Introduction
Suzanne Marie Kelley Lee (born November 7, 1966) is an American nonprofit executive and politician from the state of Nevada. A Democrat, she has been serving as the member of the United States House of Representatives for Nevada's 3rd congressional district since January 2019. Lee was the founding director of the Inner-City Games in Las Vegas and has served as the president of Communities In Schools of Nevada (CIS) since 2010.
Early life and education
Lee was born in Canton, Ohio to Warren and Joan Kelley. Her first job was a paper route at the age of eight. Her father worked at a steel plant. Lee graduated from Carnegie Mellon University.
Early career
After moving to Las Vegas in 1993, Lee became the founding director of the Inner-City Games, now known as the After-School All-Stars, which conducts after school programs for children. Beginning in 2010, Lee served as the president of Communities In Schools of Nevada, a dropout prevention organization.
Lee has served on the Superintendent's Educational Opportunities Advisory Committee, Prime 6 Advisory Committee, Clark County School District English Language Learners Program Task Force, State Accountability Advisory Committee, UNLV's Lincy Institute Education Committee Advisory Board, and Guinn Center Board of Directors.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2016 General election
In the 2016 elections, Lee ran for the United States House of Representatives in Nevada's 4th congressional district. She lost in the primary to Ruben Kihuen by 19%. She placed third place behind former State Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, who received 25.6% of the vote.
2018 General election
In the 2018 elections, she ran for Nevada's 3rd congressional district to succeed Jacky Rosen, who retired after one term to successfully run for the United States Senate. Lee won the seven-way primary election with 66.9% of the vote. She defeated Republican nominee Danny Tarkanian in the general election, winning 52% of the vote.
Tenure
On December 18, 2019, Lee voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Education and Labor
- Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
- Subcommittee on Technology Modernization
Caucus memberships
- New Democrat Coalition
Electoral History
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susie Lee | 25,474 | 66.9 | |
| Democratic | Michael Weiss | 3,115 | 8.2 | |
| Democratic | Eric Stoltz | 2,758 | 7.2 | |
| Democratic | Jack Love | 2,208 | 5.8 | |
| Democratic | Richard Hart | 1,847 | 4.9 | |
| Democratic | Steve Schiffman | 1,338 | 3.5 | |
| Democratic | Guy Pinjuv | 1,331 | 3.5 | |
| Total votes | 38,071 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Susie Lee | 148,501 | 51.9 | |
| Republican | Danny Tarkanian | 122,566 | 42.8 | |
| Libertarian | Steve Brown | 4,555 | 1.6 | |
| Independent | David Goossen | 3,627 | 1.3 | |
| Independent American | Harry Vickers | 3,481 | 1.2 | |
| Independent | Gil Eisner | 1,887 | 0.7 | |
| Independent | Tony Gumina | 1,551 | 0.5 | |
| Total votes | 286,168 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Personal life
Lee lives in Las Vegas with her husband, Dan, who is a casino company CEO, and their two children.