In 1976, Wild volunteered to work for
Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign. She earned her
Juris Doctor from
George Washington University Law School in 1982, where she studied under
John Banzhaf. In 2013, Wild ran unsuccessfully for county commissioner in
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. In 2015, she was appointed
solicitor of
Allentown, Pennsylvania, the first woman to hold the position.
U.S. House of Representatives 2018 election On December 31, 2017, Wild resigned as City Solicitor to campaign to succeed retiring U.S. representative
Charlie Dent, a
Republican, in the
U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018 in
Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district, which had been represented by a Republican for seven terms. She won the six-candidate
Democratic Party primary with 33% of the vote, narrowly defeating
Northampton County district attorney
John Morganelli. In the 2018 general election, she defeated Republican
Lehigh County county commissioner
Marty Nothstein, winning 54.5% of the vote to Nothstein's 43.5%.
2018 special election On the same day, Wild also ran in a separate special election for the balance of the term of Dent, who resigned in May 2018 after announcing he would not run for reelection, winning the 15th congressional district's special election with 130,353 votes to Nothstein's 129,593. There was a closer margin in the special election largely because the former 15th district, which was thrown out by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February 2018, stretched from the Lehigh Valley into heavier Republican regions of the state between
Lebanon and
Harrisburg, by way of a tendril in
Berks County. The new 7th district is a more compact district centered in the Lehigh Valley, and including a sliver of the
Poconos.
2020 election Wild ran for reelection to a second term. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced former
Lehigh County commissioner Lisa Scheller in the general election. Wild defeated Scheller with 51.9% of the vote, less than was expected.
2022 election Following the 2020 census, Wild was redistricted into a more competitive congressional seat. She was criticized by some district residents when she said of her new district, "
Carbon County has many attributes, but it is a county that—although it was once an Obama county—it since has become a Trump county. I'm not quite sure what was in their heads because the people of Carbon County are exactly the kind of people who should not be voting for a Donald Trump, but I guess I might have to school them on that a little bit. But most of all, it is a very rural county." In a rematch of the 2020 election, Wild narrowly defeated Scheller by 51% to 49%.
2024 election Wild ran for reelection in 2024, and was defeated by Republican
Ryan Mackenzie, a
Pennsylvania State Representative. Following her defeat in the 2024 election, Wild was traced as the source of
House Committee on Ethics media leaks related to the committee's investigation of former U.S. representative
Matt Gaetz (R-FL). "Any leaks from members and staff are a violation of the committee’s rules: Individuals on the panel take an oath swearing they will not disclose unauthorized information,"
The Hill reported in covering the leaks.
Tenure Marty Walsh In March 2021, Wild co-sponsored a resolution to expel U.S. representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress, saying that Greene "advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government". As of November 2022, Wild had voted in line with President
Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time. In the
117th Congress, Wild voted with
House speaker Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time.
Elder policy In March 2020, Wild co-sponsored a bill to reauthorize the
Older Americans Act for five years with a 35% increase in funding, which then President
Donald Trump signed into law in March.
Firearms In July 2022, Wild voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022, a bill that would have banned various guns, including
AR-15s.
Foreign affairs Wild was critical of
Brazil's president
Jair Bolsonaro, whom she characterized as "
far-right", "
misogynistic", "
homophobic" and "
anti-immigrant". In March 2019, she and 29 other Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to
U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo, which read in part, "Since the election of far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro as president, we have been particularly alarmed by the threat Bolsonaro's agenda poses to the LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities, women, labor activists, and political dissidents in Brazil. We are deeply concerned that, by targeting hard-won political and social rights, Bolsonaro is endangering Brazil's long-term democratic future." In March 2019, Wild described herself as a 'very pro-
Israel member of Congress,' stating that the U.S. must 'constantly fortify' and 'sustain' its relationship with Israel, which she characterized as a 'terrific partner' in security and economic matters. In 2023, Wild voted against H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Biden to remove U.S. troops from
Syria within 180 days. In February 2023, Wild signed a letter urging President Biden to give
F-16 fighter jets to
Ukraine.
Healthcare On January 31, 2023, Wild voted against H.R.497, the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill that would lift
COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. The following day, on February 1, 2023, Wild voted against a resolution to end the
COVID-19 national emergency.
Immigration In 2019, Wild voted against allowing victims of crimes by
illegal immigrants in
sanctuary cities to report the incident to the
Department of Homeland Security. On February 9, 2023, Wild also voted against H.J. Res. 24: Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 which condemns the District of Columbia's plan that would allow
noncitizen voting in local elections.
Impeachment of Donald Trump Wild voted for both articles of impeachment against President
Donald Trump.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Ethics (Ranking member) •
Committee on Foreign Affairs •
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations (Vice Chair) •
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment •
Committee on Education and Labor •
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions •
Committee on Science, Space and Technology •
Subcommittee on Research and Technology Caucus memberships •
Climate Solutions Caucus •
New Democrat Coalition •
Congressional LGBT+ Equality Caucus •
Congressional Ukrainian Caucus •
Black Maternal Health Caucus • New Democrat Coalition Climate Change Task Force (Co-Chair) • Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus (Vice Chair) •
Rare Disease Caucus ==Electoral history==