WASHINGTON – Western Pennsylvania’s 12th District was represented during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress Wednesday – but not by its elected member of Congress.
Anti-Israel Rep. Summer Lee, who has endorsed terrorist group Hamas’s call for a ceasefire and sided with antisemitic protesters, boycotted the speech. She has done the same for other Jewish speakers, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Instead, Republican congressional nominee James Hayes, a supporter of Israel, attended as part of the spectator’s gallery after being invited by Pennsylvania Congressman G.T. Thompson.
Hayes praised Netanyahu’s speech for what he called “its clarifying quality—words that, once again, make it clear that Israel is our ally and that those who would destroy America’s alliance with the Jewish state would, by their abandonment, destroy the Jewish people.”
A supporter of Israel, Hayes expressed anger at Lee’s boycott.
“Once again, Summer Lee’s hatred for the Jewish state and its people has embarrassed the people of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties,” Hayes said. “She has kept company with congressional antisemites and worked unceasingly against America’s only democratic ally in the Middle East.”
In remarks prior to Netanyahu’s address, Rep. Lee took to the floor to denounce the congressional invitation and to repeat accusations of racism by the United States, attempting to tie it to American support for Israel.
“Years from now,” she said, “this body will be ashamed of its actions.”
Hayes today said the shame should instead reside with Lee and her anti-Israel colleagues, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who sat throughout the speech, while holding a protest sign.
Lee’s poorly concealed antisemitism has attracted increasing notice since she was forced to abandon plans to address the annual Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) at a gala that featured speakers who endorsed the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, one of whom described Israelis as “demons” who “cover their horns.”
Lee said she canceled her speech before CAIR, “to prevent the Muslin community from being the target of any more politically motivated Islamophobia.”
Hayes said he hopes to meet with Jewish leaders at home to discuss how to promote U.S. policies that strengthen Israel’s security and ensure the safe return of the dozens of people still held hostage by Hamas—a priority he will pursue when he takes office in January.
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
PITTSBURGH – Republican Congressional candidate James Hayes today lauded the U.S. House for passing a bill to ensure that only United States citizens vote in our elections and expressed no surprise that left-wing Squad member Summer Lee voted against the measure.
“She made the outlandish statement that it’s somehow racist and xenophobic to ask that only citizens vote in our elections,” Hayes said. “She should know that scores of countries, including far-left regimes Summer Lee would endorse, require that people prove their identities when voting and limit voting in national elections to citizens.”
Hayes is challenging Lee for the U.S. House Seat in the 12th Congressional District.
Responding to mounting concerns about foreign nationals voting illegally in American elections, the House last week passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The bill largely mirrors similar laws in force in other western democracies.
Lee was among House Democrats who refused to vote for the law.
“We need to think about this,” Hayes said. “Our region’s sitting member of Congress refused to support a law limiting the vote in this year’s presidential contest to American citizens.”
Liberal activists have repeatedly insisted that only a handful of instances voter fraud have been documented in recent years. Hayes noted that those same instances reveal vulnerabilities within the system that would not be tolerated in any other important process.
“Close enough isn’t good enough in medicine or aviation,” Hayes said. “But for some reason, instead of eliminating the vulnerabilities, Summer Lee wants to institutionalize them. She thinks it’s a good idea to build a campfire next to the fireworks factory. With the unprecedented level of illegal border crossers that have entered the country in the last three years, it is only prudent to follow the ‘better safe than sorry’ approach to our national elections.”
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
PITTSBURGH – Congressional candidate James Hayes said left-wing “squad” member Summer Lee “showed neither emotion nor common decency” by flagrantly dismissing questions about the torture-murder of a 12-year-old Texas girl at the hands of two illegal border crossers.
Jocelyn Nungaray’s body was found dumped in a creek in north Houston June 17. Two men, both on release by the U.S. Border Patrol after entering the country illegally, have been charged in her murder. Both were seen taking her from a convenience store the day of the killing.
