Democrat · Pennsylvania's 5th District · 2026
Mary Gay Scanlon
Scanlon and her husband, Mark, raised three children in Swarthmore, where their household has included rescue dogs, chickens and a cockatiel named TJ.
Biography
Mary Gay Scanlon was 13 when she started cleaning houses in a cottage community near her upstate New York home.1 She later worked as a lifeguard through college, and spent a year studying Gaelic and law in Scotland before entering law school.1 She and her husband, Mark, live in Swarthmore and have three adult children.2
She graduated from Colgate in 1980 and earned her law degree at Penn in 1984.3 Her legal career included work at Pennsylvania's Education Law Center from 1992 to 2001.3 She served on the Wallingford-Swarthmore school board from 2007 to 2015, including its presidency from 2009 to 2011.3
She also led Ballard Spahr's national pro bono work, coordinating free legal assistance for clients and nonprofit organizations.21 She also described starting a mentoring program with Constitution High School while at Ballard.1 She entered Congress after a 2018 special election and now serves on Rules and Judiciary, leading Democrats on the Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee.2
Her October 2026 Teaching Engaged Citizenship Act would create grants for civic education and service learning in public schools.4 She identifies voting rights, access to justice, gun safety and ending hunger among her priorities.2 She seeks another term representing the Fifth District against Republican financial professional Nicholas Manganaro.56