For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





When I first met Sean Eldridge last summer, at a Ritz-Carlton lobby bar that doubled as a see-and-be-seen salon for Democratic bigwigs attending the party’s national convention in Charlotte, he seemed to fit in just fine. Eldridge, who runs a small investment fund in New York State’s Hudson River Valley, met with me to discuss his latest effort, a political group called Protect Our Democracy that planned to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to support replacing the state’s lax campaign finance system with publicly funded elections. It was clear, though, that Eldridge had far loftier political aspirations than campaign finance activist.

On Monday, Eldridge finally unveiled his candidacy for New York’s 19th Congressional district. I say “finally” because it’s been an open secret for months now that Eldridge, who is married to Facebook cofounder and New Republic owner Chris Hughes, wanted to run for Congress. In a July 10 story titled “Young, Rich, and Relocating Yet Again in Hunt for Political Office,” the New York Times told of how Eldridge and Hughes had first bought a house in the city of Garrison, an hour north of New York City, but when it became clear Eldridge had little chance of winning in that congressional district, the couple purchased a $2 million home further north in Ulster County.

The 19th congressional district voted for Barack Obama by six percentage points in last year’s election. Rep. Chris Gibson, a two-term Republican and a 24-year Army veteran, currently represents the district. Gibson declined to comment for the Times‘ July story about Eldridge’s political aspirations, except to say: “There are some things money can’t buy.”

Eldridge will not lack for campaign cash. Hughes, Eldridge’s husband, pocketed upwards of $500 million from his time at Facebook, and even before he announced his candidacy, the donors to Eldridge’s exploratory committee included liberal financier George Soros and Napster founder Sean Parker.

Despite Eldridge having zero experience in elected office, he’s pretty savvy about money and its role in politics. Here’s an excerpt of my profile of Eldridge from the November/December 2012 issue of Mother Jones magazine: