After Getting Out Jewish Vote for Obama, Eric Lynn Runs for Congress in Florida
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Eric Lynn, a one-time liaison between the Obama presidential campaign and the Jewish community, is running for Congress in Florida.
Lynn, 36 and a Democrat, last week launched a challenge against incumbent Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.). Lynn is from the Tampa-area district, having graduated from high school in St. Petersburg. He now works in the district as a defense industry consultant.
Jolly is considered vulnerable; he won the district in 2014 after the death of longtime incumbent Republican Rep. C.W. Bill Young, but the district favored Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Lynn parlayed his role in 2008 getting out the Jewish vote for Obama into senior advisory jobs in government, first at the State Department and then at the Pentagon.
His pitch to voters will emphasize the heavy presence in the district of military bases and families.
“I have been profoundly humbled by our brave soldiers, their selflessness and sense of duty,” he said in his first fundraising letter. “I could never match them, but I’d like to bring a dose of ‘country first’ to Congress.”
Lynn once served as an intern at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
