Joe Sestak represented in the US House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 2010.
100 Facts About Joe Sestak
2.
Joe Sestak was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election, launching his campaign on June 23,2019 and ending it on December 1,2019, subsequently endorsing Amy Klobuchar.
3.
Joe Sestak served as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff under President Bill Clinton and held a series of operational commands, including commanding the USS George Washington carrier strike group during combat operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean in 2002.
4.
Joe Sestak declined to run for reelection in 2010, instead running for the Senate.
5.
Joe Sestak sought a rematch with Toomey in the 2016 election, but lost the primary to Katie McGinty by just under ten points, in the closest and costliest Senate primary of the 2016 cycle, while facing opposition from prominent Democrats.
6.
Joe Sestak announced a campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in on June 23,2019.
7.
Joe Sestak's campaign attracted little support and he failed to qualify for any debates.
8.
Joe Sestak dropped out of the race on December 1,2019.
9.
Joe Sestak then became president of FIRST Global, a nonprofit with the objective of promoting STEM education that brought high-school age teams from 157 countries to Washington, DC, for the inaugural robotics Olympics.
10.
Joe Sestak's father graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1942, and then fought in both the Atlantic and the Pacific during World War II, attaining the rank of captain.
11.
Joe Sestak continued his service after the war as an engineering officer at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
12.
Joe Sestak attended Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania, where his mother worked as a math teacher.
13.
Joe Sestak was deeply inspired by his father and has recalled the time his father spent five hours fixing the family car in the freezing cold of a Philadelphia winter:.
14.
In 1974 Joe Sestak graduated second in his class of over 900 midshipmen, with a Bachelor of Science degree in American political systems.
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Joe Sestak then served as aide and flag lieutenant to the admiral in charge of United States Navy surface forces in the Pacific.
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In January 1986 Joe Sestak became executive officer of the guided missile frigate USS Underwood and was instrumental in the Underwood's winning the coveted battle E and the Battenberg Cup.
17.
Joe Sestak then served in the Politico-Military Assessment Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
18.
In July 1993 Joe Sestak became the head of the Strategy and Concepts Branch in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
19.
Joe Sestak then directed the CNO's Strategy and Policy Division, and led the navy's efforts toward the 2000 Quadrennial Defense Review, for which he analyzed military strategic requirements and the economic value of US defense spending.
20.
In 2002 Joe Sestak assumed command of the George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group of 10 US ships and 10,000 sailors, SEALs, Marines, and 100 aircraft.
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Joe Sestak integrated it with a coalition of 20 allied ships and 5,000 sailors.
22.
Joe Sestak became the director of the CNO's Analysis Group, again reporting directly to CNO Clark as policy adviser and administrator, where he directed independent analysis on strategy, warfare requirements, and resources for the CNO outside of the normal bureaucratic process of the Navy staff.
23.
Under Clark, Joe Sestak worked to rein in military spending by maximizing fleet efficiency.
24.
On September 11,2001, Joe Sestak was on duty at the Pentagon, leaving the building moments before it was attacked.
25.
In 2005, after CNO Clark retired, Joe Sestak was administratively removed from his position as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs, a three-star position.
26.
Joe Sestak's removal was one of the first changes made by Admiral Michael Mullen when he took over as the new Chief of Naval Operations in July 2005, according to Navy Times.
27.
Joe Sestak was reverted to his permanent two-star rank of rear admiral, and was reassigned as a special assistant to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.
28.
Joe Sestak then opted to retire when his three-year-old daughter was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer.
29.
Joe Sestak did what I asked him to do; I wanted straight talk, and this put him in the cross-hairs.
30.
People are going to say what they want to say, but [Joe Sestak] challenged people who did not want to be challenged.
31.
Joe Sestak retired as a two-star admiral, not having maintained the rank of three-star admiral long enough to retain it in retirement.
32.
Joe Sestak's decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit awards, two Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Navy Commendation Medals and the Navy Achievement Medal.
33.
In 2006, with his daughter's recovery going smoothly, Joe Sestak was motivated to run for Congress by the benefits he received under the United States Military's TRICARE health care program, which gave his daughter the care she needed to treat her brain tumor.
