Facebook Candidate Uses Awesome Power of Internet, Pulls 146 Donations
The best laid schemes of Facebook cofounders often go awry. Chris Hughes had hoped a $2 million home in largely working class Ulster County—not to mention his facility with those game-changing ways of social media—would help his husband Sean Eldridge win a Congressional seat. But according to Eldridge's fundraising emails, the latest attempt to capitalize on his campaign's "incredible momentum" has garnered fewer than 150 online donations in three days.
On December 28th, the Sean Eldridge for Congress email list sent out a message (reproduced in full below) saying that he needed 350 new online donations before the Federal Election Commission's reporting deadline, which ends at midnight tonight. That email featured a small graphic indicating that his campaign had already raised roughly 125 donations. The minimum donation that still counts towards the goal is a mere $5.
This morning, Eldridge's camp sent out another email blast (also printed below) that said "we're only 79 donations away." That means in three days, the couple who had Nancy Pelosi, Arianna Huffington, and Chuck Schumer at their wedding, were only able to convince 146 people to donate at least $5. It's a slow week for everyone, but you'd figure the Disruptors-in-Chief of the political establishment would be able to scare up a few more donors, what with the revolutionary tide of social networking and all.
This isn't the first time that the well-connected couple's political skills have underwhelmed. Before purchasing the modernist mansion that allowed Eldridge to run in Ulster County, Hughes bought a $5 million 80-acre estate in Garrison, just 50 miles north of New York City. Winning a Congressional seat there, the New York Times reported, "appeared unattainable, and soon the couple's gaze shifted north, to the neighboring district."
We're reached out to the campaign for comment. But as for those 79 donations, has Eldridge considered buying some Facebook ads? Surely he knows a guy who knows a guy.
To contact the author of this post, please email nitasha@gawker.com.