Chrissy Houlahan | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's6th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Ryan Costello |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christina Marie Jampoler (1967-06-05)June 5, 1967 (age 58) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Service years |
|
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Air Force Reserve |
Houlahan on the establishment of the Servicewomen and Women Veterans Congressional Caucus. Recorded May 15, 2019 | |
Christina Marie Houlahan (/ˈhuːləhæn/HOO-lə-hann; néeJampoler; born June 5, 1967)[1] is an American politician, engineer, and formerUnited States Air Force officer. A member of theDemocratic Party, she is serving as theU.S. representative fromPennsylvania's 6th congressional district since 2019. The district includes almost all ofChester County, a suburban county west ofPhiladelphia, as well as the southern portion ofBerks County including the city ofReading. She was first elected in 2018,defeating Republican Greg McCauley in the midterms.
Houlahan spent her childhood on various U.S. naval bases across the country, including onOahu.[2][3] Her father, Andrew C. A. Jampoler, a naval aviator, was born inLviv, Ukraine, in 1942, to aJewish family; he and his mother, who also survived the Holocaust, emigrated to the United States when he was four years old.[4][5][6] He became a historian and author.[7][8][9]
Houlahan, citing her idols asIndiana Jones andSally Ride,[10] earned her bachelor's degree[11][12] inengineering fromStanford University in 1989, on anAFROTC scholarship.[3] She then earned a master's degree in Technology and Policy from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994.[3][13]
After graduation fromStanford University, Houlahan spent three years onUnited States Air Force active duty atHanscom Air Force Base inBedford, Massachusetts. There, she served as a project manager working on air and space defense technologies.[3] She left active duty in 1991 for theAir Force Reserve,[14] separating from the service in 2004 as a captain.[15]
After leaving active duty, Houlahan went to work for the start-up sportswear companyAND1 as chief operating officer. As part of the employee benefits program the company offered 40 paid hours of community service at a location of the employee's choosing. Houlahan dedicated her hours to working with girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).[3] Houlahan became chief operating officer ofB-Lab, a non-profit start-up, when AND1 was sold.[5]
Citing a need to experience the problems in the U.S. educational system first-hand, Houlahan entered the lifelong learning program atUniversity of Pennsylvania where she re-took courses in the hard sciences. She enrolled in theTeach for America program and began working as an 11th-grade science teacher atSimon Gratz High School inPhiladelphia.[16] She withdrew from the Teach for America program after one year and joined Springboard Collaborative, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focusing on early childhood literacy in underserved populations nationwide. Houlahan served as both president and CFO/COO of Springboard Collaborative before leaving to focus on her political campaign.[5]
Houlahan has said that one of the experiences that motivated her to run for Congress was her organization of a bus trip to theWomen's March in Washington, D.C., on January 21, 2017.[5] When asked why she chose to begin her political career by running for Congress and not a lower office, she said, "I don't have time for that. The stakes are too high, and I think I'm qualified."[17]
Houlahan expected to face two-term Republican incumbentRyan Costello. However, Costello pulled out of the race after theSupreme Court of Pennsylvania threw out Pennsylvania's congressional map as an unconstitutional partisan Republican gerrymander.[18][19] While Costello was the only incumbent to retain his previous district number, it was made significantly more compact and turned from a Republican-leaning swing district into a strongly Democratic district. It lost its heavily Republican western portion aroundLebanon, which had only been connected to the rest of the district by way of a tendril through Berks County. Instead, it now took in almost all of Chester County (except for a sliver aroundBirmingham Township that was drawn into the neighboring5th district), along with the heavily Democratic southern portion of Berks County, including Reading.[20]
Houlahan took the Democratic nomination unopposed and faced first-time candidateGreg McCauley in the general election.[21] On November 6, 2018, Houlahan easily defeated McCauley, garnering 58.8% of the vote over McCauley's 41.1%.[22] Houlahan was one of sevenPennsylvania women running for theU.S. House of Representatives in 2018,[23] and one of four Democratic women to win, along withMary Gay Scanlon,Madeleine Dean andSusan Wild. She joined two other female military veterans in the House freshman class, former naval officersElaine Luria andMikie Sherrill.[24]