34.
Joe Sestak stated that, during his travels to find the best treatment for his daughter, he saw children who did not have the same quality of care, or could not afford the necessary care.
35.
Joe Sestak made health-care reform a pillar of his campaign in hopes of giving everyone the same care his family had.
36.
Joe Sestak called his congressional service a continuation of his military service, "paying back" the country that took care of his daughter.
37.
Joe Sestak began laying the groundwork for a Congressional run in the 7th district, his home district in Pennsylvania, as a Democrat.
38.
Emanuel told Joe Sestak he was not ready for to run in a district where registered Republicans outnumbered Democrats 2:1.
39.
Joe Sestak decided to run anyway and turned to his brother, Richard, and sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret, who served as his campaign manager, top fundraiser and treasurer, respectively.
40.
Joe Sestak challenged ten-term Republican incumbent Curt Weldon in the race, and proved a capable fundraiser.
41.
Joe Sestak received campaign donations from people around the world, including performer Jimmy Buffett, John Grisham, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and many Naval officers.
42.
Joe Sestak became the second Democrat to represent the 7th since 1939, and the first since Bob Edgar gave up the seat after six terms to run for Senate.
43.
In 2008, Joe Sestak faced Republican nominee Wendell Craig Williams, a US Marine and attorney.
44.
Joe Sestak defeated him by a 20-point margin, eight points more than his 2006 margin.
45.
Joe Sestak purchased no advertisements, and his largest expense was lawn signs.
46.
Joe Sestak wrote various pieces of bipartisan legislation that successfully passed Congress.
47.
Joe Sestak strongly advocated ending bailouts to banks in the Wall Street Reform Bill.
48.
Joe Sestak voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 but lamented that it did not provide enough accountability measures.
49.
Joe Sestak voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and the Affordable Health Care for America Act.
50.
In 2007 Joe Sestak's campaign was the first federal campaign to create a Facebook Fan Page.
51.
Joe Sestak joined Twitter shortly before he was sworn in for his second term.
52.
Joe Sestak is said to have been a prime example of the Colbert Bump.
53.
Joe Sestak appeared on the show even after Democratic leaders Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi instructed Democrats not to.
54.
Joe Sestak did not appear on the show during the 2010 general election, which he narrowly lost.
55.
Joe Sestak focused heavily on the constituent services his office provided the people of his district as he entered Congress just as the Great Recession began, homes were being foreclosed, and health care and other services were being denied as people lost their jobs and missed payments.
56.
Joe Sestak hosted an average of 15 large summit gatherings in his district each year on key issues.
57.
Joe Sestak added that the staff was becoming stabler over time, with the turnover rate normalizing by the end of his second term.
58.
Joe Sestak endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in the 2008 Democratic primaries and served as her campaign national security adviser, specializing in veterans.
59.
Joe Sestak told Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report that he trusted her leadership after serving with her in the White House.
60.
Joe Sestak endorsed Barack Obama in the general election after Obama received the Democratic nomination.
61.
On May 27,2009, Joe Sestak indicated that he intended to challenge Specter in the 2010 Democratic primary.
62.
In discussing Specter's switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party, Joe Sestak has said that the switch was "100 percent" motivated by politics.
63.
Joe Sestak attacked Specter's switch as "self-interested", and the move was disapproved of by a majority of registered Democrats in Pennsylvania, while a "fervent anti-incumbent mood" prevailed nationwide in the 2010 midterm elections.
64.
The Sestak campaign ran an ad showing Specter with President George W Bush, which seriously damaged Specter's standing.
65.
Joe Sestak gained momentum in the last days of the primary contest as the turnout in Philadelphia for Specter failed to meet expectations.
66.
Many stopped short of calling the race "Solid Republican" as Joe Sestak had a reputation for campaigning until he "sees the whites of their eyes" and 11th-hour comebacks.
67.
Joe Sestak began airing ads in mid-fall and overcame his deficit in opinion polls, closing to within the margin of error.
68.
