For twelve years, a Scranton trial lawyer held one of the hardest seats in Congress for a Democrat. Matt Cartwright represented northeastern Pennsylvania in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2025, winning six straight elections, including races in districts Donald Trump carried. He lost by fewer than 7,000 votes in 2024, and he now splits his time between a law firm partnership and a professorship at the college he graduated from. Here’s his full story, from Erie and Toronto to Capitol Hill, his marriage to lawyer Marion Munley, and what his financial filings say he’s worth.
| Date of Birth | May 1, 1961 |
|---|---|
| Age | 65 years |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Taurus |
| Occupation | Lawyer, former U.S. Congressman, professor |
| Father | Alton S. Cartwright |
| Mother | Adelaide (Igoe) Cartwright |
| Wife | Marion Munley (m. 1985) |
| Children | Two sons, Jack and Matthew |
| Political Party | Democratic |
| U.S. House | PA-17 (2013–2019), PA-8 (2019–2025) |
| Education | Hamilton College (BA); University of Pennsylvania Law School (JD) |
| Residence | Moosic, Pennsylvania |
Aydin Maxwell
Geneva MaccaroneBiography
Matthew Alton Cartwright was born on May 1, 1961, in Erie, Pennsylvania. His parents are Alton S. Cartwright and Adelaide (Igoe) Cartwright, and he grew up as one of four brothers. His father served in the U.S. Army in World War II, and that shaped all four boys. “My father’s military service in World War II made a very profound impact on me, and also my three brothers,” he told the Scranton Times-Tribune in an interview published on January 5, 2025, adding that his father volunteered for Army duty after Pearl Harbor.
The family later moved north of the border. “My father got transferred to Canada with his job,” he told the Times-Tribune, and he finished high school at Upper Canada College in Toronto in 1979. He then went back across the border to Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in history in 1983 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
College summers gave him an unusual side job. “Summers during college, I had been a railroad worker. I was a signalman on the railway,” he said in the same interview. That early love of trains came back decades later, when passenger rail became his signature project in Congress.
In 1981 he spent time at the London School of Economics, where he met his future wife, Marion Munley. He then studied law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, served as an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and earned his Juris Doctor in 1986.
Career
A 25-year trial lawyer
Cartwright started his legal career in 1986 as an associate in the litigation department of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia, working on commercial and securities cases. In 1988 he and Marion joined her family’s firm in the Scranton area, Munley, Munley & Cartwright, now known as Munley Law. He spent about 25 years there as an attorney and partner.
His courtroom record was strong. Lowey Dannenberg says his work produced 23 reported cases, including a lender liability trial, Wilprint v. Wachovia Bank, that ended in a record jury verdict in Pennsylvania. He was inducted into the International Society of Barristers in 2008. “I did courtroom jury trials for 25 years. The one thing you figured out right quick is that people care about who’s believable,” he told Roll Call in April 2023.
He also built a public profile outside the courtroom. From 2005 to 2011 he was the legal analyst on “The Law & You” on NBC affiliate WBRE-TV. He sat on the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice from 2009 to 2012, and in 2011 he co-wrote the Thomson Reuters legal guide “Litigating Business and Commercial Tort Cases,” which still pays him small royalties.
Early politics and community work
Politics came early, too. In 1992 Cartwright was an elected delegate for Bill Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, representing Pennsylvania’s 10th district. He served as District Governor of Rotary International District 7410, which covers northeastern Pennsylvania, from 2001 to 2002.
Winning a seat in Congress
Cartwright’s first run was a big upset. On April 24, 2012, he beat 10-term Democratic congressman Tim Holden in the primary for Pennsylvania’s 17th district, 57% to 43%. That November he defeated Republican Laureen Cummings with about 60% of the vote. He was sworn in on January 3, 2013, and his fellow new House Democrats picked him as their class president. He told The Daily Pennsylvanian he was “excited to lead this historically diverse freshman class.”
He held the seat through every cycle that followed. He beat Schuylkill County Coroner David Moylan in 2014 (56.8% to 43.2%) and Matt Connolly in 2016 (53.8% to 46.2%). After redistricting moved him to the new 8th district, he beat self-funded businessman John Chrin in 2018 (54.6% to 45.4%).
A Democrat in Trump country
The 2020 race made his name nationally. Trump carried the 8th district, yet Cartwright beat Republican Jim Bognet by just over 12,000 votes, 51.8% to 48.2%. Speaking to CBS News in November 2020, he said every voter asks two things of a politician: “does this politician care about me and number two will he or she work hard for me.” He added that if voters know you care about them, “you’ve answered 80 percent of their questions.”
He also refused to blame Trump voters. “I don’t condemn people for voting for Trump, far from it,” he told CBS News. “I take it as a clarion call to Democrats like me to realize these people are hurting.” In the same interview he called himself “an unabashed progressive” and said his favorite progressive was Theodore Roosevelt.