Upon taking office in January 2019, Houlahan became the first Democrat to represent a Chester County-based district since before theCivil War (1857). The county had historically been very Republican but has trended Democratic (Dem. 42%; Rep. 40%; Ind. 18%) in recent years.[25]
Houlahan ran on a platform that includedhealthcare,job creation, andcampaign finance reform.[26] Other campaign issues she identified includededucation, family issues, and veteran's issues.[27] Houlahan had a strong record of campaign fundraising,[28] with donations totaling almost $5 million so far.[3][29] She was also endorsed by many organizations, includingEmily's List,[30]Human Rights Campaign,[31]Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence,[32] Project 100,[33]Vote Vets,[34] theService Employees International Union-PA (SEIU PA)[35] and several other unions.[34]
Houlahan ran for re-election in 2020 against Republican John Emmons.[36] She was reelected with over 56% of the vote.[37]
Houlahan had publicly expressed interest in a2022 campaign for the United States Senate, but on June 8, she announced she would run for reelection to the House.[38] After an uncontested primary,[39] she ran against Republican Guy Ciarrocchi in the general election, winning reelection with over 58% of the vote.[40]
Houlahan ran unopposed in the 2024 Democratic primary[41] and won reelection against Republican Neil Young Jr. with 56% of the vote.[42]
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On July 29, 2024, Houlahan was announced as one of six Democratic members of a bipartisan task force investigating theattempted assassination of Donald Trump.[43]
On March 6, 2025, Houlahan was one of ten Democrats in Congress who joined all of their Republican colleagues in voting to censure Democratic congressmanAl Green for interrupting PresidentDonald Trump'sState of the Union Address.[44]
In November 2025, Houlahan was one of six Democratic lawmakers to be part of a video telling servicemembers they can refuse illegal orders.[45][46] In response the following day, President Trump posted on social media calling those in the video, including Houlahan, traitors who should be charged withsedition punishable by death, and shared a social media post calling for them to be hanged.[47][48][49][50][51]
In January 2019, she said she opposed withdrawing US troops from Syria.[52]
During theRusso-Ukrainian War, Houlahan signed a letter advocating for President Biden to giveF-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.[53]
During theGaza war, Houlahan signed a letter expressing concern over Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war and thehumanitarian crisis in Gaza. It called for President Biden to further pressure the Israeli government to adjust their strategy regarding the war.[54]
Houlahan supports the government negotiating drug prices with thepharmaceutical companies and apublic option, but opposes asingle payer healthcare system.[55]
She supportssame-sex marriage, theEquality Act. In 2019, she opposedPresident Trump's memorandum banning transgender individuals from the military.[56][57]
In 2022, Houlahan was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[58][59]
Houlahan believes that critical and emerging technology leadership is a core component of U.S. national security, citing biotechnology as a priority for research and development.[60][61] She has also focused on shoring up critical materials and resources, like transformers,[62] and believes that American small businesses focused on critical and emerging technologies should have streamlined access to federal programs.[63]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chrissy Houlahan | 177,704 | 58.9 | |
| Republican | Greg McCauley | 124,124 | 41.1 | |
| Total votes | 301,828 | 100.0 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chrissy Houlahan (incumbent) | 226,440 | 56.05 | |
| Republican | John Emmons | 177,526 | 43.95 | |
| Total votes | 403,966 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chrissy Houlahan (incumbent) | 190,386 | 58.3 | |
| Republican | Guy Ciarrocchi | 136,097 | 41.7 | |
| Total votes | 326,483 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chrissy Houlahan (incumbent) | 235,625 | 56.2 | |
| Republican | Neil Young Jr. | 183,638 | 43.8 | |
| Total votes | 419,263 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
Houlahan lives inDevon, Pennsylvania, with her husband Bart, whom she met atStanford and married in 1991.[72] They put on hold their goal of running a foot race in every state before age 50 when she entered the race forU.S. Representative.[citation needed] The couple has two adult daughters.[16]
Christina Jampoler (HI)
Started in 2004 by Carly and Molly Houlahan, daughters of Stanford alumni Christina Jampoler Houlahan, '89, and Barton Houlahan, '89
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 6th congressional district 2019–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 210th | Succeeded by |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
