Marine Corps vet, LGBTQ+ advocate enters race to challenge Rep. Smucker next year

• By Jaxon White/LNP | LancasterOnline

Retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant and LGBTQ+ advocate Sarah Klimm filed paperwork to challenge U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker in next year’s midterm election.

Klimm, 50, a transgender woman and York County native, submitted a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 11th congressional district, which covers Lancaster County and the southern half of York County.

Her entrance into the race comes amid President Donald Trump’s targeting of trans Americans through public policies, including his executive order to ban trans servicemembers from the U.S. military.

But Klimm told LNP | LancasterOnline on Friday that opposing anti-trans policies is not the only reason she’s running for office.

“It’s about bringing dignity back to governance,” Klimm said, noting her campaign is in the early stages of planning her specific policy priorities. “Our current representation has lost its common sense of purpose for the district.”

Klimm said she’s concerned about the Republican Party’s efforts to cut funding for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other social services, though she also said the programs “are not perfect” and can be repaired to make them stronger.

“I’m a leader and mechanic,” she said. “I know how to fix broken things, from cars to $35 million helicopters and complex government systems.”

Klimm served in the Marines for about 23 years, after graduating from Red Lion High School in 1992. Beginning as a helicopter mechanic, Klimm retired in 2016 as a gunnery sergeant. Through seven combat deployments, Klimm said she spent time in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan and countries across Africa.

On the same day she retired, Klimm said, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced trans individuals could openly serve in the U.S. military.

Klimm attended classes at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from 2017 to 2021, but did not finish her degree. Now, she’s studying political science at Penn State University.

Klimm then began her advocacy work with the Minority Veterans of America, where she met with members of Congress and other government officials in Washington. In 2024, she was hired as a consultant on a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study on implementing LGBTQ-affirming cognitive behavioral therapy.

Earlier this year, Klimm was selected to participate in Emerge Pennsylvania, a statewide six-month program that trains women on running for public office. Those classes are ongoing, she said.

Klimm said she has three children and is currently going through a divorce.

Winning the nomination

Lancaster County Democratic Committee organizers said they have not met with Klimm, but have received “an enormous number of inquiries” about running for public office. The York County Democrats did not respond to a request for comment.

Both county committees will host separate endorsement conventions next year to choose who their elected members prefer as the party’s nominee. Any candidate for the House of Representatives must secure at least 1,000 petition signatures to appear on the 2026 primary ballot.

As of Friday afternoon, Klimm is the first and only Democrat to file paperwork in the 11th District. If Klimm secures the party’s nomination, she’ll have a slim chance at defeating Smucker in the deeply red district.

Smucker, who already filed his paperwork to seek reelection next year, sits on the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and has positioned himself at the center of this year’s budget negotiations as vice-chair of the Budget Committee. Last year, against a poorly funded Democratic candidate, Smucker won his fifth term in Congress by more than 20 percentage points.

Asked how she would overcome Smucker’s advantage in the majority Republican district, Klimm said voters aren’t looking for “partisanship.”

“I’ve led under fire,” Klimm said. “I’ve built bipartisan coalitions in D.C. and never ducked accountability. I’m still a public servant, not a political elite.”

Republican Jeffrey Wilder, of Ephrata Township, who ran but failed to qualify for last year’s primary ballot, also filed FEC paperwork for next year’s GOP primary.

Smucker’s campaign spokeswoman, Jenna Reath, did not respond to requests for comment.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1:57 p.m. to clarify Sarah Klimm’s educational background.