Madeleine Dean

Madeleine Dean Cunnane (born June 6, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative^[1] for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district.^[2] The district includes almost all of Montgomery County, a suburban county north of Philadelphia, as well as a northeastern portion of Berks County. Before being elected to Congress, Dean was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, representing the 153rd district^[3][4] in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Madeleine Dean
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2019
Preceded by	Scott Perry (Redistricting)
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 153rd district
In office April 24, 2012 – November 30, 2018
Preceded by	Josh Shapiro
Succeeded by	Ben Sanchez
Personal details
Born	(1959-06-06) June 6, 1959 (age 65) Glenside, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Patrick Cunnane
Children	3
Education	La Salle University (BA) Widener University (JD) University of Pennsylvania
Signature
Website	House website

Early life and education

The youngest of seven children, Madeleine Dean was born to Bob and Mary Dean in Glenside, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Abington Senior High School.^[4] She graduated magna cum laude from La Salle University, and earned her Juris Doctor at the Widener University Delaware Law School. She also studied politics and public service at the Fels Institute of Government of the University of Pennsylvania.^[5]

Career

After law school, Dean returned to the Philadelphia area and practiced law with the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers, going on to serve as executive director. She then opened a small, three-woman law practice in Glenside, and served as in-house counsel for her husband's growing bicycle business.^[6]

While raising three young sons, Dean turned to teaching. She served 10 years as an assistant professor of English at her alma mater, La Salle University, in Philadelphia, where she taught writing and ethics.^[6][7]

Early political career

Dean got her start in politics soon after graduating from high school, when she was elected to an Abington Township committee seat.^[8]

She volunteered on her first campaign, for Joe Hoeffel's reelection to the state legislature, in the same district seat she later held. On that campaign she met her future husband, Patrick Cunnane, then a 19-year-old elected committeeman.^[when?]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Having worked and volunteered in politics for decades, and her children grown, Dean was asked to become a public servant herself, serving as Abington Township commissioner, and ran for state representative in 2012.^[9] In the State House, she prioritized social issues such as addiction, equal rights, access to healthcare, ethics, criminal justice reform, and gun violence.^{[citation needed]}

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Dean and Dan Frankel co-founded the gun violence prevention caucus, PA SAFE Caucus. The caucus is a self-described coalition of legislators and advocates dedicated to curbing the sale of illegal guns.^[10]

In 2015, Dean was appointed to the Governor's Commission for Women,^[11] a commission designed to advise the governor on policies and legislation that promote equality issues ranging from sexual assault to business initiatives.^[11] In 2017, she was elected chair of the Southeast Delegation of the Pennsylvania House Democrats, composed of 22 House Democrats representing nine counties.^[12]

She served on several committees, including Appropriations, Judiciary, Policy, Urban Affairs, State Government, and Finance, of which she was vice-chair.^[4]

Dean stated in 2014: "We know that the number one issue with voters is education and how we fund our public schools". Regarding the Pennsylvania education budget for 2013, the then-state Representative said: "How we educate our kids tells us how our economy will be." In that same instance, she highlighted the issue of public school funding.^[13]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania § District 4

In February 2018, after a significant change in Pennsylvania's congressional districts mandated by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Dean announced she would end her campaign for lieutenant governor and instead run for Congress in the 4th district.^[14] The district had previously been the 13th, represented by two-term fellow Democrat Brendan Boyle. But the 13th's share of Philadelphia, including Boyle's home, was drawn into the 2nd district, and Boyle opted to run for reelection there.^[15]

On May 15, Dean defeated two challengers, Shira Goodman and former Congressman Joe Hoeffel, in the Democratic primary.^[16] In the general election she defeated Republican Dan David with 63.45% of the vote to his 36.55%.^[17] She was one of four Democratic women elected to Congress from Pennsylvania in 2018. The others were Mary Gay Scanlon, Chrissy Houlahan and Susan Wild. The state's delegation had previously been all male.

2020

See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania § District 4

Dean ran for reelection and defeated the Republican nominee, military veteran and political commentator Kathy Barnette,^[18] with 59.5% of the vote to Barnette's 40.5%.^[19]

2022

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania § District 4

Dean stood for re-election in 2022, but her district was mostly unchanged by redistricting. Dean faced Republican nominee Christian Nascimento, a vice president of product at Comcast and former Methacton School Board president, and won 61.3% of the vote.^[20][21]

Tenure

Dean with Israeli defense minister Yoav Galant in Israel, November 12, 2023

On January 12, 2021, Dean was named an impeachment manager (prosecutor) for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.^[22]

On July 29, 2024, Dean was announced as one of six Democratic members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.^[23]

Committee assignments

• House Judiciary Committee
• House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Progressive Caucus^[24]
• Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues
• New Democrat Coalition^[25]
• Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment^[26]

Political positions

Dean voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[27][28]

Dean voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.^[29]

Electoral history

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 2012 special election
153rd legislative district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean	5,206	56.49
	Republican	Nicholas Mattiacci	4,009	43.51
Total votes			9,215	100.00
	Democratic hold

Pennsylvania House of Representatives 2012 election
153rd legislative district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean (incumbent)	20,934	64.17
	Republican	Nicholas Mattiacci	11,369	34.85
	Libertarian	Kenneth Krawchuk	320	0.98
Total votes			32,623	100.00
	Democratic hold

