Two-term GOP congressman in Pa.’s 11th District hopes to fend off a progressive challenger

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  Julia Agos was a reporter and the host of All Things Considered for WITF.

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(Lancaster) – Midstate Republican Congressman Lloyd Smucker is facing a challenge from self-described progressive Sarah Hammond for Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District seat.

Rep. Smucker won reelection comfortably two years ago by 18 points.

Since joining Congress in 2017, he has served on the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Education and Labor.

The Lancaster native, who touts his working-class roots, said if reelected, he will focus on bolstering the economy. He said he wants to make sure others can achieve the American Dream, as he was able to do through running a business.

“If you work hard, play by the rules, make some good decisions along the way, it doesn’t matter where you started, you can start with little or nothing and you can achieve your own American Dream,” he said. “So, that’s what I’m fighting for.”

The congressman has been a fierce supporter of President Trump, in part he said, because of the double-digit win by Trump in the district in 2016.

“(My constituents) wanted someone who was a disruptor, someone who is fighting for them in Washington, and someone who’s not afraid to use just straight talk,” Smucker said.

Field hockey coach Sara Hamond, who previously ran unsuccessful campaigns for the state House in 2018 and the state Senate in 2019, said she would work to reform the criminal justice system.

“The reason why I fell into politics here was that I was taught, like so many others, that it is incredibly important to stand up and speak out when I witness injustice,” she said.

Part of the solution, Hammond said, would be greater investment in mental health services and abolishing for-profit prisons.

If elected, she would also work to expand access to health care, which she said is especially critical during the coronavirus pandemic.

“So many people are finding themselves like my family did in 2008 without proper employment and either being under insured or not insured at all which can be critically dangerous,” she said.

Hammond has called for a public option and the de-coupling of health from employment.

The 11th District represents portions of Lancaster and York counties.