Illinois social studies teacher Victor Swanson runs for US Congress.

Today’s highly-charged political climate is offering many opportunities for accomplished educators to run for political office. One individual who is doing that is Victor Swanson, a high school social studies teacher from Illinois who is running for a seat in the US Congress. He hopes to be elected to the 14th Congressional District on the Democratic ticket, unseating Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren.

Victor earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Science Secondary Education from Illinois State University. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Northern Illinois University. In addition, he is a decorated veteran of the US Navy.

Victor’s career as a public school educator has spanned 18 years. He currently teaches at Glenbard East High School in Lombard, a suburb of Chicago. Victor believes his classroom experience has prepared him very well for public office. “I believe my ability to listen to multiple different perspectives has helped me. You want a representative who can talk to people and work with them to come up with the best possible solution to a problem,” he asserts.

When Victor first expressed an interest in running for Congress, he was told it would be nearly impossible to run a campaign because he has a full-time teaching job. The intrepid educator said that only increased his desire to run. “If we don’t have people in Congress who have real jobs and aren’t independently wealthy or have political connections, then we don’t have real representation,” he declares.

If elected, Victor wants to allocate more money to education. “We need to start spending our money on children and people instead of corporations and the military,” he declares. “The more we invest in our children, the greater our return on investment.”

To learn more about this amazing educator, see his candidate profile at the Daily Herald.