Pennsylvania House of Representatives 2014 election
153rd legislative district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			16,984	100.00
	Democratic hold

Pennsylvania House of Representatives 2016 election
153rd legislative district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean (incumbent)	24,496	66.25
	Republican	Anthony Scalfaro III	12,478	33.75
Total votes			36,974	100.00
	Democratic hold

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, 2018
Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean	42,625	72.6
	Democratic	Shira Goodman	9,645	16.4
	Democratic	Joe Hoeffel	6,431	11.0
Total votes			58,701	100.0

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean	211,524	63.5
	Republican	Dan David	121,467	36.5
Total votes			332,991	100.0
	Democratic hold

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, 2020^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean (incumbent)	264,637	59.5
	Republican	Kathy Barnette	179,926	40.5
Total votes			444,563	100.0
	Democratic hold

2022 Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district election^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean (incumbent)	224,799	61.3
	Republican	Christian Nascimento	141,986	38.7
Total votes			366,785	100.0
	Democratic hold

2024 Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district election^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Madeleine Dean (incumbent)	269,066	59.1
	Republican	David Winkler	186,457	40.9
Total votes			455,523	100.0
	Democratic hold

Other political campaigns

Lieutenant governor

Main article: 2018 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election § Lieutenant Governor

In November 2017, Dean announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, facing, among others, incumbent Mike Stack in the Democratic primary.^[32] She dropped out to run for Congress.

Personal life

Dean lives in Lower Merion Township, with her husband, Patrick "P.J." Cunnane. Cunnane is an entrepreneur in the bicycle industry and managed Advanced Sports International. They have three grown sons and three grandchildren. Her son, Pat, was senior writer and deputy director of messaging in the Obama administration.^[33] Dean is Roman Catholic.^[34][35]

See also

• List of La Salle University people
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

1. "Pennsylvania Election Results: Fourth House District". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
2. "Suburban Philly lawmaker drops lieutenant governor bid to run for Congress". Penn Live. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
3. "Representative Madeleine Dean's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
4. "Madeleine Dean". Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
5. "About Congresswoman Madeleine Dean". U.S. House of Representatives. February 15, 2021. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
6. "Meet Madeleine". Reelect Madeline Dean. February 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
7. Waller, Allyson (January 26, 2021). "Here Are the House Managers in Trump's Second Impeachment Trial". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
8. Roebuck, Jeremy; Tamari, Jonathan (February 9, 2021). "Montco's Bruce Castor and Madeleine Dean bring very different approaches to Trump's impeachment trial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
9. Freeman, Jarreau (November 6, 2012). "ELECTION 2012: Madeleine Dean defeats Nick Mattiacci, Ken Krawchuk for the 153rd seat". Times Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
10. "Lawmakers, gun-safety advocates announce formation of PA SAFE". PA SAFE Caucus. March 15, 2016. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
11. "Wolf Names 26 to the Pennsylvania Commission for Women". Governor Tom Wolf. October 7, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
12. "House Democrats' Southeast Delegation leadership team elected". Southeast Delegation. January 4, 2017. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
13. Pennington, Maura. "PA lawmakers put education at top of agenda in election year". Watchdog. Retrieved February 23, 2018.^{[dead link‍]}
14. Micek, John L. (February 22, 2018). "Suburban Philly lawmaker drops lieutenant governor bid to run for Congress". The Patriot-News. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
15. Kopp, John (February 22, 2018). "Brendan Boyle to seek re-election in redrawn Philly congressional district". Philly Voice. Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
16. "Pennsylvania Primary Election Results". The New York Times. May 17, 2018. Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
17. "2018 General Election: Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State. November 6, 2016. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
18. Shuey, Karen (February 26, 2020). "Conservative commentator seeks 4th Congressional District seat". Reading Eagle. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
19. "2020 Presidential Election - Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
20. "Pennsylvania Fourth Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. November 8, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
21. "2022 General Election Official Returns - Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State.
22. "Pelosi Names Impeachment Managers". Speaker Nancy Pelosi. January 12, 2021. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
23. "House leaders announce members of bipartisan task force investigating Trump assassination attempt". Retrieved July 31, 2024.
24. "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
25. "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
26. "Membership". Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
27. Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
28. Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
29. Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
30. "2020 Presidential Election - Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
31. "Tuesday, November 5, 2024 2024 Presidential Election (Official Returns) Statewide". electionresults.pa.gov. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
32. Navratil, Liz (November 29, 2017). "State Rep. Madeleine Dean to run for lieutenant governor". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
33. Kurtz, Judy (April 18, 2018). "Former Obama staffer dishes on White House life in 'West Winging It'". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
34. "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). Pew Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
35. "'Do it now. Ask for help now': Rep. Madeleine Dean and her son reflect on his addiction". February 24, 2021.

External links

• Congresswoman Madeleine Dean official U.S. House website
• Madeleine Dean for Congress
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Madeleine Dean (D) state legislature profile
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by Josh Shapiro	Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 153rd district 2012–2018	Succeeded by Ben Sanchez
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Scott Perry	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district 2019–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Brenda Lawrence	Chair of the Congressional Women's Caucus 2021–2023	Succeeded by Kat Cammack
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Sharice Davids	United States representatives by seniority 202nd	Succeeded by Veronica Escobar