I was born and raised in Greenville and Transfer, Pennsylvania, where my family had lived for eight generations. After my graduation from Reynolds High School in 1998, I continued my education at ITT Technical Institute and took additional classes at Youngstown State University.

About | Justin Wagner for Congress

After my graduation from Reynolds High School in 1998, I continued my education at ITT Technical Institute and took additional classes at Youngstown State University.

I met my wife Amanda - also an U.S. Army veteran- while stationed in South Korea. We have been married for 21 years and have 4 daughters, all of whom have been home-schooled for the past 11 years.

Justin Wagner is from Greenville and Transfer, Pennsylvania. He attended ITT Technical Institute and took additional classes at Youngstown State University. He is married to Amanda and has four daughters.

Justin has experience as an engineer. He is also a Veteran.

Justin Wagner (Pennsylvania) - Ballotpedia

Justin is a first-time candidate for political office.

2026 Pennsylvania General Election 

For the past 15 years, our congressman has consistently prioritized corporate tax breaks and private school voucher frameworks over the public schools that serve the vast majority of our community. Let me be clear: I do not support school vouchers that take away from public school funding. Defunding our neighborhood public schools to subsidize private alternatives while letting child nutrition or special education fall through the cracks is a direct attack on working-class families like mine, and our future workforce.

Platform | Justin Wagner for Congress

I will sponsor and champion legislation to fully fund Title I schools, special education, and preschool programs. These investments give our youngest children a strong start while finally giving working parents the freedom to advance their careers.

Furthermore, I will prioritize and protect Pell Grant funding to ensure the local colleges and universities that prop up Western Pennsylvania's economies are thriving.

Opposes school vouchers that reduce public-school funding.

Plans to sponsor legislation fully funding Title I schools, special education, and preschool programs.

Plans to prioritize and protect Pell Grant funding.

- Opposes school vouchers that reduce public-school funding.
- Plans to sponsor legislation fully funding Title I schools, special education, and preschool programs.
- Plans to prioritize and protect Pell Grant funding.

Education

For decades, the federal government played a real role in helping Americans build and buy homes. We stopped doing that, and the market has tilted hard toward investors instead of families. We need to bring back serious federal support for building housing — actual homes regular people can afford, not luxury units that sit empty.

It’s long past time to raise the federal minimum wage — and tie it to inflation so workers never again lose buying power the way they have over the last twenty years. Prices go up every year; wages should too.

Working people won’t get a fair deal unless they can stand together, which is exactly why some of the wealthiest people in this country have spent decades trying to tear unions down.

In Congress, I’ll support the PRO Act to protect the right to organize and put real penalties on union-busters. If a business can only survive by breaking the law, it shouldn’t be calling itself an American success story.

Any project paid for with federal dollars should support union labor. Leaving that out of recent legislation was a serious mistake, and I intend to fix it.

We should expand access to similar programs so more Americans have a fair shot at homeownership without being buried under impossible prices or predatory lending. And we need to ban hedge funds and private equity firms from buying single-family homes. Families shouldn’t be competing with billion-dollar investment groups for a place to live.

When I get to Congress, I will defend your social security trust fund. I will flatly oppose any effort to cut benefits, raise the retirement age, or privatize the system. The fix is simple and fair: lift the payroll tax cap so the wealthiest Americans pay into the system at the same rate as everyone else, adjusting the taxable wage cap so millionaires contribute on all of their income just like regular working-class Pennsylvanians already do.

Calls for expanded federal support to build housing affordable to regular people.

Calls for expanded federal support to build affordable housing.

Supports raising the federal minimum wage and indexing it to inflation.

Plans to support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which protects organizing rights and penalizes union-busting.

Plans to require federally funded projects to support union labor.

Calls for banning hedge funds and private equity firms from buying single-family homes.

Opposes cutting Social Security benefits, raising the retirement age, or privatizing Social Security, and supports lifting the payroll tax cap.

- Calls for expanded federal support to build affordable housing.
- Supports raising the federal minimum wage and indexing it to inflation.
- Plans to support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which protects organizing rights and penalizes union-busting.
- Plans to require federally funded projects to support union labor.
- Calls for banning hedge funds and private equity firms from buying single-family homes.
- Opposes cutting Social Security benefits, raising the retirement age, or privatizing Social Security, and supports lifting the payroll tax cap.

Economy

Focus on Codifying Roe v. Wade: I will vote to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, ensuring that reproductive freedom is the law of the land, regardless of who sits on the Supreme Court.

