Nationality American Name Andrew Hughes | Occupation lawyer, politician Role Lawyer | |
Born December 30, 1981 (age 42) ( 1981-12-30 ) Poulsbo, Washington | ||
Andrew Ifits Hughes (December 30, 1981) is an American lawyer, heir, and politician best known for his stunning defeat by Jim McDermott in the 2012 primary election for U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 7th congressional district.
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Early life and education
Hughes was born in Poulsbo, Washington. His father, Robin, was a British expatriate, a veterinarian and the owner of Manor Inn Farm, a 26-acre estate in Kitsap County that was named one of the "hot new hotels" in the United States in 1988 by USA Today and was featured in Martha Stewart Living. Hughes' maternal great-grandfather, Morris Rosenberg, founded ABM Industries, a janitorial services company that achieved early commercial success with the aid of lucrative military contracts granted during World War II. Hughes' great-uncle, Theodore Rosenberg, continued serving on the corporation's board of directors until his death in 2010.
Hughes graduated from the University of Washington, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and studied in Paris at Reid Hall. He subsequently received a J.D. from Seattle University, an LL.M. from the University of Washington and a Master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He was admitted to the bar in 2010 and, during his campaign, described himself as a "tax attorney," though some observed it was unclear if he had ever practiced law or held full-time employment. Prior to running for congress he spent four months interning for the Washington State Senate Water, Energy and Telecommunications Committee and five months interning for the King County, Washington public defenders association.
2012 congressional campaign
Hughes registered to vote in Washington state in 2008 and initially planned to contest the 2012 open field Democratic primary in Washington's first congressional district, however, withdrew from the race when it became apparent that redistricting had placed his residence in Washington's seventh district. He reentered the 2012 election as a Democratic candidate in the seventh district.
Hughes ran on a promise to introduce legislation that would require members of Congress place their personal assets in a blind trust. He also called for congressional term limits, suggesting that members of the House of Representatives should be limited to serving 18 years. He described himself as pro-choice, a supporter of gun control, in favor of the Affordable Care Act, and wanted to "bring the Sonics back to Seattle."
The Hughes campaign was one of the most energetic seen in the seventh district, which had been safely held by McDermott for more than two decades (in the previous twelve elections, McDermott had never run a television ad). Hughes invested more than $120,000 of his personal fortune and engaged in an almost non-stop array of publicity stunts. He kayaked to Vashon Island to doorbell houses, submerged himself in a dunk tank to draw attention to the foreclosure crisis and even made plans to parachute into the Capitol Hill Block Party. When asked to comment about his unusually dedicated challenger, McDermott - who had never received less than 70-percent of the vote in his years in Congress - remarked "I always encourage people to get involved in politics, so, you know, whatever.”
Patrick Murphy was an early supporter of Hughes. Officers of Murphy's family business - Coastal Construction Group - were the top financiers of Hughes' effort to unseat McDermott, after Hughes himself, and Murphy's campaign committee made several direct transfers to Hughes' campaign. Both candidates campaigns were guided by Weston, Florida-based Impact Politics, a political consultancy.
Despite months of intense campaigning, a spend by Hughes of more than $240,000 (almost 40-percent of all the money spent by all seventh district candidates in the primary election), and a prediction by the Capitol Hill Times of "a pretty close" race, Hughes was demolished in the primary, taking just six-percent of the total vote. McDermott won the contest and Republican Ron Bemis, who raised and spent less than $20,000, came in second to advance to the general election as McDermott's opponent. Calculated against the money spent, Hughes' 10,334 votes averaged out to $19.95 per vote versus the $3.11 per vote invested by his Democratic opponent, McDermott.
2014 congressional campaign
Less than a month after his 2012 campaign loss, Hughes filed a declaration of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission forming the "Hughes for Congress 2014" campaign committee.