(UnitedVoice.com) – Name recognition is very important when someone is running for office. If voters already know who a candidate is, the would-be politician has won half the battle. A new candidate for Congress is trying to capitalize on her success as a famous athlete to serve her country in a different way.
Sarah Hughes is no stranger to the spotlight. The former figure skater has an Olympic Gold medal to prove that. Now, she has decided to change course and run for Congress.
Olympic figure skating champion Sarah Hughes has filed to run for Congress in her native New York state, a spokesperson for her campaign confirmed Tuesday. https://t.co/RLV6UvayP3
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 17, 2023
On May 16, a spokesperson for Hughes’ campaign confirmed to the media that she is running to represent New York’s 4th District. The Democrat hopes to unseat Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R), who is currently serving his first term in office.
Spokesperson Max Kramer said Hughes was “born and raised in Long Island.” She is concerned about the direction of the country, “whether it’s rising prices, public safety and gun violence, or threats to women’s health.” She hopes to make a difference on the issues she believes are important.
After winning Olympic gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, Hughes went on to become a lawyer. She most recently worked as an associate at Proskauer Rose in Manhattan but left her position to pursue graduate degrees in education and business at Stanford University.
Kramer said Hughes will make an official announcement in the coming weeks. So far, she has just filed the paperwork to run.
Hughes is not the only Democrat running for the nomination for that seat. Laura Gillen, who lost the last election, is also running. Gillen is a local legislator who was defeated by D’Esposito, a former New York Police Department detective, by four points. Patricia Maher, a lawyer, and Lawrence Patrick Henry, a 2014 House candidate, are also trying to win the Democratic nomination for the district.
Democrats hope to regain control of the House of Representatives from Republicans in 2024.
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