Inside the House, he moved up steadily. His colleagues elected him a Regional Whip, and he served as co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee from January 2019 to January 2023, alongside Debbie Dingell, Ted Lieu and Joe Neguse. On January 25, 2021, he became chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, and he stayed on as its top Democrat after Republicans took the House. “I’ve been friends with Joe Biden for probably close to 30 years now,” he told Roll Call in 2023.
His best-known law is the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which lets Marines and families harmed by toxic water at the North Carolina base sue the government. It became law in August 2022 as part of the PACT Act. According to Hamilton College, he wrote 16 bills that were signed into law by three presidents. He also pushed hard to bring back passenger trains between Scranton and New York City. Asked by the Times-Tribune about his legacy, he answered: “Spearheading the passenger rail effort.”
He beat Bognet again in 2022, this time 51.2% to 48.8%.
The 2024 defeat
Cartwright’s run ended on November 5, 2024. Republican businessman Rob Bresnahan beat him by about 6,200 votes, 50.8% to 49.2%. He called Bresnahan on election night to concede and released a statement the next afternoon. “I voted according to my conscience. I’m proud of the work that I did,” he told WVIA News on November 6, 2024.
He took the loss hard but stood by his campaign. “I didn’t get elected. Yeah. I’m still processing that,” he told the Times-Tribune. “We didn’t make any mistakes in our campaign.” He pointed out that the Harris-Walz ticket lost his district by more than 8.6 points, which he called “a staggering number to overcome when you’re down the ballot.”
Life after Congress
Cartwright left office on January 3, 2025. He joined the faculty of Hamilton College as the Sol M. Linowitz Professor of International Affairs. “I’m going to teach government and politics of Congress, a seminar level course, on Monday mornings,” he said before starting. In January 2025, Lackawanna County commissioners also named him to the board of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, so he could keep working on the rail project.
Democrats hoped he would run for his old seat in 2026. In June 2025 he decided against a rematch with Bresnahan, as first reported by Punchbowl News and confirmed by WVIA News on June 4, 2025. A week later, on June 11, 2025, the law firm Lowey Dannenberg announced him as a partner on its healthcare litigation team, based at its office in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. On November 6, 2025, Munley Law also announced his return to the family firm as Of Counsel, focusing on complex personal injury cases and government-related advice.
Controversies and Disputes
Late property taxes on his Washington condo became a campaign issue in 2018. The Associated Press reported that he built up about $3,700 in penalties and interest for late payments between 2013 and 2018, and that the city sent him a notice in 2015 threatening to sell the condo. Cartwright called it an oversight and said he paid every bill in the end. “This is a very busy job that I have and I’m working really hard at it,” he told the AP. The National Republican Congressional Committee turned it into a TV ad, and the Washington Free Beacon reported a further $436.63 in penalties on the condo for 2021.
A watchdog complaint over trucking insurance followed. In September 2019, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed an ethics complaint saying his bills to raise trucking insurance minimums to $4.5 million could help his wife’s law firm. On March 13, 2020, the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics voted 6-0 to recommend dismissing it. The board found no reason to believe Marion Munley had lobbied him or that he had taken any action to benefit himself, as reported by the Citizens’ Voice on August 25, 2020.
His financial filings drew fire the same summer. On August 12, 2020, the Washington Free Beacon reported that his disclosures had left out Archer Partners LLC, the company that owns his four-seat single-engine plane, and the Hague Personal Residence Trust, which holds a family lake house on Lake George in New York. His office amended the earlier filings. “As a firm believer in government transparency, the Congressman completed his filing and amendments in good faith,” spokesman Matt Slavoski said.
In 2022 a donor’s ads put him in an awkward spot. Axios reported on August 25, 2022, that the law firm Parker Waichman had used video of Cartwright, wearing his congressional pin, in TV ads looking for Camp Lejeune clients. His office sent the firm a cease-and-desist letter on August 9, and partner Jerry Parker wrote back on August 24 calling it an “overreach” and taking the ads down. The watchdog Functional Government Initiative then filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Awards and Honors
Cartwright was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Hamilton College and graduated magna cum laude in 1983. He was inducted into the International Society of Barristers in 2008. On November 5, 2010, the Boy Scouts of America gave him the Silver Beaver Award for service to young people.
On April 25, 2013, he appeared on The Colbert Report’s “Better Know a District,” where he pretended to teach Stephen Colbert to ride a bike in the halls of a House office building.
Personal Life
Cartwright has been married to Marion Munley for more than 40 years. The two met in London in 1981, while he was studying at the London School of Economics. They married on August 10, 1985, in Archbald, Pennsylvania. Marion Munley is a trial lawyer and a shareholder at Munley Law, the firm her family built in Scranton, and the couple joined it together in 1988.
