Jan Schneider

Dr Jan Schneider (born June 3, 1947 in New York City) is a Democratic politician. She ran for United States Congress in Florida's 13th congressional district in 2002 and 2004. Both times she won the Democratic Primary, and lost to Katherine Harris in the open election. She ran again for the open seat in the same district in 2006.[1]

Schneider received her BA from Brown University; an MA in international affairs from Columbia University; and a JD and a PhD in political science from Yale.[2] She has been a practicing lawyer, a law professor, an international civil servant, a businesswoman and a policy adviser. She is also the author of two books on international environmental law and numerous articles. She has held board positions on the Council on Foreign Policy, the Council on Ocean Law, the International Law Association, and several United Nations subcommittees.

Political Positions

Schneider has been a longstanding advocate of economic progressivism, advocating for increased taxation on richer Americans and lowered taxation on poorer Americans and the middle class. She has advocated for enforcement of the Dodd-Frank Act and the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act. In the wake of the Panama Papers scandal, she also called for action against offshore tax havens such as the Canary Islands and Guinea-Bissau, and has also advocated against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She advocates increasing the minimum wage and ending the stigmatization of labor unions.

A strong social liberal, Jan Schneider has consistently advocated for gay rights and constitutional equality for females, as well as various measures to combat racial inequality, including reducing the per-student funding gap between majority-black and majority-white schools.

As a board member on the Council on Ocean Law, Jan opposed drilling in the Arctic Ocean and advocated for a repeal of the 'Halliburton loophole,' which allows water contaminated by fracking to be used as drinking water whether or not it meets the qualifications imposed by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Jan Schneider has repeatedly attacked incumbent Congressman Vern Buchanan for his support of the Ryan bill on Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that, had the Ryan bill passed, it would have doubled seniors' monthly premiums.

Congressional Elections

Schneider won 45% of the vote in both the 2002 and 2004 elections, in a district of 32% Democrats.[3] Her campaign captured the largest portion of the vote of any congressional challenger in the state of Florida. Additionally, in 2004 her campaign was outspent in both the primary (at a roughly four-to-one ratio) and the general election (at a roughly ten-to-one ratio). Schneider appeared on a Colbert Report special report on April 24, 2006.[4]

In the 2006 primary she faced Christine Jennings, a former bank president, whom Schneider beat in the 2004 primary, 47 percent to 38 percent in a four-way race. Two years later, however, the party establishment backed Jennings. CQPolitics.com wrote that while Schneider had run game challenges to Harris as the Democratic nominee in 2002 and 2004 [her] strongest appeal was to more liberal elements of the 13th District constituency, and many Democratic officials thought Jennings’ business background would make her a more viable general election contender." Jennings went on to defeat Schnieder 62 percent to 38 in the September 5 primary, but lost to Republican Vern Buchanan in the general election.

Jan Schneider ran No Party Affiliation in the Florida 13th congressional district in 2008.[5] In an independent poll run on October 1, Schneider was polling at 9%, with 14% of independents backing her candidacy and 41% of Hispanics supporting her. Incumbent Congressman Vern Buchanan won re-election with 55.5% of the vote.

In 2016, Jan Schneider ran as a Democrat for the Florida 16th congressional district. In the primary, she faced airline pilot Brent King, a Manatee County Democrat and a self-described fiscal conservative. She won the endorsement of the Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota County Teen Democrats and used unconventional campaigning methods throughout the primary, including using Reddit AMA's as a campaigning tool and arguing that an 'uptail effect' from Schneider's run would help Hillary Clinton win Florida.

References
  1. "The independence of Jan Schneider". Herald-Tribune. February 18, 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. "Jan Schneider (D)". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  3. "Schneider works to improve her campaign skills". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Oct 29, 2004. p. 8B. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  4. "Jan Schneider Featured Guest on "The Colbert Report"". Daily Kos. Apr 27, 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  5. Dewhirst, Robert; Ken Hechler (2010). The Roads to Congress 2008. Lexington. pp. 173–174.
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