WASHINGTON (AFP) – Sean Eldridge, husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, has announced he is running for Congress next year.
The 27-year-old Democrat posted a message on Twitter late Sunday saying he will run for a seat in New York’s 19th congressional district.
“Right now the voices of everyday New Yorkers are being drowned out by the special interests and party politics, causing gridlock in Washington,” Eldridge said in a YouTube video announcing his campaign.
He affirmed: “We need an independent voice who will fight for us, and that’s why I’m running for Congress.”
Eldridge is founder of an investment company in New York’s Hudson Valley, but he was also a gay rights activist, serving as political director for Freedom to Marry as it pushed successfully for legalized marriage equality in New York.
Hughes was a roommate of Mark Zuckerberg during their days at Harvard University, where they launched the social media giant Facebook.
In 2008, technology star Hughes served as director of Barack Obama’s hugely successful online presidential campaign effort, seen as a critical element of his successful White House bid.
One year ago Eldridge married Hughes, who became editor-in-chief and publisher of New Republic after buying the magazine in 2012.
The wedding was a star-studded affair, with the House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi in attendance.
Should he win the Democratic primary, Eldridge would likely face two-term Republican incumbent Chris Gibson next year.
Eldridge’s said his priorities included protecting entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare health coverage for the elderly, balancing the nation’s budget, fighting for women’s rights and supporting small businesses and family farms.
