Melissa Hart

Melissa Ann Hart (born April 4, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician.

The group was a reliable source for volunteers in Washington County where the party was in the minority in the early 1980s.

It was there where

Hart first learned the importance of grassroots politics, by door-knocking for candidates from District Attorney to Governor.

She was the first Republican woman elected to serve a full term in the Pennsylvania Senate in 1990 when she was 28 years old.

In her first run for office, Hart defeated an incumbent in a senate district that included parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties.

She had served as a senator in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1991 to 2001.

In November 2000, Hart was elected to the House of Representatives from the Fourth District of the State of Pennsylvania, winning an open seat previously held by a Democrat.

She was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007, representing western Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district.

She was the first Republican woman to represent Pennsylvania at the federal level.

Prior to her service in Congress, Hart served in the Pennsylvania Senate, where she chaired the finance committee.

In December 2002, Hart was a candidate for Conference Vice-Chair, the No. 5 leadership spot, but lost to Jack Kingston (R-GA).

In a 2002 PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, Hart was named amongst those "Most Likely to Succeed."

She was later appointed co-chair of the Platform Committee for the 2004 Republican National Convention.

She convened a task force to rename the Pittsburgh region’s highway system of I-279S/US-22/30W/PA-60N to extend and become a part of federal highway I-376.

This initiative was researched and supported by local governments and the commonwealth as a tool to attract outside development to the region.

This was supported by site selection professional who participated as well as the Southwest PA Regional

Planning Commission.

Hart co-chaired the Republican Party platform of 2004.

In 2005 she was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee.

In late 2005, her predecessor in the House of Representatives, Democrat Ron Klink, publicly mulled over the possibility of challenging Hart for his old seat.

However, in late December, Klink announced that he would not run.

In the 2006 midterm elections, Hart lost her bid for re-election to Democrat Jason Altmire.

Hart played an active role in the race for majority leader in early 2006.

As a top whip for the successful candidacy of Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), she worked to secure votes for him in the race.

She was one of a handful of GOP members who called for a full set of new leadership elections for whip, conference chair, and other offices below the majority leader position, but that motion narrowly failed the day before the majority leader race.

Had this motion passed, Hart may have challenged Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) for House Republican Conference Chairman, the No. 4 leadership spot.

As the 2006 campaign season approached, Hart's congressional seat was not considered vulnerable, and Hart was described in media accounts as a "rising star" in Republican politics, who had never lost an election and who had demonstrated a unique ability to appeal to non-conservative voters even while maintaining a generally conservative voting record.

She challenged Altmire again in the 2008 election, but was defeated again.

She was a candidate for Republican nomination in the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, but dropped out on May 13, four days before the primary election and endorsed Lou Barletta.

Hart is an Italian-American, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

She graduated from North Allegheny High School.

While at Washington and Jefferson College, she earned a degree in business and German, intending to pursue a career in international business.

While there, she and some friends founded the college's College Republicans club.

After an internship with a local judge, she decided to attend law school.

She entered the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

After graduating from law school and being admitted to the bar, Hart joined a major Pittsburgh law firm, where she specialized in real estate law.

Hart has served on the Washington & Jefferson College Board of Trustees.

Hart was an active grassroots volunteer in her party in Western Pennsylvania from her days as a student at Washington & Jefferson College.

She worked with other students to establish a College Republican Club on campus.