Lee Griffin

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Lee Griffin

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2005

Personal

Birthplace

Kingston, Pa.

Religion

Nondenominational

Profession

Warehousing and distribution

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Lee Griffin (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Griffin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Lee Griffin was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania. Griffin earned an undergraduate degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in May 2005. His professional experience includes working in warehousing and distribution. He previously ran a customer service call center for a utility contractor for two years, and he taught English as a second language for two years abroad.

Elections

2020

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2020

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Fred Keller defeated Lee Griffin and Elizabeth Terwilliger in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Fred Keller (R)	70.8	241,035
		Lee Griffin (D)	29.2	99,199
		Elizabeth Terwilliger (L) (Write-in)	0.0	0

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 340,234
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Lee Griffin advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lee Griffin	100.0	41,313

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,313
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Fred Keller advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Fred Keller	100.0	87,886

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 87,886
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lee Griffin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Griffin's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a regular person, not a career politician. A native of rural PA, I grew up in a log house in the woods that my dad built himself. Being an Eagle Scout and spending a lot of my youth outdoors hunting and fishing instilled in me a love of and a sense of responsibility for the stewardship of the natural world. As the son of two public school teachers, I grew up with a great respect for the value of our education system and public schools. I have several farmers in my family and my first job was on a farm working in the fields. That has given me a deep respect for the value that farms provide for our communities and our country. After high school, I graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Philosophy.

My professional background is in warehousing and distribution for ecommerce. I started as a floor supervisor and worked my way up to Director of Operations. I have experience leading hundreds of employees at a time, negotiating multi-million dollar contracts and overseeing multi-million dollar budgets.

I've entered the race because I feel a moral obligation to do everything I can to help move this country forward. I'm a proud American and Pennsylvanian and I want to serve the people and places that raised me. I want to imagine the future and feel excited for what's in store, not afraid. I want every one of us in this district and in this country to be excited about the future, too.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I will work to ensure that families, farms and small businesses continue to get the support they need as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
• I intend to move past the "us vs. them" mentality in today's politics, and work with legislators on both sides of the aisle to create bipartisan laws and policies that serve everyone best.
• I want America to dream big, to take on the great challenges that face our nation, like health care, climate change and economic recovery.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I want to make sure our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic doesn't leave anyone behind. Getting America back on its feet is going to take some time, and the federal government needs to be there for all of us, not just banks and big corporations. Farms, small businesses and families are going to need continued support from the federal government as we rebuild our economy.

Health care is one of the most important issues we have to tackle as a country. No hard working American family should have to struggle to pay for health care. We need to lower the costs of prescription drugs and other treatments, and we need to protect and expand coverage so that everyone, including those with pre-existing conditions, can get the care that they need.

The debate on climate change is over. We need to act swiftly and decisively to lower carbon emissions and avoid climate change's worst effects. We need to make a concerted effort to move to renewable energy sources and to bolster carbon capture efforts.

I believe that diversity is one of the strengths of this country. America should welcome immigrants into our society rather than restricting and discouraging immigration. Americans of all colors, faiths, creeds and backgrounds should get equal opportunities to succeed and flourish, and LGBTQ Americans should have equal rights under the law.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

First and foremost, elected officials need to be open to listening to their constituents and responsive to their needs, because the constituents are who the officials work for. An official cannot simply vote or act according to party line or ideology, they must put the needs of the people ahead of partisanship.

Officials also need to be willing to work with and engage with members of other parties or those they disagree with instead of viewing them as enemies. This is a practical necessity of getting things done, but it's also an opportunity to create even better policies by bringing more voices and perspectives into the conversation. When we debate and disagree, we have the opportunity to make each other better, and to refine our own ideas with the knowledge we gain from that conversation. Ultimately through engaging with differing viewpoints and opinions we will create better results for the country than we could have if only one voice dominated. That is the great strength and potential of a healthy democracy.

Elected officials also need to take responsibility for decisions they make. Sometimes we see officials try to avoid responsibility or deflect blame for errors or bad decisions. Instead, they need to have the strength of character to own their mistakes and flaws, so that they and future members of the government can learn from those mistakes and do better for the people in the future.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a legacy of effective bipartisan governance and inspired constituents. Our political process is so often mired in finger-pointing and assigning of blame, of parties trying to score political points over each other, but for the rest of us, this is not a game. This is our country. We want to see our representatives and leaders focus on solving problems, on tackling the big issues together, even if that means admitting someone else was right. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what results you can deliver for the people you serve - the voters. I want to leave a legacy of healthier disagreement and debate, of representatives reaching across the aisle to get things done for their districts, of politicians who can leave politics at the door. I want to show that Republicans and Democrats can work together, can respect and appreciate each other, and be better for it, so that the next generation of representatives believe that engaging with the other side is normal, expected and the right way to do things.

