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Sean Eldridge

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Sean Eldridge
Born (1986-07-31) July 31, 1986 (age 38)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • United States
EducationDeep Springs College (AA)
Brown University (BA)
Columbia University
Known forFreedom to Marry
Stand Up America
Political partyDemocratic
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.

Early life and education

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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US House election, 2014: New York District 19[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sean S. Eldridge 60,533 28.8%
Working Families Sean S. Eldridge 11,937 5.7%
Total Sean S. Eldridge 72,470 34.5%
Republican Chris Gibson 102,118 48.5%
Conservative Chris Gibson 20,420 9.7%
Independence Chris Gibson 9,056 4.3%
Total Chris Gibson (Incumbent) 131,594 62.6%
None Blank/Void/Write-In 6,287 2.9%
Total votes 210,351 100%

References

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  1. ^ a b Laviola, Erin (May 9, 2019). "Sean Eldridge, Chris Hughes' Husband: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
  2. ^ a b c Isenstadt, Alex. "Facebook co-founder hubby's brazen run". POLITICO.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Conroy, Scott (November 12, 2013). "Ambitious Sean Eldridge Polishes His Message". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  19. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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.
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