One worked on Donald Trump’s first impeachment case. Another served constituents back home. And at least two had a boss in John McCain, the late Republican senator from Arizona.

Of the newly elected members headed to the 119th Congress, several got their start as staffers, whether on the Hill, in district offices or on campaigns. Here are some of the incoming lawmakers who have seen what it’s like behind the scenes.

Jeff Crank, R-Colo.
#CO05

It took three tries, but Crank finally landed his old boss’ seat in Congress.

The Americans for Prosperity podcaster and political consultant got his start working for House member Joel Hefley, who later tapped him to be next in line. But current Rep. Doug Lamborn won that 2006 primary instead and bested Crank again two years later. 

Now with Lamborn retiring, Crank earned the backing of his onetime foe and clinched the win in the solidly Republican district, anchored in Colorado Springs. Along the way, he toppled a controversial state party chairman favored by Donald Trump.

“I lost my election 18 years ago, but God gave me nothing but blessings since that moment,” Crank said in his victory speech. (His campaign manager way back when? A young Jim Banks, now a senator-elect.)

Shomari Figures, D-Ala.
#AL02

Figures ran on his experience working in Washington, arguing it would help him get results for this newly drawn district, which includes parts of Alabama’s Black Belt. 

He helped vet appointees in the Obama White House, and later served as a legislative aide for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. He left his most recent role, as deputy chief of staff for Attorney General Merrick Garland, to return to Alabama and launch his campaign.

“When your father was known for having risked his life to bring down the Klan … then you have to find a way to make people’s lives better as well,” Figures told Capital B this year. His dad was civil rights lawyer Michael Figures, and his mom is Vivian Davis Figures, who succeeded her husband in the state Senate. 

Winning by 9 points over his Republican opponent, Figures will represent the new 2nd District, created after a court threw out a previous map for diluting the power of Black voters.

Craig Goldman, R-Texas
#TX12

Goldman comes on the heels of longtime lawmaker Kay Granger, who represented this North Texas district for almost 30 years. 

A real estate investor and state legislator, Goldman has been involved in Republican politics for decades. He worked at the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the early 1990s under then-Sen. Phil Gramm. Later he was executive director of McCain’s political action committee, Straight Talk America, and worked on his presidential campaign.

Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.
#NH02

Born on Election Day, Goodlander is a member of New Hampshire’s prominent Tamposi family. “My mom went to the polling place to vote before she went to the hospital to give birth to me,” she said.

She was counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment of Trump, and went on to join the Justice Department and then the Biden White House. But she didn’t always work for Democrats. 

Her earliest job on the Hill was with independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and next she worked for McCain, his close Republican friend.

Now she will succeed Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, though Goodlander (who is married to national security adviser Jake Sullivan) wasn’t her first choice. Instead, the retiring Democrat backed one of her own former campaign aides in the September primary. 

Riley Moore, R-W.V. 
#WV02

Moore comes to Congress fresh off his stint as West Virginia’s treasurer, after also serving in the state Legislature. Earlier in his career, he staffed the House Foreign Affairs panel.

The skateboarding enthusiast has been surrounded by public officials from birth; he is the nephew of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., and grandson of the late Gov. Arch A. Moore Jr.

Addison McDowell, R-N.C.
#NC06

A hunting buddy of Donald Trump Jr. and a former health insurance lobbyist, McDowell was a district staffer for Ted Budd, now a senator but then a member of the House.

He recalls being at an event with Budd eight years ago when he got a phone call: His little brother, Luke, had died of a fentanyl overdose. 

That experience fuels his calls to crack down on immigration and drug smuggling at the southern border, he said during his campaign. “This is my why,” McDowell wrote on social media as he released an ad with his brother’s story.

He comes to Congress after gerrymandering reshaped this district in North Carolina’s Triad region. Outgoing Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning decided not to run again, and McDowell prevailed in the GOP primary after his nearest opponent, onetime Rep. Mark Walker, declined to request a runoff.

Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va. 
#VA10

After serving as a state legislator, Subramanyam now becomes Virginia’s first Indian American elected to Congress.

His first job on the Hill was with one-term Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla., and he clerked for the Senate Judiciary Committee during law school. Later he worked in the Obama White House on a technology policy task force.

In a crowded primary, Subramanyam got the nod from outgoing Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who has been diagnosed with a rare brain disorder. The Northern Virginia district is home to many federal workers and includes Washington Dulles International Airport and all of Loudoun County.

Nina Heller, Allison Mollenkamp and Justin Papp contributed to this report.