Ray Bilger

BELLEFONTE — Ray Bilger, of Bellefonte, officially announced his candidacy for the 15th Congressional District, seeking to bring his wealth of national security experience and unwavering commitment to serve the voters of Central Pennsylvania. Bilger is registered as a Democrat.

As a military veteran, Bilger is a respected national security leader with over 40 years of experience in public service.

“I am running to represent the people of the 15th District because they are struggling to put food on their tables and face no health care in their communities,” said Bilger. “I grew up in Bellefonte but had to leave the area to find real opportunities. I returned three years ago and found nothing has changed for many residents, especially over the past 16 years.”

Bilger said he was raised with strong working-class values of self-reliance and community. At Bellefonte High School, he excelled in sports, playing catcher on the famous 1977 team that made it to the PIAA tournament.

During his time at Penn State, Bilger chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and enter military service in 1986 when he realized he couldn’t afford to complete his education at the university.

Bilger said the U.S. Air Force taught him discipline and teamwork, while also recognizing his remarkable gift for foreign languages. As a military intelligence specialist, he served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Over a career spanning 35 years and nearly as many countries, Bilger distinguished himself as a security officer and intelligence analyst, leading

teams for the Air Force, National Security Agency (NSA) and State Department. In the late 1990s, he was Balkans Special Operations Team Lead for the NSA and was awarded the USA Commander’s Civilian Service Award. From 2015-2017, he worked as NSA Technical Director for Cyber Analysis.

While abroad, he met his wife, Danuta, in Poland, and they raised their son, Alex, overseas and in the United States. Bilger says he never lost touch with his roots, however, travelling home to central Pa. often to visit family and to help renovate their home on the slopes of Mount Nittany, the home that Bilger and his wife have lived in since 2020.

Bilger’s platform for the Congressional 15th District centers on: Affordability: For all of us; Safety: For all of us; Opportunity and Hope: Our young people should have the ability to stay here in the PA 15 and have opportunities to thrive.

“I wake up every day seeing more and more bad news for our nation and local communities,” Bilger said. “I simply can’t walk away from this. I am just hard-wired to care.”

Bilger is running for Congress to honor his family’s legacy and renew the promise of the American dream, he said. His parents scrimped and saved so that their three children could enjoy a better life, but that American dream now seems to be in peril.

Across central Pa., life is becoming harder and younger generations are leaving. Bilger is committed to restoring opportunity so that families can thrive here for generations.

“I’m a combat veteran. The United States government for the past 40 years entrusted me to make the hard decisions and to solve hard problems,” Bilger said. “We need real leadership. I’m going to put my expertise to work here. That is the mission. We solve hard problems. We work for the people, not ourselves.”