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Sean Eldridge
Sean Eldridge, the 26 year-old husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, has filed paperwork to run as a Democratic candidate in New York’s 19th district, currently represented by two-term Republican incumbent Chris Gibson.
The 29th was formerly represented by Democrat John Hall, who was defeated by Republican Nan Hayworth in 2010. After redistricting in 2012, Hayworth ran in the new 18th District and lost to Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, the state’s first gay congressman. Gibson entered Congress in 2010 by defeating Democrat Scott Murphy in NY-20, and was redistricted to NY-19 in 2012.
Although Barack Obama won the district 52% to 46% in 2012, Gibson defeated his Democratic opponent Julian Schreibman 53%-47%.
Eldridge is an investor and founder of Hudson River Ventures LLC. He helped organize Students for Barack Obama in 2007, joined Freedom to Marry in 2010. He has been spreading money liberally around Democratic circles for the past two years, including over $40,000 to the DCCC.
His husband, Chris Hughes, was the coordinator of online organizing for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and recently purchased The New Republic.
It will be an uphill battle for Eldridge to win in a midterm election against a Republican incumbent, when turnout will be low, voters will be older and Obama won’t be at the top of the ticket to lure Democrats to the polls. That said, Chris Hughes no doubt knows how to run one hell of a turnout operation, and there will be no shortage of cash to grease the local wheels.
Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
5 Comments
Cool
Absolutely thrilling news, Jane.
What a grand and glorious day for Democrats and the Democratic party this is.
First, you inform us that the husband of Chris Hughes, Facebook’s co-founder, one Sean Eldridge, “a Democratic activist”, who “runs” an “investment firm” and has lots and lots of cash is running, to win, as a Democrat … in New York state’s 19th District … conveniently, as it turns out, not too terribly far from Wall Street …
And, second, Jon Walker informs us that “Hillary Clinton Is the Most Popular Political Figure in America” …
All quite thrilling and wonderful.
Those bad, nasty Republicans, whose base is too stupid for more than fifty million words pointing out that stupidity, had better watch out.
After President Obama is gone, there will be no more Mister Nice Guy.
In. four. short. years, Rethugs, the jig will be up! Better celebrate while you can.
(And Democrats won’t have to slink around claiming to be “lesser” weevils, either.)
Of course, the Dems had better “win” in “’16″, or the nasty old Republicans will have control of those drone joysticks … and that wouldn’t be “good”.
You know, if “we” can’t “beat” the money people, the too-big-to-be-accountable few, then we’d best elect as many of our own as possible. Now, I do realize that quite a few Democrats in Congress are, already, very rich, and I don’t imagine that any of them are what one might term, “hurting”, but the more rich ones we can get “in” the more they will represent our interests.
Ain’t that right?
Well, I apologize for the rusty snark, but winning is all that matters.
Ain’t that right?
And to think that I’ve been going around suggesting that neither legacy political party gives a damn about the majority of human beings in this nation, or the world, for that matter, and it don’t … matter, that is, ‘cuz the Dems might not be Kochs but they sure as hell is richly popular … and Jon even says that, among Dems, big and little, Hillary ” … is basically the sun around which the rest of the political world rotates.”
I imagine that Sean Eldridge, astute as he is, as he must be, has already figured all of that out.
Yeppers, mighty interesting times in which we are happily shocked and thoroughly awed …
It’s inspiring … or something.
DW
Hi, Jane!
actually, from your description “turnout, money and no obama at head of ticket” may be the winning combination for Eldridge.
Saw Chris Hughes at Harvard the other day, talking about what he is doing at The New Republic. Smart and energetic young guy but everything he said was Internet 2.0 boosterism from five years ago. Pretty rote and unimaginative. I was surprised.
The event was videotaped for CSPAN so you should be able to see it for yourself sometime soon and make up your own mind.
What, TNR’s actually advanced to Internet 2.0?