Asked about the killing, Lee waved her hand and replied:
“I don’t talk to strangers. I don’t know who you are and I don’t know who she is. I live in Pittsburgh,” Lee responded. “I’m from Pittsburgh, I don’t know anything about it.”
Lee then retreats into her office.
Two other members of Congress, approached in the same hallway, paused to discuss the killing, each expressing sympathy with the Nungaray family.
Fellow “squad” member Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington: “These are horrible incidents and I think anyone who conducts that kind of terrible act needs to be prosecuted.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif: “Awful, awful. People who committed the crime should be held accountable.”
Approached a second time, Lee again declined to comment, munching on what appears to be a piece of candy. “I’ll have to look it up,” she replies, before ducking into an elevator.
“As the father of a murdered son, I know the anguishing pain of losing a child to violence, and I also know that the reactions of others matter deeply at such a time,” Hayes said. “Three liberal members of Congress were asked about this incident. Two expressed sympathy for the family. It remained for Summer Lee to arrogantly dismiss the issue with the wave of a hand while reminding everybody she’s from Pittsburgh.”
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
James Hayes believes Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District needs a change.
Hayes is the Republican challenger taking on incumbent Summer Lee, a Democrat, in November’s general election for the house seat that represents Squirrel Hill and stretches from Bethel Park to the Mon Valley, Plum to Jefferson Hills and parts of Westmoreland County.
“We don’t have really good representation right now,” Hayes said.
Whether it’s crime in the region, attacks on the energy industry, job growth or education and school choice, Hayes thinks Lee is on the wrong side of the issue.
“I’m especially concerned about the crime issue,” he said, noting that his son was a victim of gun violence.
“I lost a son a little over a year ago. He was gunned down in the parking lot of his apartment building in New Kensington,” Hayes said. “That was my ‘John Wick’ moment, if you will — when I lost my son. That’s really why I’m in the race.”
The day before his interview with the Chronicle, the candidate noted, a shooting occurred in Squirrel Hill in broad daylight and near Community Day School, where his wife works as a teacher. (Law enforcement officials determined that the shooting was not targeted at CDS and that there were no known associated security risks to the Jewish community.)
The Republican hopeful believes that, if elected, there are several areas where he can make a difference in crime, which he said is largely a local issue.
The first area is congressional oversight and appropriation.
“We hear a lot of noise out of the DOJ about how they’re practicing selective prosecuting,” Hayes said. “They’re putting police departments under pressure because the departments want to keep crime under control and they’re scrutinizing it.”
As a congressman, Hayes said he can help make sure that law enforcement isn’t being undermined federally and that police can do their jobs to keep their communities safe. He said he’ll work to ensure that any legislation introduced as criminal reform won’t favor the criminal over the victim.
He believes it is important that police have the resources they need to do their jobs.
One of his goals will be to ensure there are funds to reopen the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, which has been shuttered for nearly three years. As a result, Hayes said, young offenders are put back on the street where they can commit more crimes.
“We need to have a place for young people to be rehabilitated and keep them away from the community until they have turned their life around,” he said.
Hayes is a newcomer to politics. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he has a bachelor’s in international economics from Georgetown University, a master’s in economics and policy from Princeton University, an MBA in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in business administration from Case Western Reserve University.
He worked at Bankers Trust, now Deutsche Bank, before heading to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. After moving to Pittsburgh, he worked at Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. in Turtle Creek.
The 62-year-old lives in Shadyside with his wife, Brenda, to whom he has been married for 28 years. He has a daughter, Courtney, from a prior marriage, and three children from his current marriage: Brenda Theresa, Angela and Jocelyn.
Hayes’ politics tread close to typical conservative viewpoints.
He supports school choice. As a child, he started his education in a school district that wasn’t working for him, and his family worked to save enough money to buy a house in a better district. Hayes believes that if he had stayed in his original school district, his future would have been completely different.
“I absolutely endorse the idea of letting the money follow the child,” he said. “People say it will be the end of public school. I don’t believe that at all. It will create competition, and I think all schools will get better.”