They have two sons, Jack and Matthew. The family lives in Moosic, a small borough just outside Scranton. His brother-in-law, Chris Munley, was also his law partner. “As his partner, it was a huge loss for me,” Munley told The Daily Pennsylvanian when Cartwright left for Congress in 2013.
Cartwright is a Roman Catholic. He says his summers as a railway signalman gave him “an affinity for railroads,” and that interest still drives his work on the Scranton rail line.
Timeline
May 1, 1961: Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, to Alton S. and Adelaide (Igoe) Cartwright.
1979: Graduates from Upper Canada College in Toronto after his father’s job takes the family to Canada.
1981: Studies at the London School of Economics and meets Marion Munley.
1983: Graduates magna cum laude from Hamilton College with a degree in history.
August 10, 1985: Marries Marion Munley in Archbald, Pennsylvania.
1986: Earns his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and joins Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia.
1988: Joins the Munley family law firm in Scranton with Marion.
2008: Inducted into the International Society of Barristers.
November 5, 2010: Receives the Boy Scouts of America’s Silver Beaver Award.
April 24, 2012: Beats Rep. Tim Holden in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 17th district.
November 6, 2012: Wins the general election against Laureen Cummings.
January 3, 2013: Sworn in to Congress and elected president of the freshman Democratic class.
April 25, 2013: Appears on The Colbert Report’s “Better Know a District.”
November 6, 2018: Wins the new 8th district over John Chrin.
January 3, 2019: Becomes co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
November 3, 2020: Beats Jim Bognet in a district Trump carried.
January 25, 2021: Becomes chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science.
August 2022: The Camp Lejeune Justice Act becomes law as part of the PACT Act.
November 8, 2022: Beats Bognet again in a rematch.
November 5, 2024: Loses to Republican Rob Bresnahan by about 6,200 votes.
January 3, 2025: Leaves Congress and begins teaching at Hamilton College.
June 2025: Decides not to run for his old seat in 2026.
June 11, 2025: Joins Lowey Dannenberg as a partner.
November 6, 2025: Returns to Munley Law as Of Counsel.
Net Worth
Matt Cartwright’s net worth is estimated at $4–7 million, held jointly with his wife, Marion Munley. Most of that money comes from decades of law practice rather than politics. A member of the U.S. House earns $174,000 a year, while the couple’s savings were built mainly through the Munley law firm before and during his time in office.
His last House financial disclosure, filed on May 1, 2025, gives a clear view of the family’s money. It lists assets worth between $4.9 million and $12.3 million. The biggest piece is the Munley Law profit-sharing retirement plan, spread across 38 bond and stock funds. Next come brokerage accounts at Charles Schwab, Vanguard, RBC and UBS, plus large holdings in the Columbia Acorn International and Elfun funds.
Property and a plane round out the list. The family’s share of the Hague Personal Residence Trust, which holds the Lake George lake house, is valued at $250,001 to $500,000. The couple also has stakes in two office buildings on Penn Avenue in Scranton, and Archer Partners LLC owns a Piper Archer III single-engine plane valued at $100,001 to $250,000. On top of that, they bought a Washington condo for nearly $800,000 in 2013, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Debts pull the figure down. The same filing lists $1 million to $5 million in law firm credit lines with People’s Security Bank, two mortgages on the Penn Avenue office buildings, a home equity loan and a credit card balance. Once those debts are taken off the assets, the family’s wealth lands in the $4–7 million range.
The figure may climb from here. He now earns a partner’s share at Lowey Dannenberg, a professor’s salary at Hamilton College and Of Counsel fees from Munley Law. Together, those jobs can pay well above the $174,000 he earned in Congress.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Matt Cartwright?
Matt Cartwright is 65. He was born on May 1, 1961, in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Who is Matt Cartwright’s wife?
His wife is Marion Munley, a trial lawyer at her family’s firm, Munley Law. They met at the London School of Economics in 1981 and married on August 10, 1985.
Does Matt Cartwright have children?
Yes. He and Marion have two sons, Jack and Matthew, and the family lives in Moosic, Pennsylvania.
What is Matt Cartwright’s net worth?
Matt Cartwright’s net worth is estimated at $4–7 million. Most of it comes from his law career and his wife’s law firm, including retirement savings, investment accounts, property and a small plane.
Is Matt Cartwright still in Congress?
No. He lost his seat to Republican Rob Bresnahan on November 5, 2024, and left Congress on January 3, 2025. He decided in June 2025 not to run again in 2026.
What does Matt Cartwright do now?
He teaches at Hamilton College as the Sol M. Linowitz Professor of International Affairs. He’s also a partner at the law firm Lowey Dannenberg and Of Counsel at Munley Law in Scranton.
