Justin Wagner

Justin Wagner is the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania's 16th District. According to his campaign website, he is an Army veteran who served in Iraq in 2006 and a senior automation engineer who has worked for NASA, Boeing, Ford and the City of Seattle. He is running on veterans and labor issues, affordability, health care access, and school resources.[1][2]

According to his campaign website, Wagner was born and raised in Greenville and Transfer, Pennsylvania, where his family had lived for eight generations, and he began working at age 15.[1] He graduated from Reynolds High School in 1998, then attended ITT Technical Institute and took additional classes at Youngstown State University.[1]

Wagner joined the Army after completing his education, trained at Fort Jackson and Fort Rucker, served in South Korea with the 6th Cavalry and stateside with the 4th Infantry Division, and deployed to Iraq in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.[1] He continued his service in the Army Reserves with the 377th Engineer Company in Butler, Pennsylvania.[1]

Wagner has worked as a senior automation engineer for 15 years, beginning with the commissioning of a new steel plant in Youngstown, Ohio, and including work for NASA, Boeing, Ford, and the City of Seattle's water and wastewater treatment system.[1] He currently works in the life sciences industry and is a past member of the UAW and IBEW unions.[1] His campaign website says he and his wife, Amanda, an Army veteran, have been married 21 years and have four daughters who have been home-schooled, and that he coaches youth hockey and plays in a local band and his church's worship group.[1] According to Ballotpedia, he advanced from the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary to the November general election.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.