an online straw poll circulated by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee catalysed a "Draft Sestak" movement urging the congressman to enter the race. The poll, which appeared on a number of prominent left-wing blogs, found that eight out of ten respondents said they would back Sestak over Specter in a Democratic primary.

"I believe we need a Democrat to be running in the Democratic primary," Sestak said. "It's never been about who I'm running against, but what I'm running for."

On August 4, 2009, Sestak announced he would challenge Specter in a Democratic primary.

He cruised to victory on May 18, 2010, ending Specter's 30-year career.

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The Issues

During the 110th Congress, Sestak voted the same way as his fellow Democrats 96.8 percent of the time. In the 111th Congress, he has voted with his party 98.3 percent of the time.

The Economy

Sestak ran for Congress arguing that national security begins at home. Sestak argues that economic stability relies on an economic stimulus plan, the stabilization of the housing market, implementation of the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program to stabilize financial institutions and providing liquidity to markets through calls for Federal Reserve action.

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Sestak was a supporter of President Obama's February 2009 economic stimulus plan and voted twice, in September and October 2008, for the controversial Wall Street bailout plan.

Calling it one of his biggest legislative challenges, Sestak says he felt further inaction on the part of the federal government could result in a deep, protracted recession. He also argued that voting for the bank bailout has helped prevent the loss of further jobs, the closing of small businesses, increased home foreclosures and a more severe budget deficit that would result from decreased government revenues.

Guantanamo Bay Detainees

Sestak supports President Obama's decision to close Guantanamo Bay prison for suspected terorrists. While the prison could technically stay open while restoring due legal process, Sestak argues that is better to close it because of what it has come to represent to the international community, especially in the Muslim world. Part of repairing America's image around the world involves returning to core national values, Sestak says. "Putting a man in a dark hole far from the rule of law does not support the best of American ideals," he told WhoRunsGov.com.

What's more, Sestak says, is that only four percent of all Guantanamo detainees were captured by U.S. forces. The rest were transferred by security forces or local tribal leaders, who may have held grudges against those they captured and accused of being al-Qaeda operatives, including one instance in particular where Sestak says he saw a detainee who had obvious mental-health problems turned over by tribal leaders.

Regarding the placement of ex-Guantanamo detainees, Sestak says, "Can we handle the detainees? You bet we can."However, he is more concerned about restoring habeas corpus and the rule of law, regardless of where detainees are housed.

Gays in the Military

As the highest-ranking military veteran ever elected to Congress, Sestak has been a vocal critic of the military's current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy that prohibits homosexuals from serving openly in the armed forces. Sestak says he doesn't want to see President Obama tackle the issue with an executive order because Congress has a responsibility to pass legislation that would permanently change the policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has directed the Pentagon to study integrating homosexuals into the services and report to him by the end of 2010.

"Congress should assume its responsibility instead of ducking an issue which I see as a simple civil-rights issue," Sestak said. He is trying to get some former military House members, like Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) to become co-sponsors rof a repeal.

Veterans Issues

Sestak has also worked with House Veterans Affairs Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) to reverse a 2003 policy that banned Priority 8, or high-income veterans from enrolling in the veterans' health-care system.

Sestak worked with Filner to include the funding for these veterans in the 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill and considers it among his top three legislative achievements. He worked similarly with former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) to ensure American prisoners of war from the first Gulf War got the court-approved rewards they were owed from the Iraqi government after President Bush vetoed legislation preventing it.

The Employee Free Choice Act

Sestak strongly supports the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to unionize. Citing a National Labor Relations Board study, Sestak says statistics show that in 50 percent of cases where employees tried to form a union, employers threatened to close down their businesses, and in 32 percent of cases, employees were actually fired.

As previous versions of EFCA have died in the Senate, Sestak offered in March 2009 his own version of the bill, H.R. 1355, which would provide labor organizations with equal access to employees prior to forming a union, to fix timelines concerning the start of collective bargaining and penalize employers who attempt to intimidate their employees.

Sestak said that he would still support legislation that differs from his own, but introduced his bill as an alternative that might be more acceptable to the Senate. Specter doesn't support EFCA as currently written.

The Network

Becoming the only member of Congress to break with the Democratic establishment and endorse Sestak, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) endorsed Sestak in his primary fight with Specter. Frank is openly gay and signaled his support for the the military man's fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

On matters concerning health care, Sestak worked with Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) on 2007 legislation to help hospitals and ambulatory services fight and prevent the occurrence of staph infections. He also worked with Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) on mental- health parity, which would require insurance companies to cover mental-health issues the same way they do physical ailments.

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