In the 113th Congress, four new Jewish representatives were elected to the House of Representatives, bringing the total number of Jews in the House to 22. The Senate will be home to 11 Jews, four of whom won re-election on November 6th.
Entering the House will be Bill Schneider (D-IL), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Louis Frankel (D-FL) and Alan Grayson (D-FL). Grayson, who was ousted from the House in 2010 by a wave of tea party opposition, relied heavily on Hispanic support to win back his seat. Eric Cantor (R-VA) remains the only republican Jewish House member, as Republican Jewish hopefuls Randy Altschuler and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach were unsuccessful in their House bids.
While no new Jewish senators were elected, four Jewish Senators won reelection, including Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Michael Bennet (D-CO). Although Bennet does not identify with any religion, he was born to Jewish parents, and is the son of a Holocaust survivor. Prominent Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) did not seek reelection.
The total number of Jews is down from 39 in the 112th Congress to 33 in the 113th Congress.
Now is a great time for to reach out to all of your newly elected Senators and Representatives, and to share with them your hopes and priorities for the coming congress. If you would like help setting up in-district meetings please feel free to contact the RAC at 202-387-2800.
Here is a complete list of Jewish Senators and Representatives in the 113th Congress:
California
Senate: Barbara Boxer (D), Dianne Feinstein (D)
House: Susan Davis (D), Alan Lowenthal (D), Adam Schiff (D), Brad Sherman (D), Henry Waxman (D)
Connecticut
Senate: Richard Blumenthal (D)
Colorado
Senate: Michael Bennet (D)
House: Jared Polis (D)
Florida
House: Ted Deutch (D), Lois Frankel (D), Alan Grayson (D), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)
Illinois
House: Jan Schakowsky (D), Brad Schneider (D)
Kentucky
House: John Yarmuth (D)
Maryland
Senate: Ben Cardin (D)
Michigan
Senate: Carl Levin (D)
House: Sander Levin (D)
Minnesota
Senate: Al Franken (D)
New Jersey
Senate: Frank Lautenberg (D)
New York
Senate: Charles Schumer (D)
House: Eliot Engel (D), Steve Israel (D), Nita Lowey (D), Jerrold Nadler (D)
Oregon
Senate: Ron Wyden (D)
Pennsylvania
House: Allyson Schwartz
Rhode Island
House: David Cicilline (D)
Tennessee
House: Steve Cohen (D)
Virginia
House: Eric Cantor (R)
Vermont
Senate: Bernie Sanders (I)