Hill Staffers Win Local Elections

Roll Call
By Rebecca Gale

Hill staffers can do pretty well when they run for local office.

Last year, Hill Navigator talked with three former Capitol Hill staffers running in local elections.

Now, with votes counted and Election Day behind us, it’s time to see how they did.

​Marc Korman: This former staffer for Democratic Reps. Brian Baird of Washington and Brad Sherman of California, he won election to the Maryland House of Delegates.

Andrew Platt: A former staffer for Rep. John B. Larson, D-Conn., he won the Democratic primary in June for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates and was unopposed on the ballot on Election Day.

Brianne Nadeau: A former staffer for Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., she won a seat on the District of Columbia Council representing Ward 1. She defeated the Democratic incumbent, Jim Graham, in the April primary.

Korman, Platt and Nadeau all said their time spent as staffers will help shape their experience in state government. Korman plans to focus his work at the state House on education and transportation, issues he worked on while he was a staffer in the U.S. House.

Nadeau credits her former boss with sparking her passion for constituent service.

Platt believes state government will give him a chance to be more effective than working in Congress.

“I was on the Hill during the recent government shutdown, the fiscal cliff, and a bunch of other terrible things that made Americans lose faith in the American political system,” Platt wrote in an email to CQ Roll Call. “Frankly, I’d like to leave the dysfunction to Washington. The statehouses across the country are where we can innovate.”

​More than 70 of the House and Senate members of the 113th Congress previously served as congressional aides, according to CQ Roll Call Member Information and Research. While this number does not include local seats — such as the ones Korman, Platt and Nadeau sought — it’s a positive indicator for those spending time on Capitol Hill and pondering a run for higher office. Chin up, aim high.