Fight to end the Hyde Amendment: Healthcare should not be a privilege for the wealthy. I support allowing publicly funded insurance, like Medicaid or Medicare, to cover reproductive services to ensure every person has real choices for their health.

Medical debt is now the number-one cause of family bankruptcy in America. Medicare and Medicaid keep millions of Americans alive, stable, and treated whatever illness or ailment they may face.

... When I get to Congress, I will oppose any cuts to Medicare or Medicaid and fight to strengthen both programs. I will sponsor legislation to protect the ACA by permanently closing coverage-denial loopholes, while capping out-of-pocket costs and eliminating surprise five-figure emergency bills entirely.

Healthcare is a human right. Send me to congress, and I will co-sponsor and vote to pass The Medicare For All Act (H.R. 3069).Read my full position paper here.

Plans to vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act to establish federal protections for reproductive freedom.

Supports ending the Hyde Amendment and allowing Medicaid and Medicare coverage for reproductive services.

Opposes cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and plans to strengthen both programs.

Plans to co-sponsor and vote for the Medicare for All Act (H.R. 3069).

- Plans to vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act to establish federal protections for reproductive freedom.
- Supports ending the Hyde Amendment and allowing Medicaid and Medicare coverage for reproductive services.
- Opposes cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and plans to strengthen both programs.
- Plans to co-sponsor and vote for the Medicare for All Act (H.R. 3069).

Healthcare

Term Limits For Congress and the Senate: Public service should not be a lifelong career. I will vote to limit service to a maximum of 12 years total—6 terms in the House and 2 terms in the Senate.
 Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks: Politicians should not be enriching themselves by buying and selling individual stocks while in office while voting on laws that impact their own portfolios. That's corruption, plain and simple. I will vote to end this conflict of interest permanently.

Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks: Politicians should not be enriching themselves by buying and selling individual stocks while in office while voting on laws that impact their own portfolios. That's corruption, plain and simple. I will vote to end this conflict of interest permanently.

Overturn Citizens United: It is time to end the era of unchecked dark money and corporate influence in our elections. I will vote to overturn this ruling and put regular voters back in control of our democracy.

I will hold open, in-person town halls across every corner of this district—regularly, publicly announced, and open to every resident, no matter their politics. Politicians have a reputation for disappearing once they get elected. I won’t. You deserve a representative who shows up, answers tough questions, and listens face-to-face. I’m making a simple commitment: I will show up for real conversations, real transparency, and direct accountability to the people I work for—you. I will hold at least one in-person Townhall in our district every month.

Plans to vote for congressional term limits of 12 years total: six House terms or two Senate terms.

Plans to vote to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.

Plans to vote to overturn Citizens United.

Pledges to hold at least one publicly announced, in-person town hall in District 16 each month.

- Plans to vote for congressional term limits of 12 years total: six House terms or two Senate terms.
- Plans to vote to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
- Plans to vote to overturn Citizens United.
- Pledges to hold at least one publicly announced, in-person town hall in District 16 each month.

Voting & Elections

Create Clear, Legal Pathways: Establish a workable path to citizenship, protect DACA recipients, and expand transparent, legal pathways for agricultural and essential workers who keep Western Pennsylvania’s economy moving.Read my full position here.

Enforce Constitutional Due Process: Mandate strict independent oversight, binding usage-of-force standards, and guarantee that habeas corpus and due process are fully respected inside our enforcement agencies. Masked, unaccountable tactics have no place in America.

War must be the absolute last resort, used only when every diplomatic option has failed and our immediate national defense is threatened. Our service members deserve leaders who understand the weight of that decision. Military action should never be treated as a first step, a business deal, or a political prop.

I will vote for legislation that reigns in unilateral executive war-making, defunds unauthorized military actions, and forces any president to come to the House floor for a debate and a vote before putting our troops in harm's way.

I stand against Israel’s expansionist actions across the Middle Eastern states. I stand against the genocide of the Palestinian people, of which the death toll is estimated to be over 75,000.

Calls for a path to citizenship, protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, and expanded legal pathways for agricultural and essential workers.

Calls for independent oversight and use-of-force standards for enforcement agencies, with protections for habeas corpus and due process.

Believes war should be a last resort and plans to support limits on unilateral executive military action.

Said he opposes Israel’s “expansionist actions” and described Israel’s actions against Palestinians as “genocide.”

- Calls for a path to citizenship, protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, and expanded legal pathways for agricultural and essential workers.
- Calls for independent oversight and use-of-force standards for enforcement agencies, with protections for habeas corpus and due process.
- Believes war should be a last resort and plans to support limits on unilateral executive military action.
- Said he opposes Israel’s “expansionist actions” and described Israel’s actions against Palestinians as “genocide.”

