Meet Jessica

Hard work is in Jessica Swartz’s DNA. Born and raised in West Michigan by a public school teacher and small business owner, Jessica got her first job at age 13. She went on to become a Division One rower at Michigan State University, picking up shifts in the school cafeteria and local restaurants when she wasn’t at practice or studying.

After graduating from American University Washington College of Law, Jessica worked as an appellate attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, making sure veterans got the benefits to which they were entitled by cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse. Jessica waited tables on nights and weekends to pay down her student loans and mortgage.

In 2007, Jessica married her husband, Jamie, a former Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. They moved back to West Michigan to be close to family and raise their daughter. She continued her work for VA at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center before taking a job at Western Michigan University, where she specialized in free speech cases and served as Deputy General Counsel.

In 2018, Jessica worked hard with the nonpartisan organization Voters Not Politicians to ban both parties from partisan gerrymandering. She was also a Girl Scout troop leader and spends her Sundays at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish Church.

In 2024, Jessica ran for Congress in Michigan’s 4th District, raising $1.1 million. She improved on Democrats’ 2022 showing in the district despite a far more difficult climate that kept national organizations on the sideline.

Jessica currently represents Veterans as they work to get their benefits from VA. She lives in Kalamazoo with her husband, daughter, dog, and cat.