Wild is the daughter of Norman Leith and Susan Stimus Ellis.[3] Her mother was a journalist. Her father served in the United States Air Force during World War II and the Korean War. Wild was born at Wiesbaden Air Force Base, West Germany, while her father was stationed there. She also lived in France, California, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C.[4]
Wild ran for Lehigh CountyCommissioner in 2013, but lost.[8] She was appointed the first female solicitor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in January 2015.[9] She served as Solicitor of Allentown starting on January 7, 2015, when she was confirmed by the Allentown City Council.[10]
On the same day, Wild also ran in a separate special election for the balance of Dent's term; he had resigned in May after announcing the previous fall that he would not run for reelection.[16][17] On November 15, 2018, it was announced that Wild had won the 15th congressional district's special election, receiving 130,353 votes to Nothstein's 129,593 votes.[18][19]
There was a closer margin in the special election because that election was under the former 15th district, which had been thrown out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February 2018. The former 15th had stretched from the Lehigh Valley into heavily Republican territory 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 includes a sliver of the Poconos.[citation needed]
Wild ran for re-election to a second term. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary[20] and faced former Lehigh CountycommissionerLisa Scheller[21] in the general election. Wild defeated Scheller with 51.9% of the vote, less than was expected.[22]
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."[23]
In a rematch of the 2020 election, Wild narrowly defeated Scheller by 51% to 49%.[24]
In 2021, Wild cosponsored a resolution to expel Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress, saying that Greene "advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government".[27]
In 2020, Wild co-sponsored a bill to reauthorize the Older Americans Act for five years with a 35% increase in funding. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law in March 2020.[30]
Firearms
In 2022, Wild voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022; this bill would ban, among other guns, AR-15s.[31][32]
Foreign affairs
Wild has been critical of Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro for holding views she characterized as "far-right", "misogynistic", "homophobic" and "anti-immigrant". In March 2019, she and 29 other Democratic lawmakers wrote U.S. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo a letter that 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."[33]
In 2023, Wild voted against H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[34][35]
In February 2023, Wild signed a letter advocating for President Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.[36]
Healthcare
On January 31, 2023, Wild voted against H.R.497:Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill that would lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.[37][38]
On February 1, 2023, Wild voted against a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.[39][40]
On February 9, 2023, Wild 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.[42][better source needed][43]
Impeachment of Donald Trump
On December 18, 2019, Wild voted for the first article of impeachment, "abuse of power", and the second article of impeachment, "obstruction of Congress", against President Donald Trump.[44]
Wild married Russell Wild in 1981. They divorced in 2003 after 22 years of marriage. They have two adult children. Following her divorce, Wild reunited with Kerry Acker, who remained her life partner until his death by suicide on May 25, 2019.[54] She lives in South Whitehall Township, located west of Allentown.[4] She is Jewish.[55]
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