Andrew Hughes (attorney)

Andrew I. Hughes

Andrew Hughes

Andrew Hughes
Born (1981-12-30) December 30, 1981
Poulsbo, Washington
Nationality American
Occupation lawyer, politician

Andrew Ifits Hughes (December 30, 1981) is a non-practicing 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.

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[1] that was named one of the "hot new hotels" in the United States in 1988 by USA Today[2] and was featured in Martha Stewart Living.[3] Hughes' maternal great-grandfather, Morris Rosenberg, founded ABM Industries,[4] a janitorial services company that achieved early commercial success with the aid of lucrative military contracts secured during World War II and became a multi-billion dollar enterprise. 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, finishing in the bottom 25-percent of his class at the latter school.[5][6] He was admitted to the bar in 2010[7] 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.[8]

Political campaigns

2012 congressional campaign

Hughes registered to vote in Washington state in 2008[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] He described himself as pro-choice, a supporter of gun control, in favor of the Affordable Care Act,[12] and wanted to "bring the Sonics back to Seattle."[13]

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[14]). 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.[15] 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.”[16]

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.[17] Both candidates campaigns were guided by Weston, Florida-based Impact Politics, a political consultancy.[18]

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,[19] 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.[20] 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.[21]

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.[22]

Electoral history

Washington 7th Congressional District primary - August 7, 2012 [23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Jim McDermott (Incumbent) 117,493 72.06
Republican Ron Bemis 23,151 14.20
Democratic Andrew Hughes 9,677 5.94
Republican Scott Sutherland 4,751 2.91
Democratic Charles Allen 4,052 2.49
Democratic Don Rivers 2,368 1.45
Employmentwealth Goodspaceguy 1,286 0.79

Personal life

Hughes lives in Seattle with his dog, Angus.= http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/dec/24/hughes-hankins/?templates=desktop |title = Hughes, Hankins|newspaper= Wenatchee World|date= 24 December 2011 |accessdate= 29 November 2013 }}</ref>

References

  1. ↑ Gillingham, Karen (1 January 1989). "An Inn Experience Jill And Robin Hughes Bought A Farmhouse On Puget Sound. The Delicious Food - And A Steady Flow Of Guests - Followed.". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "The `in' inns and the hot new hotels". USA Today. Gannett Company. 5 December 1988.
  3. ↑ Bartley, Nancy (18 August 1991). "For The Groom, This Ceremony Was Businesslike And Sole". Seattle Times. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Whippersnapper Accuses Congressman McDermott of Telling Lies About Him". The Stranger. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "LSE Digest 1 August 2005 – 31 July 2006" (PDF). lse.ac.uk. London School of Economics. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Staff writer (21 June 2012). "Candidate Andrew Hughes challenges Congressman Jim McDermott; "Put your assets into blind trust"". West Seattle Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  7. ↑ "Lawyer Profile Andrew Ifits Hughes". Washington State Bar Association. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Andrew Hughes". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
  9. ↑ "Sound Politics Washington State Voter Database". Usefulwork.com. 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
  10. ↑ "1st CD Democratic Field Gets Less Hughes". The Stranger. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  11. ↑ Nickerson, Angela (7 June 2012). "The New Kid: Andrew Hughes for the 7th Congressional District". Capitol Hill Times. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Andrew Hughes". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "About Andrew". Andrew Hughes for Congress. Archived from the original on 2012-05-21. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "McDermott faces upstart challenger in 7th District". Seattle Times. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  15. ↑ Gore, Mike (9 July 2012). "Andrew Hughes Stunt Sinks to a Whole New Level". The Slog. The Stranger. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  16. ↑ Sanders, Eli (17 May 2012). "Jim McDermott, Facing Challenger on Bicycle, Asks: Andrew Who?". The Slog. The Stranger. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Andrew Hughes (D-WA) | Influence Explorer: Campaign Finance". Influence Explorer. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
  18. ↑ "Clients". Impact Politics. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "A quick guide to your ballot: The short on August 7 Voting". Capitol Hill Times. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  20. ↑ Rosenthal, Brian M. (7 August 2012). "Seattle Democrat's bid to unseat Jim McDermott fizzles fast". Seattle Times. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  21. ↑ "Hughes Spends Over 6x More per Vote Than McDermott". The Stranger. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). fec.gov. Federal Elections Commission.
  23. ↑ "Federal - All Results". King County Elections. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
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