Kathy Manning | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Walker |
| Succeeded by | Virginia Foxx (redistricted) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1956-12-03)December 3, 1956 (age 68) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Randall Kaplan |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) University of Michigan (JD) |
| Website | House website |
Kathy Ellen Manning (born December 3, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who represented theNorth Carolina's 6th congressional district from 2021 to 2025. A member of theDemocratic Party, her district was in the heart of thePiedmont Triad area, includingGreensboro andHigh Point, as well as parts ofForsyth,Rockingham, andCaswell Counties.
In December 2023, Manning announced that she would not be running for reelection due to new "egregiouslygerrymandered congressional districts" in North Carolina.[1]
Manning was born to aJewish family inDetroit,Michigan, on December 3, 1956.[2][3] Her father worked for theFord Motor Company for 40 years. Manning attendedInterlochen Center for the Arts's National Music Camp in Northern Michigan, where she studied music and drama. She earned her bachelor’s degree fromHarvard University, where she foundedRadcliffe Pitches, the first femalea cappella group at Harvard.[4][5] She also attended theUniversity of Michigan Law School, earning aJuris Doctor.[6]
After graduating from law school, Manning practiced law inWashington D.C. for five-and-a-half years before moving to Greensboro, her husband's hometown, in 1987. She continued to practice law in Greensboro for twenty years, becoming a partner at a major North Carolina law firm before starting her own immigration firm in 2002.
She was the first woman to serve as board chair of theJewish Federations of North America,[7] from 2009 to 2012,[8] and served on the boards of theAmerican Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and theJewish Agency for Israel. She also was the founding board chair of Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools.[9]
Starting in 2012, she led the ten-year effort to build what would become theSteven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, a state-of-the-art, 3,000-seat performing arts venue in downtown Greensboro.[10]
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In 2018, Manning ran against Republican incumbentTed Budd for theU.S. House of Representatives inNorth Carolina's 13th congressional district.[11] At the time, the district stretched from southwestern Greensboro to the northern exurbs ofCharlotte. On paper, the district tilted Republican;Donald Trump had carried the district two years earlier with 53% of the vote. She lost to Budd, 52% to 46%.
After a court-ordered redistricting in 2019, 6th District was reconfigured to include the Triad, with all ofGuilford County, and part ofForsyth County, including most of Winston-Salem.[12] The previous 6th District, which included only parts of Greensboro, had been represented by RepublicanMark Walker for three terms.
On December 2, 2019, hours before the new map was issued, Manning announced she would run in the 6th.[13] The new district was significantly more compact and Democratic than its predecessor. Had it existed in 2016,Hillary Clinton would have won it with over 59% of the vote[14]–a near-mirror image of Trump's 56% in the old 6th.[15]
With most observers believing the 6th was a likely Democratic pickup,[16] Walker announced he would not run for a fourth term.[17]
Manning won the Democratic primary, and in the general election, she defeated Republican nominee Lee Haywood with 62% of the vote. Upon her swearing-in on January 3, 2021,[18] she became the first woman to ever represent the 6th District,[19] the first Democrat to represent this district since 1985,[19] and the first Jewish person to represent North Carolina in Congress.[20]
Manning has stated health care is one of her driving issues, motivated by the "labyrinthine process of getting insurance" to cover her daughter's medication for a chronic illness.[21]
On November 8, 2022 Manning won re-election to her house seat against Republican Christian Castelli 54% to 45%,[1].
After the 2020 census, theNorth Carolina General Assembly redrew the congressional maps for the 2022 election. Those maps were challenged in several lawsuits that made their way to theNorth Carolina Supreme Court.[22] In a 4-3 decision split down party lines, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the maps, finding that the districts drawn reflected extreme partisan gerrymandering in violation of the North Carolina state constitution, and ordered them to be redrawn. After rejecting the redrawn maps, the Court appointed a bipartisan panel of experts, called special masters, made up of two Republicans and one Democrat, to draw fair maps.[22]
The approved maps removed most ofWinston-Salem, while keeping all ofGuilford County, Greensboro, and High Point and expanding the 6th District to include Rockingham County and most of Caswell County.
