Issue One updates

Nine new ReFormers join Issue One to fix the broken political system


  • Elise Wirkus

Issue One is pleased to announce the addition of nine former members of Congress to the ReFormers Caucus: Jason Altmire (D-PA), Gresham Barrett (R-SC), Ben Chandler (D-KY), Sam Coppersmith (D-AZ), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Charles Djou (R-HI), Dan Maffei (D-NY), Jeff Miller (R-FL) and Jon Porter (R-NV). They join the largest bipartisan coalition—now 194 members strong—of former members of Congress, governors and Cabinet secretaries focused on fixing the broken political system and safeguarding our democratic institutions. 

New Issue One ReFormers include:

  • Congressman Jason Altmire (D-PA) expands Issue One’s Pennsylvania delegation, becoming the ninth member. He represented the state’s 4th Congressional District from 2007 to 2013.
  • Congressman Gresham Barrett (R-SC) joins the ReFormers after representing South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District from 2003 to 2011.
  • Congressman Ben Chandler (D-KY) is the first ReFormer from Kentucky, where he served in his home state’s 6th Congressional District from 2004 to 2013.
  • Congressman Sam Coppersmith (D-AZ) represented his state’s 1st Congressional District from 1993 to 1995.
  • Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) grows the Illinois delegation of the ReFormers Caucus after representing both the 12th and 23rd Congressional Districts in Illinois from 1988 to 2013.
  • Congressman Charles Djou (R-HI) represented Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District from 2010 to 2011.
  • Congressman Dan Maffei (D-NY) is the twelfth ReFormer from New York, where he represented the 24th Congressional District from 2013 to 2015.
  • Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL) joins the ReFormers Caucus as a former member from Florida, where he represented the 1st Congressional District from 2001 to 2017.
  • Congressman Jon Porter (R-NV) is the first ReFormer from Nevada, where he represented the state’s 3rd Congressional District from 2003 to 2009 after serving as the mayor of Boulder City, Nevada, from 1987 to 1991.

As former members of Congress, the ReFormers have the experience and expertise to amplify Issue One’s ongoing political reform efforts — like urging the passage of the Honest Ads Act — on Capitol Hill, in the media and at home in the districts they formerly represented. We look forward to engaging our newest ReFormers in spreading our solutions-oriented conversation to many more Americans who are ready to put country above party.