James J. Christiana III (born October 3, 1983) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 2009 to 2019.

Early life and education

The great-grandson of Italian immigrants, Christiana is a fourth-generation resident of

Beaver County, Pennsylvania Beaver County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,215. Its county seat is Beaver, and its largest city is Aliquippa. The county is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region of the commonw ...

, and a member of the First Presbyterian Church in

Beaver, Pennsylvania Beaver is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio rivers, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,438. ...

. He graduated from

Beaver High School Beaver Area School District is a suburban, public school district in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses approximately serving the Boroughs of Beaver and Bridgewater and Brighton Township and Vanport Township in Beaver Co ...

in Beaver, Pennsylvania, in 2002. He attended

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origin to three Presbyterian m ...

, where he played on the men's soccer team. As a college senior in 2005, Christiana became the youngest member of the Beaver Borough Council. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He also worked as a salesman at the Bobby Rahal Car Dealership in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. As a Republican member of the Beaver Borough Council, Christiana served as the chair of the Finance Committee.

State House

In November 2008, he defeated Democratic incumbent Vince Biancucci to represent the 15th legislative district in the

Senate race

In April 2017, Christiana announced he was running for Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, seeking to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator

Bob Casey Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician who served from 2007 to 2025 as a United States senator from Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Casey is ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. Christiana ran against Berwick borough councilman Andrew Shecktor and Representative

Lou Barletta Louis John Barletta (born January 28, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

. He was defeated by Barletta in the primary 63 percent to 37 percent.

Electoral history

References

External links

Jim Christiana (R)
official PA House profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Christiana, Jim 1983 births American people of Italian descent American Presbyterians Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections Living people Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania city council members Politicians from Beaver County, Pennsylvania Washington & Jefferson College alumni 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly