Author: James Hayes for Congress

PITTSBURGH – Republican Congressional hopeful James Hayes today issued the following statement following revelations that incumbent U.S. Rep. Summer Lee will speak before a gala banquet of the Council on American Islamic Relations. News agencies have reported that other speakers include at least three people who have endorsed the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,200 Israeli civilians.

“Summer Lee has made her home with extremists her entire career, trading on anger and resentment as her political currency. It is no surprise that Lee would agree to share a dais filled with antisemites who endorsed the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on innocent Jews. She entered public life as an extremist and is comfortable breaking bread with intolerant haters. The moment she opens her mouth at this event, she will have devalued the lives of innocent victims and betrayed the values of the people she was elected to represent.

“Lee’s hypocrisy is breathtaking. She calls herself a feminist but will share a table with people who celebrated a sneak attack that included the rape and murder of Israeli women. She talks of a ceasefire while ignoring the fact that it was Hamas that broke the ceasefire in order to murder Jews. Congresswoman Lee claims to represent all people in her district but refused to attend a public service for the Oct. 7 victims. Instead, she will attend a gala dinner celebration with people who publicly endorsed the Hamas savagery. So-called progressives like to talk about being on the right side of history, while ignoring the painful truth that the Jewish people have long been on its receiving end.

“Summer Lee says she rejects antisemitism but has yet to reject antisemites. People need to draw their own conclusions about Summer Lee. She is making it disturbingly easy.”

James Hayes is a business executive with a doctorate in business, running to challenge incumbent Summer Lee in next year’s congressional elections. Hayes held top positions with Fortune 500 companies as well as a six-year stint with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va. A native Pennsylvanian, Hayes is the son of a union steelworker who was among those displaced by the massive deindustrialization of the 1980s. He credits the United Steelworkers of America for providing the scholarship money that first sent him to college. He describes himself as a free-market advocate opposed to the radical economic experiments and anti-business activism proposed by Lee and her fellow “squad” members. You can review James Hayes’ resume and more details on his goals for the 12th District by visiting his website: jameshayesforpa.com

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PITTSBURGH – Summer Lee, a radical candidate and passionate advocate for her own extreme agenda, has officially announced her reelection campaign for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District. Her opponent, challenger James Hayes, remains committed in his effort to unseat her next November. 

With a promise to serve the communities that make up Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, James Hayes’ campaign will continue to focus on engagement and outreach to ensure he delivers on the needs of the community as its Representative. Unlike Summer Lee, James Hayes is driven by his desire to connect and represent all members of the 12th District, not just those who serve his personal agenda. 

“Summer Lee is out of touch with the people in this district and in Pennsylvania as a whole. Her anti-police, anti-Israel, anti-freedom rhetoric has no place in our vibrant, inclusive community. People want solutions to the rising crime and a focus on economic stability and prosperity. Summer Lee continues to spread hate and further divide us at a time where we need both parties to work together to solve our most pressing issues,” said challenger James Hayes. 

James Hayes is a business executive with a doctorate in business, running to challenge incumbent Summer Lee in next year’s congressional elections. Hayes held top positions with Fortune 500 companies as well as a six-year stint with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va. A native Pennsylvanian, Hayes is the son of a union steelworker who was among those displaced by the massive deindustrialization of the 1980s. He credits the United Steelworkers of America for providing the scholarship money that first sent him to college. He describes himself as a free-market advocate opposed to the radical economic experiments and anti-business activism proposed by Lee and her fellow “squad” members. You can review James Hayes’ resume and more details on his goals for the 12th District by visiting his website: jameshayesforpa.com

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PITTSBURGH – Republican Congressional candidate James Hayes today saluted a Congressional resolution rejecting accusations that Israel is “an apartheid state” and called on incumbent Democratic Rep. Summer Lee to join in voting today in support of the Jewish state.

“It’s time for Summer Lee to leave the political margins and stand against the thinly coded antisemitism of colleagues like Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Pramila Jayapal who have sided with extremists in opposition to the only democracy in the Middle East,” Hayes said.

Hayes is challenging Lee for Congress in Pittsburgh’s 12th District. A former member of the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Va., and accomplished business executive, Hayes entered the race in hopes of providing practical solutions in place of Rep. Lee’s penchant for grandstanding.

“Summer Lee hasn’t said if she’ll attend a speech by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. She has consistently sought to undermine the Jewish state. In fact, she wouldn’t even grant an interview to Pittsburgh’s Jewish newspaper,” Hayes said. “It’s time she got on the right side of history and stood with a nation whose enemies have sought to eradicate it from the day it was founded.”

The one-page resolution, offered by Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, says simply that “Israel is not a racist or apartheid state” and rejects all forms of antisemitism. The resolution also goes on to state that the United States “will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.”

Pfluger introduced the resolution after Rep. Pramila Jayapal called Israel a racist state. Jayapal’s comments set off a political firestorm in Washington and are the latest in a series of attacks against Israel by allies of Rep. Lee.

“It astonishes me that the lessons of the 20th Century have been casually forgotten by members of Congress and that such a resolution is necessary, but apparently it is,” Hayes said. “I hope Summer Lee will choose better company than her colleagues who would abandon a staunch ally and the nation that has become a haven for a persecuted people.”

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, a Swissvale Democrat, has been in Congress less than four months, but already she has an opponent in next year’s congressional elections.

KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano has learned that Jim Hayes, a Shadyside Republican, will announce his candidacy later this week in the 12th Congressional District that includes the city of Pittsburgh, the Mon Valley, part of the South Hills and western Westmoreland County.

Hayes, a businessman with a doctorate from Case Western Reserve and degrees from Princeton and Georgetown, calls Lee a radical out of step with this region.

“We really need to get away from the extremism we are seeing in Washington and Congress. And we’ve elected one of the most extreme radicals that has gone to Congress,” says Hayes. “Summer Lee ran as a declared Democratic socialist. She, in my view, doesn’t stand for the values of western Pennsylvania.”

Hayes is also the father of James Hayes, a victim of gun violence last December in New Kensington in a killing that is still under investigation.

KDKA-TV reached out to Lee, whose office declined to comment, saying, “The congresswoman is busy delivering for the people of her district.”