Miami

Former UM President Donna Shalala Files Paperwork to Run For Congress in 2018

What to Know

  • Donna Shalala has filed paperwork with the Federal Education Commission to run in the Democratic Party primary for the District 27 seat.
  • District 27, which includes Miami Beach as well as downtown Miami and coastal areas, went to Hillary Clinton by nearly 20 percentage points.
  • Shalala has never run for political office, but notably served as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services under Pres. Bill Clinton.

Donna Shalala, who spent nearly a decade and a half leading the University of Miami, is looking to add a new job to her portfolio: member of Congress.

The 77-year-old has filed paperwork with the Federal Education Commission to run in the Democratic Party primary for the District 27 seat – one that is opening up due to the retirement of longtime Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen and is expected to have a crowded field in both the Republican and Democratic primaries before November’s general election.

A longtime pollster and consultant, Fernand Amandi, told the Miami Herald that Shalala will announce her future plans Wednesday.

Ros-Lehtinen is retiring after three decades in Congress and is considered one of the more moderate GOP members of the House of Representatives. District 27, which includes Miami Beach as well as downtown Miami and coastal areas, went to Hillary Clinton by nearly 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election and is a top target for Democrats looking to flip seats in the midterm election.

Shalala has never run for political office, but notably served as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services during both terms of former President Bill Clinton’s administration. A longtime friend of the former Commander-in-Chief and his family, Shalala served as president of the Clinton Foundation for two years after leaving UM.

Shalala was named the school’s fifth president in June of 2001, serving in the role until retiring in August of 2015. She has taught a political science course at the school since leaving the Clinton Foundation. UM was her second time leading a major university after she spent over five years as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining the Clinton administration.

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