At the beginning of election night Joe Sestak led in the exit polls by a wide margin, but as more votes were counted and central Pennsylvania's "red T" area began reporting, Toomey caught up.
69.
Joe Sestak conceded the race to a ballroom full of his supporters at the Radnor Hotel.
70.
Joe Sestak received little help from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which had spent significantly to assist Specter in the primary.
71.
The gap between pro-Toomey and pro-Joe Sestak ads was the largest of any Senate race in the nation.
72.
Joe Sestak returned to each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties to thank his supporters, including numerous African American churches, synagogues, and mosques that had welcomed him.
73.
Joe Sestak taught courses on "Ethical Leadership" and "Restoring the American Dream".
74.
In 2013 Joe Sestak announced he was considering a rematch with Toomey.
75.
Many establishment Democrats resented Joe Sestak for defeating Arlen Specter in the 2010 primary.
76.
Joe Sestak had led consistently in the polls, sometimes by as much as 17 points, though national Democrats including Obama encouraged six candidates to challenge Joe Sestak in the primary, with Katie McGinty emerging as the establishment's preferred nominee.
77.
The national Democrats' meddling in the primary was largely unpopular with their liberal base, as Joe Sestak consistently polled higher than McGinty in a hypothetical matchup against Toomey.
78.
On June 23,2019, Joe Sestak announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election in a video posted on his website.
79.
Joe Sestak entered the race days before the first Democratic presidential debate was held, and did not participate in any debates held in subsequent months, failing to meet the minimum requirements for eligibility.
80.
Joe Sestak supports requiring Congress to offset the cost of all new spending.
81.
Joe Sestak supports expanding middle-class tax cuts and letting the Bush tax cuts expire.
82.
Joe Sestak voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008.
83.
Joe Sestak voted for the Improving Head Start Act and the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.
84.
Joe Sestak voted for the Waxman Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act program.
85.
Joe Sestak was endorsed by the Sierra Club in his 2006 and 2008 Congressional election campaigns.
86.
Joe Sestak has called for reinstatement of the federal ban on assault weapons.
87.
Joe Sestak supports state-provided preventive care and voted for the CHAMP Act.
88.
Joe Sestak announced the Pediatric Cancer Caucus, which he will co-chair.
89.
Joe Sestak is a member of the Autism Caucus, Diabetes Caucus, 21st Century Health Care Caucus, Congressional Mental Health Caucus, Nursing Caucus, and Cystic Fibrosis Caucus.
90.
Joe Sestak cosigned, with 35 other retired admirals and generals, a letter endorsing the proposed 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and went on FOX News to defend the deal.
91.
Joe Sestak is an original cosponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act and supports the original version that includes card check.
92.
Joe Sestak created the Labor Advisory Committee to address the challenges facing working families in his district.
93.
Joe Sestak voted to allow states to regulate medical marijuana by voting for the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008, which would have barred the Department of Justice from preventing the implementation of state laws regarding the distribution, possession, and cultivation of medical marijuana.
94.
Joe Sestak voted for the war supplemental the House constructed after President Bush's veto, a bill many critics of the Bush administration called a "blank check" for the four month continuation of administration policies in the Middle East.
95.
Joe Sestak supported the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which critics contended continued the Bush administration's policy of warrantless wiretapping and provided retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies who participated in the National Security Agency's "terrorist surveillance program".
96.
Joe Sestak supported the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan in late 2009, and military actions such as drone strikes in northwest Pakistan.
97.
Joe Sestak supported a gradual draw-down of troops from Iraq.
98.
Joe Sestak was an opponent of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that excluded LGBT people from serving openly in the United States military, stating that the policy means "[w]e're absolutely not adhering to the ideals of our nation".
99.
Joe Sestak was instrumental in bringing to light a two-year pattern of abuse, including anti-gay hazing, that took place in a Military Working Dog unit stationed in Bahrain, sparking an investigation that turned up nearly 100 instances of abuse.
100.
In 2017, Joe Sestak became the first president of FIRST Global, a nonprofit founded by Dean Kamen with the objective of promoting STEM education and careers in the developing world through Olympics-style robotics competitions.