Sean Eldridge

Last updated

Sean Eldridge
Sean-Eldridge.jpg
Born (1986-07-31) July 31, 1986 (age 38)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • United States
Education Deep Springs College (AA)
Brown University (BA)
Columbia University
Known for Freedom to Marry
Stand Up America
Political party Democratic
Spouse
​
(m. 2012)​
Children1

Sean Eldridge (born July 31, 1986) [1] is a Canadian-born American political activist from New York. Eldridge is the founder and president of Stand Up America, a progressive advocacy community. He previously served as political director of Freedom to Marry, an organization advocating for the legalization of same-sex marriage. Eldridge ran for Congress in New York's 19th congressional district in 2014, but was defeated. He is the spouse of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.

Contents

Early life and education

Eldridge was born in Montreal, Quebec. [2] He grew up in the suburbs of Toledo, Ohio, and attended public school in Ottawa Hills, a suburb of Toledo. Both of his parents are medical doctors; his father, Steve Eldridge, is a radiologist, and his mother, Sarah Taub, is a family physician. [3] [4] [5] His mother was born in Petah Tikva, Israel, to Jewish refugee parents, and his father converted to Judaism. [6] [7]

Eldridge studied at Deep Springs College in Deep Springs, California, and graduated with a degree in philosophy from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, [8] where he helped organize the national Students for Barack Obama campaign in 2007. Eldridge enrolled at Columbia Law School in New York City but withdrew to join Freedom to Marry. [3]

Career

After the New York Senate voted down same-sex marriage legislation in 2009, Eldridge joined Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage equality nationwide. He served initially as communications director and then as political director, a role in which he helped lead the successful 2011 effort to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. [9] [ better source needed ]

Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York State, Eldridge founded the investment fund Hudson River Ventures in 2011 to address the growing issue of access to capital for small businesses in the Hudson Valley. [10] He also founded the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center at SUNY New Paltz in 2013, which trains students and workers on the use of 3-D printing technology. [11]

Since 2011, Eldridge has served on the board of directors of Scenic Hudson, "the largest environmental group focused on the Hudson Valley", and is a significant supporter of their climate change and waterfront protection programs. [12] [13] Eldridge has also served as a Planned Parenthood board member. [14]

In 2012, Eldridge launched Protect Our Democracy PAC and New York Leadership for Accountable Government (NY LEAD), a bipartisan group of business and civic leaders advocating for campaign finance reform in New York State. [15] [16] [17]

2014 congressional campaign

Eldridge and his husband, Chris Hughes, bought a home in Garrison, New York for $5 million in 2011 [18] so that Eldridge could run for Congress in New York's 18th congressional district. After another Democrat was elected to Congress in that district, [19] Eldridge and Hughes purchased a $2 million home in New York's 19th congressional district in 2013. [18] [19]

After moving into the 19th congressional district, “Eldridge set up a venture capital firm, Hudson River Ventures, that has provided millions in loans and equity lines to local companies.” Eldridge reportedly used Hughes's wealth “to build an elaborate campaign apparatus in a district where he remain[ed] a stranger to many. In addition to his firm’s investments, Eldridge…promised to match each contribution he receive[d], dollar for dollar.” [2]

In early 2013, Eldridge, then aged 26, filed paperwork to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. A Democrat, Eldridge challenged Republican incumbent Chris Gibson in New York's 19th congressional district. [20] The district has been described as "the quintessential swing district". [21] RealClearPolitics.com reported that "Eldridge's formidable strengths as a well-financed, eloquent messenger with powerful friends in the Democratic Party [were] obvious" and praised Eldridge for making campaign finance reform "a key part of his platform". [20] Eldridge supported abortion rights [6] and immigration reform, opposed hydrofracking, and supported a minimum wage hike. [22] Because Eldridge and Hughes had only moved into the district fairly recently, Eldridge developed a reputation as a carpetbagger. [6] [23] [24] [25] In October 2014, The New York Times described Eldridge as "'a first-time Democratic candidate with a thin résumé and a thick wallet'", and Politico called his campaign a "catastrophe". [26] Vanity Fair opined that his campaign was "overfunded and stacked with expensive consultants". [6]

On November 4, 2014, Eldridge lost the election, [23] 62.6%-34.5%, [27] "despite having outspent his opponent nearly 3-to-1 in a district President Obama won by 6 percentage points". [19]

Stand Up America

In the weeks after the 2016 election, Eldridge started Stand Up America, an advocacy organization that began as a Facebook page and quickly grew to a community of over two million progressives. The organization has fought to impeach Donald Trump, [28] secure funding for election security, [29] and pass voting rights laws [30] and anti-corruption legislation. [31]

Personal life

Eldridge became a U.S. citizen in 2006. [2]