Foreign Policy and Immigration

Though he supports industry and manufacturing, Wagner said the country "can invest in renewable energy" and environmental protection. "We have such a great asset in Lake Erie and it needs to be protected," he said. "We need to make sure that we are funding the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and make sure that it has teeth." In President Trump's 2027 budget proposal, the EPA's discretionary funding would be decreased by 52 percent.

Justin Wagner: The Democratic Candidate of District 16

Climate change is not theoretical. We’re living with the floods, the bad air days, and the rising costs associated right here, right now. In Congress, I’ll push for real action to cut emissions, invest in clean energy jobs, and make sure our communities aren’t left behind as the world changes around us. And I’ll do it by following the science, not lobbyists or wishful thinking.

I'll also fight to protect and strengthen the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. These environmental laws should not be used as bargaining chips to align with the current administration's political agenda. Enforcement needs teeth. Polluters need consequences, not a slap on the wrist, leaving families and individuals to bear the consequences.

Without the proper infrastructure to accomidate massive energy and freshwater needs, allowing data centers to be built in our communities is a death sentence. These facilities create massive heat islands that can decimate local wildlife. They often utilize energy infrastructure that can skyrocket YOUR power bill at best. At worst, they can be a huge detriment to public health, leading to increase risk of chronic illness and fatalities. My position is simple. Until the technology is readily available to make these facilities sustainable and safe, I will vote for a moratorium on building them.

Supports funding the Environmental Protection Agency and strengthening its enforcement authority.

Plans to cut emissions, invest in clean-energy jobs, and support communities during economic changes.

Plans to protect and strengthen the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

Plans to vote for a moratorium on new data centers until their technology is sustainable and safe.

- Supports funding the Environmental Protection Agency and strengthening its enforcement authority.
- Plans to cut emissions, invest in clean-energy jobs, and support communities during economic changes.
- Plans to protect and strengthen the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
- Plans to vote for a moratorium on new data centers until their technology is sustainable and safe.

Energy & the Environment

Cracking Down on Illegal Trafficking: We need to aggressively prosecute straw purchasers and criminals who traffic illegal firearms into our communities, while leaving law-abiding owners alone.

Universal Background Checks: If you buy a firearm, you should pass a background check—plain and simple. Closing loopholes ensures that violent felons and domestic abusers can’t bypass the rules that honest Americans follow every single day.

Constitutional Red Flag Laws: We must give families and law enforcement a tool to temporarily prevent someone undergoing a documented, severe mental health crisis from harming themselves or others. Any federal framework must include strict judicial due process protections ensuring that a person's rights cannot be restricted without immediate access to a court to defend themselves.

In Western Pennsylvania, gun ownership is part of our heritage, our culture, and our way of life. Law-abiding citizens have an absolute, unambiguous right to bear arms.

Calls for aggressive prosecution of straw purchasers and illegal firearms traffickers.

Calls for aggressive prosecution of individuals who purchase a firearm on behalf of another person and illegal firearms traffickers.

Supports universal background checks for firearm purchases.

Supports federal red-flag laws with judicial due-process protections.

Said law-abiding citizens have an “absolute, unambiguous right to bear arms.”

- Calls for aggressive prosecution of individuals who purchase a firearm on behalf of another person and illegal firearms traffickers.
- Supports universal background checks for firearm purchases.
- Supports federal red-flag laws with judicial due-process protections.
- Said law-abiding citizens have an “absolute, unambiguous right to bear arms.”

Public Safety

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Justin Wagner

- Supports raising the federal minimum wage and indexing it to inflation.
- Plans to support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which protects organizing rights and penalizes union-busting.
- Plans to require federally funded projects to support union labor.
- Calls for banning hedge funds and private equity firms from buying single-family homes.
- Opposes cutting Social Security benefits, raising the retirement age, or privatizing Social Security, and supports lifting the payroll tax cap.

- Plans to cut emissions, invest in clean-energy jobs, and support communities during economic changes.
- Plans to protect and strengthen the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
- Plans to vote for a moratorium on new data centers until their technology is sustainable and safe.

- Supports universal background checks for firearm purchases.
- Supports federal red-flag laws with judicial due-process protections.
- Said law-abiding citizens have an “absolute, unambiguous right to bear arms.”

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- Your US Representative represents the interests of your district in the US House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress. Pennsylvania currently has 19 US Representatives.
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- US Representatives are paid a salary of $174,000/year.

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