History could be made in more ways than one in this year’s race for the 11th District.
Three candidates – two Democrats and one Independent – have filed with the Federal Election Commission to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Lancaster County Republican who has represented the district, which includes Lancaster County and the southern swath of York County, since 2019.
It would be historic if any of the candidates unseat Smucker. The district is heavily tilted toward Republicans, who hold a 111,000 lead in registered voters over the Democrats, according to the state Department of State. Smucker won re-election in 2024 with 63 percent of the vote. Smucker also has more money than the other candidates, by a long shot, according to FEC filings. He has nearly $1 million compared to the closest Democrat, Nancy Mannion, who reported having $17,429 as of the last quarter of 2025.
And it would be historic if Democratic candidate Sarah Renee Klimm finds her way through the primary and unseats Smucker. Klimm, a 51-year-old retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant from southern York County, would be only the second transgender person elected to Congress.
Klimm, who served during seven deployments to Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan during her 23 years in the Marines, downplays the historic nature of her candidacy.
“They want us to get stuck on pronouns. I want to get stuck on bringing grocery prices down,” the self-described working-class person and parent of three told The Advocate. “You don’t have to get stuck on she or her — just call me Gunny. It’s gender neutral. We used it in the military all the time. Now let’s get to work.”
Klimm’s opponent in the May primary, Mannion, is a registered emergency nurse with more than 40 years of experience.
Both candidates are critical of President Donald Trump and his economic policies, which they say harm middle-class and working-class people. They both are focused on affordability as an issue, claiming that Smucker’s allegiance to Trump has harmed his constituents.
Independent Jeffrey Wilder, who ran in 2024 as a Republican but withdrew before the election, rounds out the field. He is a conservative who advocates for smaller government, fiscal responsibility, less regulation and reducing the size of the federal government.