Eldridge married Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes on June 30, 2012. They have one son. [1] Eldridge and Hughes attended President Barack Obama's first state dinner together in 2009. [32] The couple was featured on the cover of The Advocate magazine's "Forty Under 40" issue in 2011. [33] Eldridge and Hughes were also profiled in The New York Times in May 2012. [34] [8]

Electoral history

US House election, 2014: New York District 19 [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Sean S. Eldridge60,53328.8%
Working Families Sean S. Eldridge11,9375.7%
TotalSean S. Eldridge72,47034.5%
Republican Chris Gibson102,11848.5%
Conservative Chris Gibson20,4209.7%
Independence Chris Gibson9,0564.3%
Total Chris Gibson (Incumbent)131,59462.6%
NoneBlank/Void/Write-In6,2872.9%
Total votes210,351 100%

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club for Growth</span> American political advocacy group

The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Boustany</span> American politician (born 1956)

Charles William Boustany Jr. is an American politician, physician, and former congressman from Lafayette, Louisiana, who served as the U.S. representative from Louisiana's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Parker</span> American entrepreneur and philanthropist (born 1979)

Sean Parker is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, most notable for co-founding the file-sharing computer service Napster, and was the first president of the social networking website Facebook. He also co-founded Plaxo, Causes, Airtime.com, and Brigade, an online platform for civic engagement. He is the founder and chairman of the Parker Foundation, which focuses on life sciences, global public health, and civic engagement. On the Forbes 2022 list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked No. 1,096 with a net worth of US$2.8 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Patrick Maloney</span> American politician (born 1966)

Sean Patrick Maloney is an American lawyer and politician who serves as the U.S. ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development since April 2024. He formerly served as the U.S. representative from New York's 18th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. The district includes Newburgh, Beacon, and Poughkeepsie. A member of the Democratic Party, Maloney ran for New York Attorney General in 2018, coming in third place to Letitia James in the primary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York's 19th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for New York

New York's 19th congressional district is located in New York's Catskills, Hudson Valley, Southern Tier, and Finger Lakes regions. It lies partially in the northernmost region of the New York metropolitan area and south of Albany. This district is represented by Democrat Josh Riley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Hughes</span> American entrepreneur

Christopher Hughes is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of The New Republic from 2012 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dustin Moskovitz</span> American billionaire internet entrepreneur (born 1984)

Dustin Aaron Moskovitz is an American billionaire internet entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook, Inc. with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. In 2008, he left Facebook to co-found Asana with Justin Rosenstein. In March 2011, Forbes reported Moskovitz to be the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, on the basis of his then 2.34% share in Facebook. As of June 2024, his net worth is estimated at US$23 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States House of Representatives elections</span> House elections for the 113th U.S. Congress

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2012. It coincided with the reelection of President Barack Obama. Elections were held for all 435 seats representing the 50 U.S. states and also for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories. The winners of this election cycle served in the 113th United States Congress. This was the first congressional election using districts drawn up based on the 2010 United States census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troy Balderson</span> American politician and businessman (born 1962)

William Troy Balderson is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Ohio's 12th congressional district since 2018. He served as an Ohio state senator representing the 20th district from 2011 until his election to Congress. A member of the Republican Party, he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reshma Saujani</span> American politician, lawyer, and activist

Reshma Saujani is an American lawyer, politician, civil servant, and the founder of the nonprofit organization "Girls Who Code", which aims to increase the number of women in computer science and close the gender employment difference in that field. She worked in city government as a deputy public advocate at the New York City Public Advocate's office. In 2009, Saujani ran against Carolyn Maloney for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from New York's 14th congressional district, becoming the first Indian American woman to run for Congress. In 2013, she ran as a Democratic candidate for Public Advocate, coming third in the primary. Following the 2012 founding of Girls Who Code, Saujani was listed in Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Gibson (New York politician)</span> American politician (born 1964)

Christopher Patrick Gibson is an American politician, author, professor, college administrator, and former officer in the United States Army. A Republican, Gibson served as the U.S. representative for New York's 20th congressional district from 2011 to 2013 and for New York's 19th congressional district from 2013 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New York</span>

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts, a loss of two seats following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, and a U.S. Senate election. The two existing districts that were eliminated were District 9, held by Republican Rep. Bob Turner, and District 22, held by retiring Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey</span>

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the 12 U.S. representatives from the state of New Jersey, one from each of the state's 12 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2014 United States midterm elections for other federal and state offices, including U.S. House elections in other states and a U.S. Senate election in New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New York</span>

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state of New York, one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections, including the governor, attorney general, and comptroller of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufus Gifford</span> American diplomat (born 1974)

John Rufus Gifford is an American politician, and diplomat, who has served as Finance Chair of the Harris 2024 presidential campaign since July 2024. He was the chief of protocol of the United States from 2022 to 2023. Between 2013 and 2017, he was the United States ambassador to Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States House of Representatives elections in New York</span>