Hayes said he’s pro-life but believes that abortion laws should be decided by each state.
“I absolutely do not support a national ban,” he said. “I promise to be a firm ‘no’ vote on any national ban.”
As for how the government can help the economy, Hayes believes it starts with energy. He said that President Biden has signed close to 100 executive orders “attacking the energy industry.”
“When you attack energy, you drive up prices across the board, you make the supply chain more expensive, so it’s more expensive to get things to you, [it] makes imports more expensive, so it’s more expensive to manufacture things. So, that drives inflation,” he said.
He isn’t a fan of Biden’s infrastructure bill, either, blaming it for creating “runaway pricing.” The president’s policies, introduced in the beginning of his term, are still driving up prices and creating higher inflation, Hayes said.
Despite believing in free trade, Hayes agrees with the Biden administration on the new tariffs enacted on China.
“China is a serial abuser of fair trade,” he said. “They clamor for it when it works for them and rail against it when it goes against them.”
Hayes said he knows who’s at the top of the Republican ticket this fall, and that it’s time for change in America.
“You look at the border, our economy, the attacks on the energy industry, our loss of standing in the world. Who doesn’t want America to be great? Democrats want America to be great, Independents want America to be great, Republicans want America to be great. Do I want a strong America? I absolutely do,” he said.
As for Israel’s war with the terrorist group Hamas, Hayes said he is a staunch supporter of the Jewish state.
“I absolutely support Israel,” he said. “I think Israel is one of our strongest allies in the world, certainly our strongest ally in the Middle East. It’s a thriving democracy and pluralistic society, no matter how people try to make it out.”
Hamas, he said, broke a cease-fire on Oct. 7.
“It’s unconscionable that people are supporting them,” he said.
Hayes opposes the BDS (boycott, divest sanction) movement against Israel and noted the plethora of innovation that comes out of the Jewish state.
“Why wouldn’t we want to invest in that?” he asked.
As for those who say he has an uphill journey in his campaign against Lee because District 12 has traditionally voted Democrat, Hayes believes he has a strategy to win. It includes duplicating the success Republican Joe Rockey found in certain areas of the district when running against Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, while counting on parts of Westmoreland County, which, he said, is solidly Republican.
“If you duplicate Joe Rockey, who came within about 8,000 votes, take out Mt. Lebanon, add in the quarter of Westmoreland County that’s in the district, that’s probably good for 20,000 to 30,000 votes,” he said. “I believe I could win by 20,000 votes.” PJC
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
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
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.”
Textured image of the United States Capitol dome on a cloudy day
PITTSBURGH – Republican congressional candidate James Hayes today denounced Congresswoman Summer Lee’s outrageous vote against a resolution celebrating the bond between the United States and Israel.
Calling the vote “outrageous and immoral,” Hayes said Lee’s vote strips away the coded language and lets the Pittsburgh region see that their congresswoman is willing to abandon a fellow democracy on the very anniversary of the creation of a nation founded to protect Jews in the wake of the world’s most horrific act of the Holocaust.
“Does Summer Lee not know why Israel exists? Does she not care?” Hayes said. “There can be no doubt that Summer Lee stands with antisemites like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. All pretense has been cast aside by this despicable, hateful vote.”
The House passed the resolution with more than 400 votes in favor. Members of the so-called “Squad” of far-left legislators, of which Lee is a member, cast most of the 19 votes against the Jewish state.
Hayes, a trained economist who has spent a career at the top of major corporations, as well as a position with the Federal Reserve Bank, is running as a pro-democracy, pro-Israel, and pro-common decency candidate.
“I know that religious values and freedom from bigotry are vital to any functioning democracy. To abandon the world’s Jews in the face of mounting antisemitism is troubling. To do so even as jurors are being selected for a trial in the single, largest antisemitic attack in U.S. history — one that took place in Ms. Lee’s district — sends an unmistakable and frightening message,” Hayes said.
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
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.”
