Charlie Dent (born May 24, 1960 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is a Republican Member of Congress, representing the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.

Dent was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004, succeeding Pat Toomey, who left the seat to challenge Arlen Specter for the U.S. Senate. He currently represents Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional district (map).

Before being elected to the United States Congress, Dent was a member of the Pennsylvania State House from 1991-1999 and the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1999-2004. He has also been a college fundraiser, an electronics salesman, a hotel clerk and a congressional aide.

During his 2004 campaign, Dent said he would use his platform in Congress to prevent other states from shipping waste into Pennsylvania and to secure funds to build a new bridge across the Lehigh River in Allentown. He has said that he supports abortion rights and expanding embryonic stem cell research.

Dent represents a Pennsylvania Congressional district, comprised of Lehigh County and Northampton County, that is considered politically important nationally, since it is usually heavily contested, with neither Republicans nor Democrats having being able to win the district consistently. In the 2004 election, both President George W. Bush and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, visited the district with regularity in an effort to win its swing voters.

Dent resides in Allentown. He is married to Pamela Dent and has three children.

External link

• Charlie Dent profile, NNDB.