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held on November 8, 2016, to elect 27 U.S. representatives from the state of New York. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries took place on June 28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election</span>

The 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Massachusetts. Republican former state representative Geoff Diehl, Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey, and Libertarian Kevin Reed sought to succeed incumbent Governor Charlie Baker, who did not seek re-election after two terms. The race was one of six Republican-held governorships up for election in 2022 in a state carried by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and the only race in which the incumbent was retiring despite being eligible for re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 New York City mayoral election</span>

The 2021 New York City mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Schmitt</span> American politician

Colin J. Schmitt is an American businessman and politician who served two terms as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 99th district, which covers parts of Orange and Rockland Counties. He is a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New York</span>

The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the 26 U.S. representatives from the State of New York, one from each of the state's 26 congressional districts. The elections coincided with elections for governor, U.S. Senate, attorney general, comptroller, state senate, and assembly, and various other state and local elections.

References

  1. 1 2 Laviola, Erin (May 9, 2019). "Sean Eldridge, Chris Hughes' Husband: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
  2. 1 2 3 Isenstadt, Alex. "Facebook co-founder hubby's brazen run". POLITICO.
  3. 1 2 Reindl, JC (February 27, 2011). "Former Ottawa Hills resident to wed Facebook co-founder". The Blade. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  4. ↑ Hernandez, Raymond (July 10, 2013). "Young, Rich and Relocating Yet Again in Hunt for Political Office". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge". The New York Times . July 1, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Ellison, Sarah (June 4, 2015). "The Complex Power Coupledom of Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge". Vanity Fair.
  7. ↑ Taylor, Matt. "Congressional Candidate Sean S. Eldridge Wants You To Know the 'S' Stands for 'Simcha'". Tablet . Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Holson, Laura (May 4, 2012). "A Powerful Combination". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Freedom to Marry Staff Bios". Freedom to Marry . Archived from the original on May 9, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Scenic Hudson has new board members". The Journal News . December 9, 2011.
  11. ↑ "SUNY New Paltz will be home to 3-D printing initiative". Daily Freeman. Retrieved May 31, 2013.[ dead link ]
  12. ↑ "International Business and Social Media Leaders Add to Heft of Scenic Hudson Board". ScenicHudson.org. December 7, 2011. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Scenic Hudson gets $100K for flood control efforts in Kingston, other waterfront communities". Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  14. ↑ Hamilton, Matthew (August 25, 2014). "Sean Eldridge says independence, not wealth, is key to campaign". Times Union. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  15. ↑ Kaplan, Thomas (February 15, 2012). "Wealthy Donors Join Effort to Improve Campaign Finance System". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ Kaplan, Thomas (June 24, 2012). "With Cuomo, a New Group Will Push for Publicly Financed Elections". The New York Times.
  17. ↑ Kroll, Andy (November–December 2012). "Sean Eldridge Wants to Curb the Influence of Big Donors—Like Himself". Mother Jones .
  18. 1 2 Conroy, Scott (November 12, 2013). "Ambitious Sean Eldridge Polishes His Message". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  19. 1 2 3 Kirchick, James (December 8, 2014). "The Rise and Fall of Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge, America's Worst Gay Power Couple". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  20. 1 2 Fama, Jilian. "Sean Eldridge, Husband of Facebook Co-Founder, Running for Congress". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  21. ↑ "It's A Close Race Down To The Wire In NY's 19th Congressional District". WAMC. November 3, 2016.
  22. ↑ Stewart, Emily (October 3, 2014). "Gibson, Eldridge differ on energy, immigration, foreign policy". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  23. 1 2 Byers, Dylan (November 11, 2014). "NY-19: Sean Eldridge concedes defeat". Politico . Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Who You Calling a Carpetbagger?". Roll Call. April 30, 2014.
  25. ↑ Johnson, Chris (April 30, 2014). "Eldridge self-funds congressional campaign with nearly $1 million". Washington Blade.
  26. ↑ Byers, Dylan (October 31, 2014). "The Eldridge catastrophe comes full-circle". POLITICO. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  27. 1 2 "2014 NY Congressional Election Results" (PDF). NYS Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  28. ↑ "New activist campaign puts impeachment pressure on House Democrats". NBC News. May 28, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Progressive group spending $100,000 to pressure McConnell, vulnerable GOP senators on election security". Roll Call. September 4, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Transcript: All In with Chris Hayes, 9/14/21". MSNBC.com. September 15, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Our Federal Priorities". Stand Up America. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  32. ↑ "A Place at the State Dinner Table". The Advocate . November 24, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  33. ↑ "Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge". www.advocate.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Forty Under 40: Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge". The Advocate . May 2011. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.