Erie Democrat Nouri, a DOD legislative analyst, vying for Republican Kelly's House seat

Democrat Preston Nouri, a 24-year-old legislative analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense and Erie native, will challenge Republican Rep. Mike Kelly for his 16th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Speaking at the United Steelworkers Local 3199 office at 733 French St. in downtown Erie Thursday, Nouri said too many people are being forced to leave the district to find work because of "empty promises from politicians," who have failed to bring jobs, economic development, quality education and access to affordable health care to the region, he said.

"Yet, year after year here we are," Nouri said. "Our region continues to lose family-sustaining jobs. Our schools are underfunded. And too many families are one illness away from bankruptcy. Young people like me are forced to leave Western Pennsylvania because corrupt politicians have shipped jobs away and failed to bring investments back home. I was born here, my friends and family live here, and I’m choosing to fight back because this is my home."

Nouri said he's running for Congress "to make western Pa. a place prosperous enough that no one has to choose between the future they deserve and the only place they’ve ever called home."

He's the first Democrat to enter the race for the 16th District seat, which includes all of Erie, Crawford, Lawrence, Mercer and Butler counties and the western portion of Venango County.

Kelly, first elected in 2010, announced in August his plans to seek an eighth term in 2024. He won a resounding victory against Democrat Dan Pastore in 2022, carrying the district by a 19-percentage point margin.

Nouri's road to candidacy

Nouri will turn 25 in February, meeting the minimum age requirement to serve in the House of Representatives. He would join Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida as a member of Generation Z serving in the House. Frost became the first to do so with his historic election in 2022.

Nouri graduated from Fairview High School in 2017 and went on to earn dual degrees in political science and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021.

He worked four months as a legislative intern in the House before joining the U.S. State Department as a security specialist. He spent another six months as a program administrator for the Partnership for a Secure America, a nonprofit that works to advance bipartisanship on national security and foreign policy issues.

Nouri joined the Department of Defense in July 2022, and works as a legislative analyst for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

Nouri and his family opened the Lawrence Park & Go convenience store, which he said served an essential role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than $100,000 raised in campaign funds

He's raised just shy of $115,000 since filing paperwork to run for the office earlier this year. He had about $68,000 of unspent campaign cash at the end of September. No other Democrat has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to seek Pennsylvania's 16th District seat.

While his cash haul is significant for a 24-year-old who's never sought public office and who is just now announcing his official candidacy, it pales in comparison to Kelly's fundraising prowess. According to the FEC, Kelly has more than $1.2 million of cash on hand as of the most recent quarter.

Kelly, however, could face a primary challenge from Timothy Kramer, who has filed paperwork with the FEC, but has yet to report any campaign donations or expenses.

"I know the road ahead of us won’t be easy to navigate," Nouri said Thursday. "I know Mike Kelly will have all the special interest money he wants to run his campaign.

"But, I know that we can win in November 2024 because the people of Western Pennsylvania want a congressman who will put the future of this district before the future of their billionaire friends," he continued, "someone who will put people first, someone who will work to grow the middle class, and someone who will make sure young people can move in down the street with the future they deserve."

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Matthew Rink can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @ETNRink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Mike Kelly's '24 Democratic challenger an Erie native, DOD analyst