Black Republican launches campaign against 'Squad'-backed Summer Lee in Pennsylvania: 'We're falling apart'

FIRST ON FOX: A Pennsylvania Republican is looking to clean up the streets of Pittsburgh and restore law and order by launching a campaign to represent one of the state's more progressive districts in the U.S. House.

James Hayes, an economist and the son of a steelworker, will launch a campaign Wednesday to represent the Keystone State's 12th Congressional District, a southwestern portion of the state that encompasses Pittsburgh, a large portion of Allegheny County, and parts of Westmoreland County.

"What is happening in Pittsburgh? Why aren't we growing? Why are people getting shot right here on the street where I'm standing, downtown in broad daylight," Hayes asked rhetorically in a video announcing his candidacy for the 2024 congressional election. "We're falling apart, standing still."

Attributing his educational career to hard work and unions, Hayes earned degrees in economics from Georgetown University and Princeton. Hayes also attended the University of Chicago, where he earned a degree in finance, and Case Western Reserve University, where he obtained a doctorate degree in management.

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"You don't need an economist to tell you that the economy is upside down," Hayes continued in the video. "Allegheny County is the only county in Pennsylvania that had a net loss of jobs. I'm a businessman and I've studied economics. I know what it takes to create jobs, to rebuild the region, and to fund the services we need."

Hayes, a Black man, also pointed out in the video that he is a Republican. "That's right. A Republican," Hayes said as he described himself in four words.

Hayes is seeking to replace incumbent Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat who has represented the 12th District since January and received support from several high-profile members of her own party.

Among the Democrats who endorsed Lee are Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, as well as "Squad" Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Jamaal Bowman of New York.

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"Let's face it, our current congresswoman, Summer Lee, is an extremist. She actually ran as a declared socialist and the first thing she did when she got to D.C. was join the Squad," he said in the campaign ad. "Extremism is not the answer to our problems. The Squad and Summer Lee want to defund the police, abandon Israel, raise our taxes, and attack our good paying jobs."

Lee, who defeated GOP nominee Mike Doyle to represent the 12th District by more than 40,000 votes in 2022, also received an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

First elected to the House to represent Pennsylvania's 34th Congressional District, Lee has openly endorsed several socialist policies — including the redistribution of wealth — as well as controversial progressive policies like abolishing prisons.

"So far, since reaching Washington, Summer Lee has joined AOC and the squad, called for us to abandon Israel, and has opposed the energy economy that is our one growth sector," Hayes told Fox News Digital. "I’m not sure who Summer Lee is representing in Congress, but it isn’t the people of Pittsburgh."

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Hayes' decision to run for Congress, according to his team, was driven in large part due to the unsolved killing of his son, James Michael Hayes.

Hayes — who has held top positions with Fortune 500 companies, as well as a six-year stint with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va. — is the father of four children with his wife, Brenda, and resides in the city's Shadyside neighborhood.