Evans has never married and has been described as "extremely protective" when discussing his private life.[1]
On May 23, 2024, Evans announced that he had suffered a minor stroke, and would be away from Congress for six weeks while recovering.[2]
Early political career
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Evans was first elected to office in 1980. His district, which encompasses West Oak Lane in Philadelphia, was heavily Democratic with a 95% African-American population.[1] He was reelected 12 times against only nominal Republican opposition.
Evans was elected as the Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee in 1990[3] and served in that capacity until November 2010.
In 2010, the Philadelphia Tribune named Evans one of the 10 most influential African-Americans in the city.[4]
Unsuccessful elections
Before his election to Congress, Evans unsuccessfully ran for higher office four times. In 1986, he sought the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, but finished third in the primary election to future Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel.[5]
Evans ran for mayor of Philadelphia twice. In 1999, in the race to succeed Ed Rendell, he finished fifth with 4.7% of the vote in a crowded primary won by John Street.[7]In 2007, despite Rendell's comment that Evans was the "best qualified" for mayor,[8] he finished fifth again, taking only 7.82% of the vote.[9]
In November 2015, Evans announced that he would run for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district in 2016 against Democratic incumbent Chaka Fattah.[10] In an upset, Evans beat Fattah for the Democratic nomination – the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district – on April 26, 2016. He won mainly by running up his margins in his Olney-Oak Lane stronghold.[11] Fattah resigned two months later amid a corruption scandal.
As a result, Evans ran in two elections on November 8, 2016 – a special election for the balance of Fattah's sixth term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. He won both, and was sworn in on November 14. This gave Evans more seniority than other new members of Congress elected in 2016.[12] His district has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1949, and has been represented by black congressmen since 1959.
A court-ordered redistricting ahead of the 2018 elections renumbered Evans's district as the 3rd district. It lost its share of Montgomery County and was pushed slightly further into Philadelphia. Like its predecessor, it is heavily Democratic and majority black. Evans handily defeated Republican challenger Bryan Leib to win his second full term.
Evans defeated Alexandra Hunt in the 2022 Democratic primary. No Republicans ran for the seat, and Evans defeated Socialist Workers Party candidate Christopher Hoeppner with 95% of the vote.[14]
Evans has voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[21]
Crime
In September 2018, Evans voted against HR 6691, the Community Safety and Security Act of 2018. The bill would amend the definition of "crime of violence". Within the definition of "crime of violence" is fleeing a police officer in a vehicle or on foot.[22]
In April 2022, Evans announced a $51 billion, seven-point plan to fight gun violence in Philadelphia and around the country.[26][27][28] The same month, Giffords PAC endorsed him for reelection.[29]
Environment
On September 24, 2018, Evans was rated 100% by the Clean Water Action group.[30] In 2021, he received 100% on the League of Conservation Voters' National Environmental Scorecard.[31][32]
Health care
Evans supports three public health option bills in Congress.[33][34][35][36]
Evans was an early congressional supporter of impeaching President Donald Trump.[39] He voted for the 2019[40][41] and 2021[42][43] impeachment resolutions.
Infrastructure
Evans voted for President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill.[44][45] The legislation includes the $1 billion Reconnecting Communities initiative that he co-led.[46][47]
^G. Terry MadonnaArchived 2008-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, 1999 Philadelphia Mayoral Primary, Franklin and Marshall College, Center for Politics & Public Affairs
^Amy Worden (May 3, 2007). "Rendell Likes Evans but Won't Endorse". Philadelphia Inquirer.
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