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As of January 2024, Manning had voted with President Joe Biden's stated positions 84.9% of the time in the 118th Congress, according to anABC News analysis.[23]
In the 117th Congress, Manning voted with President Joe Biden's stated positions 100% of the time, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[24]
Manning was first sworn into Congress on January 3, 2021, during the height of the COVID pandemic. Three days later, Manning was one of the members trapped in the House Chamber gallery during theJanuary 6 attack on the Capitol. She was among the last people to be rescued from the gallery and had to remain with other congressional members in a secure location for close to five hours before returning to the House Chamber to vote to certify the election of President Biden.[25]
Manning is the author of the Right to Contraception Act, legislation she introduced to protect the right of people to use and health care professionals to prescribe the full range of FDA-approved contraception.[26] She first introduced this legislation in the 117th Congress in response toJustice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion inDobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that overturned the 50-year-old precedent ofRoe v. Wade protecting abortion rights.[27] On July 21, 2022, the Right to Contraception Act passed the House of Representatives in the 117th Congress by a vote of 228 – 195.[28] Manning re-introduced the Right to Contraception Act while in the minority in the 118th Congress, and on June 4, 2024, she filed[29] adischarge petition on the bill in an attempt to bring it to the House Floor for a vote.
In the 118th Congress, Manning introduced the Countering Antisemitism Act with RepublicanChris Smith from New Jersey, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal efforts to counter antisemitism.[30] A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by SenatorsJacky Rosen from Nevada andJames Lankford from Oklahoma. Manning called it the "most comprehensive bill"[31] on antisemitism, and it incorporated guidance outlined in the Biden administration's first ever U.S.National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
On September 9, 2024, the Securing Global Telecommunications Act, legislation introduced by Manning and Republican Congresswoman Young Kim from California passed the House of Representatives by voice vote. The pair had previously introduced this legislation in the 117th Congress, where it also passed the House. This bill requires the Department of State develop and submit to Congress a strategy to promote the use of secure telecommunication infrastructure in countries other than the United States.[32]
On November 20, 2024, the House of Representatives agreed to[33] Manning’s resolution condemning the rise of antisemitism around the world, encouraging an increase in international cooperation to counter antisemitism and welcoming the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism.
A member of theHouse Committee on Education and the Workforce, Manning introduced legislation to expand access to mental health services in schools and to expand healthcare to address the high rate of maternal mortality.
Manning was one of the original co-sponsors of The Dignity Act, a bipartisan bill introduced at the beginning of the 118th Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform, including measures to secure the border and expedite asylum determinations, create a pathway to citizenship forDACA recipients, and increase visas for legal immigration to enhance the workforce.[34]
In 2022, Manning took over as lead Democrat on the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, succeeding[41] Former CongressmanTed Deutch from Florida. As co-chair, Manning held meetings with White House officials, the U.S. Ambassador for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism,Deborah Lipstadt, officials from European countries engaged in combatting antisemitism as well representatives from major Jewish organizations. Manning was outspoken following theOctober 7th, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, and hosted many meetings with families of hostages and members of Congress. In November 2024, it was announced that CongressmanDan Goldman from New York would take over following Manning’s departure from Congress.[42]
Manning and her husband, Randall Kaplan, have three children and three grandchildren.[43]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kathy Manning | 19,554 | 70.1 | |
| Democratic | Adam Coker | 8,324 | 29.9 | |
| Total votes | 27,878 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ted Budd (incumbent) | 147,570 | 51.5 | |
| Democratic | Kathy Manning | 130,402 | 45.6 | |
| Libertarian | Tom Bailey | 5,513 | 1.9 | |
| Green | Robert Corriher | 2,831 | 1.0 | |
| Total votes | 286,316 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kathy Manning | 56,986 | 48.3 | |
| Democratic | Rhonda Foxx | 23,506 | 19.9 | |
| Democratic | Bruce Davis | 17,731 | 15.0 | |
| Democratic | Derwin Montgomery | 14,705 | 12.5 | |
| Democratic | Ed Hanes | 5,067 | 4.3 | |
| Total votes | 117,995 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kathy Manning | 253,531 | 62.3 | |
| Republican | Lee Haywood | 153,598 | 37.7 | |
| Total votes | 407,129 | 100.0 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kathy Manning (incumbent) | 139,553 | 53.9 | |
| Republican | Christian Castelli | 116,635 | 45.0 | |
| Libertarian | Thomas Watercott | 2,810 | 1.1 | |
| Total votes | 256,950 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 6th congressional district 2021–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
