Senator Ben Cardin is the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been a national leader on healthcare, foreign affairs, retirement security, the environment and fiscal issues. He has worked to further U.S. national security and to ensure that good governance, transparency and respect for human rights are integrated into American foreign policy. Senator Cardin is currently serving his third term in the Senate and has announced his retirement at the end of this term.

Senator Brian Schatz was first appointed to the Senate in 2012. He then went on to win a special election in 2014, and was reelected again in 2016. Prior to his time in the Senate, Schatz served as Hawaii’s lieutenant governor and worked as a climate activist. As a Jewish Democrat himself, Senator Schatz is strong on many of our key issues. He is a powerful voice on voting rights and climate change in particular.

Representative Dan Goldman has served the NY-10 Congressional District since 2022. Prior, he worked as an attorney and served as lead counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump and for the House Impeachment Managers during the Senate trial of Donald Trump. He worked for 10 years as an Assistant US Attorney in New York, where he prosecuted gun trafficking, corporate fraud cases, Russian organized crime, and violent gangs. In Congress, he has worked to combat gun violence, uphold democracy and freedom, and address border security. Goldman sits on the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism. He has joined JDCA for phonebanks and other events to energize our volunteers.

Before being elected to Congress in 2022, Greg Landsman served his community as a member of the Cincinnati City Council since 2018. Prior to entering politics, Councilmember Landsman worked as a non-profit leader and a public educator. He is a Jewish candidate and has worked with the Tauber/Rashi Rise Together Initiative, an organization that works in Israeli cities to invest in young people. On the Cincinnati City Council, Councilmember Landsman has secured historic investments in transit and infrastructure in the Cincinnati area and has fought to ensure that Cincinnati children are provided with two years of quality preschool. In Congress, he will build on this important work and advocate for Democratic values. 

Representative Mike Levin is running for reelection in California’s 49th District after winning key races in 2018 and 2020. From the start, Rep. Levin has been a strong leader on critical issues to our community. Before joining Congress, he spent years tackling the issue of climate change, working in the clean energy industry to improve both transportation and electric generation. He also spent several years on the board at the Center for Sustainable Energy. Rep. Levin has continued that fight in Congress, serving on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. He supports providing quality healthcare to all Americans, supporting bills that would provide dental and vision coverage under Medicare and improve healthcare outcomes for mothers and babies on Medicaid and in the CHIP program. Rep. Levin is a strong advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship and a co-sponsor of H.R. 326, which reaffirmed Congressional support for a two-state solution.

A strong friend of JDCA, Representative Kathy Manning was first elected to Congress in 2020. Throughout her time in Congress, she has been a strong advocate for childhood education and investments in school infrastructure, democracy and maintaining strong relationships with United States’ allies, and has served as the Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combatting Antisemitism. Prior, she worked as a lawyer, small business owner, and a leader in the Jewish community, leading major Jewish philanthropic organizations like JFNA and Prizmah. She’s proven through her work in Congress and on countless boards and organizations that she is committed to serving the people of her district and the American Jewish community.

Jan Schakowsky was elected to represent Illinois' 9th Congressional District in 1998, after serving for eight years in the Illinois State Assembly. She is in her thirteenth term. In Congress, Schakowsky focuses on health care and senior issues. She was a leader in passing the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide healthcare coverage to all Americans. Schakowsky was responsible for provisions in the law to require improved review of insurance company premiums, nursing home quality protections, and initiatives to increase the number of health care providers, which benefit seniors and all Americans. A champion for the nation's seniors, Schakowsky continues the fight to prevent the privatization of Social Security and Medicare, and to make prescription drugs more affordable.

Representative Brad Schneider has been serving his community from as early as 2013 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Illinois’s 10th District from 2013-2015 and 2017-present. In the House, Rep. Schneider has been a strong voice for entrepreneurs and small business owners, using his position on the House Small Business Committee to advocate for policies that clear up red tape and spur innovation. On the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Schneider has fought to protect Social Security and Medicare from Republican attacks and bring down taxes for working families. Rep. Schneider is a Jewish candidate and has worn his Jewish values on his sleeve as a trustee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a proud advocate for Jewish issues in Illinois. He has been an effective legislator in the House and we are proud to endorse him for reelection.

Representative Kim Schrier was first elected to Congress in 2018. Before her election, Rep. Schrier worked as a pediatrician. Drawing from both personal experience and professional expertise, Rep. Schrier’s top priority is health care; she entered politics because her representative worked to repeal the Affordable Care Act. She has cosponsored numerous pieces of pro-Israel legislation, including the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021, which promotes normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states, as well as legislation condemning BDS. Rep. Schrier is a proud Jewish Dem and was endorsed by JDCA in 2020.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz was first elected in 2005 and is Florida’s first Jewish Congresswoman. Prior, she served as the youngest woman elected to the Florida State legislature and advocated for issues such as economic equity and reproductive freedom. In Congress, she has prioritized expanding health care, improving quality of life for children and families, protecting reproductive rights, and safeguarding the social safety net. Rep. Wasserman Schultz serves on the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, spearheaded the creation of Jewish American Heritage Month, and has proudly represented the Jewish community in Congress. Rep. Wasserman Schultz has joined JDCA for numerous events throughout the years.

Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) was born and raised in southern California and represents California's 32nd Congressional District. Sherman is currently serving his fourteenth term in Congress and has served in the House of Representatives since 1997. Congressman Sherman currently serves on two major House Committees. He is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. During his tenure in Congress, Sherman has developed a reputation as a strong advocate for the interests of working families. He has worked to craft and advance priorities such as robust environmental standards, federal aid to education, real healthcare reform, and the protection of Social Security and Medicare. The Congressman has also supported policies to expand U.S. exports, prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and promote a just and effective U.S. foreign policy.

Brian Tyler Cohen is an author, journalist, and political commentator. He is among the most-watched progressive political commentators in America with work featured on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Brian is also host of one of the top-ranked political podcasts in the US, “No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen,” with guests that have included President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Ron Klain to name but a few. Brian has joined JDCA in the past for various events leading up to the 2022 election and 203 Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, as well as briefings over this past year in anticipation of the 2024 election.

Jim Gerstein is a founding partner of GBAO and provides research-based strategic counsel for candidates running for office, non-profit organizations, arts and cultural institutions, and Fortune 500 companies.  Over the past 25 years, Gerstein has conducted hundreds of focus groups and surveys across the United States, Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Australia to help individuals, organizations, and companies devise strategies that enable them to meet their goals.

Gerstein has served as the pollster to numerous candidate and independent expenditure campaigns for US Senate, House, and municipal elections, including JDCA.  He has particular expertise in swing states and congressional districts that determine the balance of power in America.

An experienced television news producer and highly regarded political strategist and thought-leader, Simon has spent three decades in national media and politics. He is a veteran of two Presidential campaigns, including a senior role in the famous 1992 Clinton War Room. In 1996, he founded the New Democrat Network/New Policy Institute, where he advised leading politicians, Administration officials and policy makers on a wide range of issues here in the United States and abroad. Throughout the 2022 midterm elections, Simon boltered his reputation as a Democratic strategist by continuously remaining one of the sole optimistic voices about Democrats’ chances in 2022, despite the broadly believed narrative of a “red wave.” After the lessons he learned from 2022, Simon decided to move on from NDN and began a new venture, dubbed “Hopium Chronicles,” where he is countering the MAGA narrative through hope and optimism.