(GayWebSource.com – Gay Media & Press Network) – Posted by Jake Simpson – TheGayUK.com

He has an Ivy League degree, an impressive resume, and a multimillionaire husband with whom, at the tender age of 27, he shares three lavish homes in the New York City area. But can money buy Sean Eldridge what he really wants?

by Elizabeth Kulze via Vocativ | 24th September

The dapper and charismatic gay marriage activist, who recently announced his first bid for political office, certainly hopes so. Married to Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, Eldridge is sparing no expense in his unlikely campaign to represent a largely rural Congressional district in upstate New York. But with Hughes’ seemingly bottomless wallet at his disposal, and the “full support” of Governor Andrew Cuomo, many wonder if Eldridge could actually pull it off.

The social media universe that Eldridge’s husband helped to conceive is not so sure.

Hughes and Eldridge have made no secret of their intention to use Hughes’ astronomical wealth to win Eldridge a congressional seat—and in 2011 they purchased a $5 million, 80-acre estate in New York’s Hudson Valley, in the quaint hamlet of Garrison. Eldridge originally pondered a bid for a seat there, but when that prize seemed unattainable, he looked northward to a nearby town, Shokan. It was there that the couple purchased a $2 million dollar contemporary home and where Eldridge is now running for office—a move which has elicited accusations of carpetbagging.

The couple has been lauded in a multitude of media profiles, including The New York Times and the 2011 cover story of The Advocate’s ”40 Under 40″ issue, both of which included considerable degrees of hopeful forecasting.

“With the luxury of money, the force of passion, and the gift of wisdom beyond their years—not to mention considerable charm,” wrote Ari Karpel in The Advocate, ”Hughes and Eldridge are bound to be major forces in progressive politics.”

Forces though they may be, Eldridge’s first foray into politics is poised to be a bumpy ride, particularly in a primarily working class district possibly uncomfortable with the idea of a campaign financed by Facebook (aside from Hughes’ social media millions, Napster founder and Facebook profiteer Sean Parker has also contributed funds). Catering to such an audience is a likely explanation behind the budding politician’s carefully crafted campaign message. Between shots of bucolic farm scenes and rural suburban life, Eldridge makes no mention of his husband or travails in the fight for gay rights, presumably to distance himself from his identity as a kind of trophy husband.

Instead he chose to focus on his middle class upbringing. “I was raised in a small town in Ohio and went to public schools,” he says. “My father was the first person in his family to graduate from high school and my mom grew up in a working class family of immigrants.” Skeptics, such as the writer and activist Howie Klein, aren’t buying it.

Some voters seem to agree. “His ambitions have puzzled some residents among the farmers, mill workers and small-business owners who populate this district,” writes Raymond Hernandez in a July article in the Times, “which rises through the Catskills and rolls north through cornfields and apple orchards to the Vermont border.” He also owns a multi-million dollar home in a district where the average home price is $309,000. For comparison, his opponent Rep. Chris Gibson still lives around the corner from where he grew up in the humble and historic “Village of Kinderhook.”

Still, Eldridge does have his supporters, who appear to admire him for both his stellar qualities as much as his policies.

One thing is for sure though. The 20-something’s mission certainly has its monetary advantages. Apart from his husband’s finances, PAC’s and individual contributions have enabled him to raise nearly $750,000 already.

Though Gibson has generally declined to comment about Eldridge’s political aspirations, in the Times July profile of the Hughes-Eldridge power couple, he offered a brief aside: ”There are some things money can’t buy.”

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