Dwight Evans | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait,c. 2022 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania | |
| Assumed office November 14, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Chaka Fattah |
| Constituency | 2nd district (2016–2019) 3rd district (2019–present) |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the203rd district | |
| In office January 4, 1981 – November 14, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | James Jones |
| Succeeded by | Isabella Fitzgerald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1954-05-16)May 16, 1954 (age 71) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Community College of Philadelphia (attended) La Salle University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Dwight E. Evans (born May 16, 1954) is an American politician and former educator serving as theU.S. representative forPennsylvania's 3rd congressional district since 2016. A member of theDemocratic Party, he previously served in thePennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the203rd district from 1981 to 2016.
Evans defeated incumbentChaka Fattah in the Democratic primary election forPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district and won aspecial election on November 8, 2016. The district, which was renumbered to becomePennsylvania's 3rd congressional district in 2019, includes most of Center City, West, Northwest, and SouthPhiladelphia.
On June 30, 2025, Evans announced he would not seek reelection in2026.
Evans grew up in theGermantown andWest Oak Lane sections ofPhiladelphia.[1] He is a graduate of Germantown High School (1971),Community College of Philadelphia (1973), andLa Salle University (1975). After his college graduation, he became a teacher in theSchool District of Philadelphia and an employment counselor for theUrban League.[2]
Evans was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1980. He represented the 203rd district.[3] His district, which encompassed West Oak Lane in Philadelphia, was heavily Democratic and was 95% African-American.[1] Evans was re-elected 18 times.[4] He served in the Pennsylvania House until 2016.[2]
Evans was elected as the Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee in 1990.[5] He served in that capacity for 20 years and is the first African-American to chair the committee.[4]
In 2010, thePhiladelphia Tribune named Evans one of the 10 most influential African-Americans in the city.[6]
Before his election to Congress, Evans unsuccessfully ran for higher office four times.In 1986, he sought the Democratic nomination forlieutenant governor, but finished third in the primary election to future Lieutenant GovernorMark Singel.[7]
In 1994, Evans became the first African American candidate to run forgovernor of Pennsylvania. In the Democratic primary election, he faced Singel andLynn Yeakel. He was endorsed byThe Philadelphia Inquirer,Philadelphia Daily News, andPittsburgh Post-Gazette. Evans finished second in the primary with 22%.[8]
Evans ran formayor of Philadelphia twice.In 1999, in the race to succeedEd Rendell, he finished fifth with 4.7% of the vote in a crowded primary won byJohn Street.[9]In 2007, despite Rendell's comment that Evans was the "best qualified" for mayor,[10] he finished fifth again, taking only 7.82% of the vote.[11]
In November 2015, Evans announced that he would run forPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district in2016 againstDemocratic incumbentChaka Fattah.[12] In an upset, Evans beat Fattah for the Democratic nomination –the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district – on April 26, 2016. He won mainly by running up his margins in hisOlney-Oak Lane stronghold.[13] Fattah resigned two months later amid a corruption scandal.[citation needed]
As a result, Evans ran in two elections on November 8, 2016 – a special election for the balance of Fattah's sixth term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. He won both, and was sworn in on November 14. This gave Evans more seniority than other new members of Congress elected in 2016.[14] His district has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1949, and has been represented by black congressmen since 1959.[citation needed]
A court-ordered redistricting ahead of the 2018 elections renumbered Evans's district as the 3rd district. It lost its share ofMontgomery County and was pushed slightly further into Philadelphia. The new 3rd was as heavily Democratic as the old 2nd, and Evans handily defeated Republican challenger Bryan Leib to win his second full term.[15]
Evans was reelected in 2020 with 91% of the vote, defeating Republican Michael Harvey.[16]
Evans defeatedAlexandra Hunt in the 2022 Democratic primary.[17] Evans defeatedSocialist Workers Party candidate Christopher Hoeppner with 95% of the vote.[18]
Evans defeated Tracey Gordon in the 2024 Democratic primary.[19] He ran unopposed in the general election.[20]
In August 2017, following the aftermath of the2017 Unite the Right rally inCharlottesville, Virginia, Evans and RepresentativeAdriano Espaillat introduced legislation banningConfederate monuments on federal property.[21]
Evans is a member of theCongressional Progressive Caucus[22] and theCongressional Black Caucus.[23]
On May 23, 2024, Evans announced that he had suffered a minor stroke and would be away from Congress for six weeks while recovering.[24] He returned to Washington and resumed work there in January 2025.[25]
In June 2025, Evans announced that he would not seek re-election in the2026 midterms. Evans added that he intended to serve the rest of his current term.[26][27][25]
According to aFiveThirtyEight analysis, Evans voted with PresidentJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress.[34]
In September 2018, Evans voted against HR 6691, the Community Safety and Security Act of 2018. The bill would amend the definition of "crime of violence". Within the definition of "crime of violence" is fleeing a police officer in a vehicle or on foot.[35]
In 2021, he voted for theBipartisan Background Checks Act[36] and theEnhanced Background Checks Act.[37][38]
In April 2022, Evans announced a $51 billion, seven-point plan to fight gun violence in Philadelphia and around the country.[39][40][41]
Evans has supported three public health option bills in Congress.[42][43][44][45]
In 2021, Evans announced a $63 billion "Housing Is Essential" plan with RepresentativesMatt Cartwright andMike Doyle.[46][47]
Evans was an early congressional supporter of impeaching PresidentDonald Trump.[48] He voted for the 2019[49][50] and 2021[51][52] impeachment resolutions.
Evans voted for theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.[42][53] The legislation includes the $1 billion Reconnecting Communities initiative that he co-led.[54][55]
Evans voted to provide Israel with support followingOctober 7 attacks.[56][57]
In 2022, the Russian government permanently banned Evans and many other members of Congress from traveling to Russia. The ban was imposed in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Russia in connection with theRusso-Ukrainian War.[58][59]
Evans has never married and has been described as "extremely protective" when discussing his private life.[1]
On May 23, 2024, Evans announced that he had suffered a minor stroke.[24]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district 2016–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 3rd congressional district 2019–present | Incumbent |
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| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 155th | Succeeded by |
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