Sean Eldridge, 32, a political activist and former congressional candidate, is married to Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. Hughes worked with Mark Zuckerberg to launch the social media platform while they were both students at Harvard.
Hughes left Facebook more than a decade ago and is now calling for the social media conglomerate to be divided into smaller pieces. In an op-ed for the New York Times published May 9, Hughes described Facebook’s dominance over the social media market as a threat to democracy and wrote that Zuckerberg’s power is “unprecedented and un-American.” You can read the editorial here. Eldridge showed support for his husband’s viewpoint by sharing the op-ed on Twitter but did not add his own commentary.
Eldridge previously worked for an organization that promoted marriage equality and now runs a non-profit called Stand Up America. According to its website, the organization’s mission is to “organize and resist Trump’s dangerous agenda.” He and Hughes have been married since 2012.
Here’s what you need to know about Sean Eldridge.
1. Sean Eldridge Founded ‘Stand Up America’ Following the 2016 Election & Its Stated Mission is to Resist President Trump’s Administration
GettySean Eldridge speaks during The People’s State Of The Union at Town Hall on January 29, 2018 in New York City.
Sean Eldridge launched the non-profit organization Stand Up America weeks after Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president. The bio included on the group’s Twitter account reads, “We’re a grassroots community of over two million concerned Americans resisting Trump’s corruption and his dangerous agenda.”
On Mueller’s findings, Trump says: “Let it come out. Let people see it.”
Just like he’ll let people see his tax returns? 🤔
Trump will stop at nothing to bury the truth. Tell the Senate to pass the Special Counsel Transparency Act: Text REPORT to 21333
Stand Up America’s website explains that group members are committed to sharing information about actions and decisions made by the Trump administration. The organization’s mission has three parts: “protecting the Trump investigations, standing up to his administration’s corruption, and strengthening our democracy across the country.”
Inspired by my fellow Americans across the country this evening who joined in standing up for the rule of law. #ProtectMueller #NoOneIsAboveTheLaw
According to the organization’s website, participants have made more than 551,000 phone calls to members of Congress to vouch for specific issues. Approximately 150,000 of those calls were made urging lawmakers to protect the Mueller investigation, and almost as many calls were made calling on representatives to preserve the Affordable Care Act. Stand Up America also claims that it helped nearly 15,000 Americans register to vote in the 2018 midterm election and texted more than 607,000 voters reminding them to get out to the ballot box.
In addition to his job as Stand Up America’s president, Eldridge runs a small business investment fund called Hudson River Ventures. Eldridge wrote on his Linkedin profile that the business “works to empower entrepreneurs and build thriving businesses throughout the Hudson Valley.”
2. Eldridge Fought for Marriage Equality as the Political Director of ‘Freedom to Marry’
Sean Eldridge got his start as a political activist by pushing for states and the federal government to make same-sex marriage legal. According to his Linkedin profile, Eldridge joined the Freedom to Marry campaign in January of 2010 as its Director of Communications. He was promoted to Political Director a few months later. In July of 2011, Eldridge transitioned to a senior advisor role, which he maintained for the next two years. The Supreme Court overturned all state bans on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015, ensuring marriage equality nationwide. The Freedom to Marry organization closed in early 2016.
Eldridge stayed involved in equality efforts after the Supreme Court ruling. He was on the Board of Directors for the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders organization (GLAD) from June of 2011 until February of 2013. The group fights discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV status. Eldridge also served on the board of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission until 2018. It is now called Outright Action International.
3. Sean Eldridge Was Born in Canada, Grew Up in Ohio & Studied Political Philosophy at Brown University
Sean Eldridge was born on July 31, 1986 in Canada. His parents, Dr. Sarah Taub and Dr. Stephen A. Eldridge, raised Eldridge in Toledo, Ohio. He became a U.S. citizen in 2006.
Eldridge moved to the west coast after graduating from high school. He attended Deep Springs College in California, one of the smallest colleges in the United States, located in the desert near the border with Nevada. According to his Linkedin profile, Eldridge next attended Brown University in Rhode Island, earning a bachelor’s degree in political philosphy and ethics.
Eldridge tried his hand at law school. He attended Columbia but did not finish. Politico reported that Eldridge dropped out in 2009 in order to take the job at the Freedom to Marry campaign.
4. Eldridge Ran for the House of Representatives in New York in the 2014 Midterm Election But Lost to the Republican Incumbent
Sean Eldridge supported President Obama’s re-election campaign and served as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. He represented New York’s 19th congressional district, which includes the Hudson Valley and the Catskills.
Eldridge decided in early 2013 that he wanted to run for Congress. He launched his campaign at the age of 26. Politico reported that Eldridge and husband Chris Hughes purchased a $2 million home in the district in order for Eldridge to be eligible for the race. The Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in campaigns, found that Eldridge invested more than $2.3 million of his own money into the election, while the majority of his individual donations amounted to less than $50. In a campaign video, embedded above, Eldridge touted his Hudson River Ventures business as an example of how he was working to improve the lives of people in the district.
Eldridge was up against Republican incumbent Chris Gibson. Despite far outspending Gibson, in a district President Obama had won, Eldridge lost the race by 29 points. Opponents accused Eldridge of being a “carpetbagger” with no ties to the 19th district, and Gibson criticized his lack of previous political experience.
5. Sean Eldridge & Chris Hughes Married in 2012 & Have One Child Together
Sean Eldridge and Chris Hughes first met in 2005. According to their wedding announcement in the New York Times, they were introduced by a college friend of Eldridge’s at a brunch in Harvard Square. Eldridge was working for a moving company in Somerville, Massachusetts at the time and Hughes was a senior at Harvard.
Eldridge asked Hughes on a date. They went to Temple Bar in Cambridge, though Hughes said Eldridge did not drink since he was 19 years old at the time.
They tied the knot on June 30, 2012, at their home in Garrison, New York. They have one son together and shared the above photo from their first Father’s Day in 2018.
READ NEXT: Meghan McCain’s Father-in-Law Investigated For Possible Federal Ethics Violation