Dan Wofford is a Democrat from the state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. He lost a close congressional

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 race in the 6th district to Jim Gerlach

Jim Gerlach

James "Jim" Gerlach is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.- Early life, education and career :...

 in 2002.

Wofford is the son of Pennsylvania senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Harris Wofford

Harris Wofford

Harris Llewellyn Wofford served as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995 and as the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College, and is a noted advocate of national service and volunteering...

. He worked in the governor's office and later directed the College Access Program, which helped low-income Philadelphia students prepare for college.

In the 2002 congressional elections, Wofford was the Democratic nominee for the 6th US House

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 district in Pennsylvania, a district gerrymandered

Gerrymandering

In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...

 with the goal of electing Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 State Senator

Pennsylvania State Senate

The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...

 Jim Gerlach

Jim Gerlach

James "Jim" Gerlach is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.- Early life, education and career :...

.

His campaign website was given "The Candidate Vanity Award" by the political website PoliticsPA

PoliticsPA

- Content :The website focuses on news aggregation, linking to major political news making headlines across the state. The editors write occasional features, like the weekly "Up & Down" scorecard and one-off lists like "Harrisburg's Smartest Staffer" and "Best Dressed Lobbyist" lists...

 for its large photo of Wofford.

The district was more competitive than voter registration numbers suggested, and the election was close: Wofford lost 51%-49%.

In 2008, Wofford was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Democratic National Convention

2008 Democratic National Convention

The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...

. He voted for Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 nominee Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

.

Wofford graduated with a law degree from Georgetown University in 1983. He has a b.a. from Yale (history, 1977). He was the captain of the soccer team and an All-Pennsylvania lacrosse player at Harriton High School in Rosemont, Pa.