Joe Sestak

Sestak was born in Secane, Pennsylvania, the son of Kathleen L. (Schlichte) and Joseph Ambrose Sestak His grandfather Martin Šesták came to America from the Slovak village of Dolné Lovčice in 1922, after World War I, while his father, Joseph Sr., was sent to join Martin in America in 1924.

Sestak's father graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1942, and then fought in both the Atlantic and the Pacific during World War II, attaining the rank of captain.

He continued his service after the war as an engineering officer at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

Sestak attended Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania, where his mother worked as a math teacher.

He was deeply inspired by his father and has recalled the time his father spent five hours fixing the family car in the freezing cold of a Philadelphia winter:

"I remember going to the window and watching him. And the admiration that I had—just that strong determination of his. Never give in."

Following in his father's footsteps, Sestak was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy immediately after graduating from high school, during the Vietnam War.

Joseph Ambrose Sestak Jr. (born December 12, 1951) is an American politician and retired U.S. Navy officer.

In 1974 Sestak graduated second in his class of over 900 midshipmen, with a Bachelor of Science degree in American political systems.

Between tours at sea he earned a Master of Public Administration and a PhD in political economy and government from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1980 and 1984, respectively.

As a surface warfare officer Sestak served division officer tours as damage control assistant, combat information center officer and weapons officer on the guided missile destroyer USS Richard E. Byrd, and later as weapons officer on the guided missile destroyer USS Hoel.

He then served as aide and flag lieutenant to the admiral in charge of United States Navy surface forces in the Pacific.

In the Democratic primary he defeated incumbent Senator Arlen Specter, in office since 1981, 54% to 46%, but lost the general election to Republican nominee Pat Toomey in a close race.

In January 1986 Sestak became executive officer of the guided missile frigate USS Underwood and was instrumental in the Underwood's winning the coveted battle E and the Battenberg Cup (awarded to the best ship in the Atlantic fleet).

He then served in the Politico-Military Assessment Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On August 30, 1991, Sestak took command of the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts, which was named the Atlantic Fleet's best surface combatant in the 1993 Battenberg Cup competition.

In July 1993 Sestak became the head of the Strategy and Concepts Branch in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

From November 1994 to March 1997 he was the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff at the White House, where he was responsible for the Clinton Administration's national security strategy, policies, programs, inter-agency and congressional coordination and regional political-military advice.

In May 1997 he became the commander of Destroyer Squadron 14.

Sestak then directed the CNO's Strategy and Policy Division (N51), and led the navy's efforts toward the 2000 Quadrennial Defense Review, for which he analyzed military strategic requirements and the economic value of U.S. defense spending.

After the September 11 attacks he became the first director of the Navy Operations Group (Deep Blue), the navy's strategic anti-terrorism unit, which sought to redefine strategic, operational and budgetary policies in the Global War on Terrorism, reporting directly to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Vern Clark.

He served as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff under President Bill Clinton and held a series of operational commands, including commanding the USS George Washington carrier strike group during combat operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean in 2002.

In 2002 Sestak assumed command of the George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group of 10 U.S. ships and 10,000 sailors, SEALs, Marines, and 100 aircraft.

He integrated it with a coalition of 20 allied ships and 5,000 sailors.

It conducted combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sestak became the director of the CNO's Analysis Group, again reporting directly to CNO Clark as policy adviser and administrator, where he directed independent analysis on strategy, warfare requirements, and resources for the CNO outside of the normal bureaucratic process of the Navy staff.

Under Clark, Sestak worked to rein in military spending by maximizing fleet efficiency.

In 2004 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs (N6/N7), where he implemented his ideas and analyses in the Navy's $350 billion Five Year Defense Plan to transform the Navy from a less effective, expensive platform-centric force structure to a more effective capabilities-based force posture with cyber and sensors.

Sestak was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006, and reelected in 2008 by a 20% margin.

He represented PA's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 2010.

A three-star vice admiral, he was the highest-ranking military official ever elected to the United States Congress at the time of his election.

He declined to run for reelection in 2010, instead running for the Senate.

Sestak sought a rematch with Toomey in the 2016 election, but lost the primary to Katie McGinty by just under ten points, in the closest and costliest Senate primary of the 2016 cycle, while facing opposition from prominent Democrats.

He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election, launching his campaign on June 23, 2019 and ending it on December 1, 2019, subsequently endorsing Amy Klobuchar.

Graduating second in his class at the United States Naval Academy, Sestak served in the United States Navy for over 31 years and rose to the rank of three-star admiral.

Sestak announced a campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in on June 23, 2019.

His campaign attracted little support and he failed to qualify for any debates.

He dropped out of the race on December 1, 2019.

Sestak has also served as president of FIRST Global, a nonprofit with the objective of promoting STEM education that brought high-school age teams from 157 countries to Washington, D.C., for the inaugural robotics Olympics.

In 2022, he announced he was leaving the Democratic Party and joining the centrist Forward Party.