If we can accomplish that, we can take on the biggest challenges that come our way. We can dream big and build a future that exceeds our expectations. I want children to grow up knowing that when they are adults, the country and the world will be better than it has ever been. I want to challenge us to push our frontiers of science and culture and innovation, because that's where America belongs - on the frontier. We lead. We blaze the trail. We set the pace. I want to remind us of that - that our future is full of opportunity and that we can accomplish things that our ancestors never dreamed of.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The fall of the Berlin Wall happened when I was six years old, and it has left an indelible imprint on me throughout my life. I was too young at the time to fully understand the political background of the event, but the human impact of the event was obvious to me at a very young age. I still remember the image of crowds of people climbing on top of the wall and celebrating. I saw the unbridled joy of families reunited after years, and it was unmistakable that this moment was something so incredibly special.

Over the years since that time, the profound significance of this event has grown in my mind and my heart. In our lives, we've witnessed tragic events and great accomplishments, but few things in history have the same character and impact as the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was a universal cause for celebration. A repressive government was coming to an end, and the fear and pain that it caused its own citizens was transformed into the joy of reunion with loved ones from across the border.

For all the political significance this event held around the world, there was also a clear and undeniable human impact for those directly affected. This was a moment for the people of Berlin to breathe deeply the free air and bask in the company and camaraderie of their friends, family and neighbors. Such a moment of unfettered happiness is so rare to find, and I am so grateful I was able to witness it. And a lesson that becomes more prescient as time passes is that the Communists built the wall, and it was President Reagan who called for them to tear it down.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Lean On Me" by Bill Withers. Music has the power to inspire us, to heal us and lift us out of the darkest moments, and the music of Bill Withers does this like no other. I was so sad to hear that we lost him this year. He sang so soulfully, and his music spoke to the most common, human feelings we all have. This year has been difficult for all of us in so many ways, and when times are hard, we can despair. But the message of this song reminds me that we are not in this alone, and we never will be. We will always be there for each other, and as long as we support each other and give what we can, we will make it through.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Three of the greatest challenges we will face in the coming years will be ensuring the integrity and effectiveness of our government, fighting and adapting to climate change, and navigating the changing face of global politics.

For many years, we have seen our elections and lawmaking processes face pressure from outside influences, like lobby groups, Super PACs and sometimes even foreign governments. We've also seen our public discourse descend into entrenched camps constantly at odds with each other. If our government is going to be able to solve the problems facing this country, we are first going to need to ensure that is functioning effectively, without outside influence and with a mind toward bipartisan partnership.

A changing climate is going to have impacts on every aspect of our society, from agriculture to industry to where we can safely live. We need to face it head on and take every measure that we can to prevent the worst effects of climate change from coming to pass. And we need to act quickly. We need to move to renewable energy sources and cut carbon emissions while actively working to bolster carbon capture efforts.

The world is changing politically, as well, and our country needs to adapt to that reality. Countries like Russia, China, India and others have aspirations for greater influence on the world stage that they are actively pursuing. We can see this in overt territorial moves, for example when Russia annexed Crimea, China expanded its presence in the South China Sea and India revoked Kashmir's autonomy. We can also see those ambitions play out in China's increased investment in Africa and Russia's involvement in the Middle East. Now more than ever, the United States must remain a bastion of freedom for countries around the world. We must show real leadership on the world stage and stand by and strengthen our alliances.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

If given the opportunity, I would like to join the House Agriculture Committee and the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Agriculture has a place close to my heart. My first job was on a farm, my mother grew up on a farm that sold milk to Hershey's and I have several farmers in my family. Without federal support of agriculture, not only do we risk the livelihoods of many people in Pennsylvania's 12th district, but also risk our future food supply. I would work to ensure that farmers in our communities have the support when they need it.

It's clear that climate change is one of our most pressing challenges and will continue to be so. I want to help drive policy that keeps our future bright by cutting carbon emissions, promoting renewable energy and improving carbon capture.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

While experience can be helpful in doing a job, an important cornerstone of our government is representation. There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and they represent 328 million Americans. That's one representative for every 750,000 Americans, which makes for an incredible challenge for representation. By having new representatives in Congress on a regular basis, such as through term limits, we would have a greater opportunity for more voices to be heard in our government. I am certain that this country has more than 435 competent and capable men and women with the integrity and character to represent us well. While term limits might every now and then prevent a very effective representative from running for reelection, I have enough faith in the people of my district and this country that other members of the community would rise to the occasion.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Pennsylvania's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Fetterman (D)

David McCormick (R)

Representatives

District 1

Brian Fitzpatrick (R)

District 2

Brendan Boyle (D)

District 3

Dwight Evans (D)

District 4

Madeleine Dean (D)

District 5

Mary Scanlon (D)

District 6

Chrissy Houlahan (D)

District 7

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

District 8

Rob Bresnahan (R)

District 9

Dan Meuser (R)

District 10

Scott Perry (R)

District 11

Lloyd Smucker (R)

District 12

Summer Lee (D)

District 13

John Joyce (R)

District 14

Guy Reschenthaler (R)

District 15

Glenn Thompson (R)

District 16

Mike Kelly (R)

District 17

Chris Deluzio (D)

Republican Party (11)

Democratic Party (8)