Jason Rae

Not to be confused with the deceased husband of Corinne Bailey Rae.

Jason Rae (born 25 November 1986) is a Democratic National Committee (DNC) member from the state of Wisconsin. Rae is the youngest person ever elected to the DNC.

Early life and education

Jason Rae was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, to John and Lori Rae. He was a student at Marquette University and graduated with an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science.[1] He now works as an associate at Nation Consulting in Milwaukee.[2]

College activism

Rae was the chair of the Marquette University chapter of College Democrats and was elected Chair of the College Democrats of Wisconsin in 2008.[3] Within Marquette University Student Government (MUSG), he was Legislative Vice President, in which he formed of the Ad Hoc Committee on Funding of Student Activities.[4][5] He previously served in the MUSG Senate as Senator, student representative to the Faculty Academic Senate, College of Arts & Sciences Committee chair, and Parliamentarian.[6][7] Rae was the author of a bill passed by the Marquette University Student Government to provide domestic partner benefits to faculty.[8]

At Marquette, Rae received the 2006 Award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Service and in 2007 got the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Governance and Organizational Leadership.[9][10] Rae is also on the Board of Directors for the Rice Lake Boys Club.[11]

Political involvement

In 2004, Rae was vice chair of the Barron County Democratic Party and was appointed to Senator Russ Feingold's re-election steering committee.[12]

Rae was elected to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in June 2004. At the time of his election to his leadership role within the party, he was 17, making him the youngest person ever elected to the DNC.[13] The party election garnered much press coverage, as a state legislator and the president of the state's firefighters' union were among the losing candidates for the position.

Rae's election to the DNC was unexpected.[14]

“ Wisconsin gets to elect two men and two women to serve on the Democratic National Committee. I put my name into the race and gave it my all. I had my friends get together to make signs; I produced flyers for all the chairs; I had stickers made; I greeted every convention delegate. By the time the vote tallies were counted, I discovered that I had received the most votes out of the three candidates. ”
— Jason Rae, PBS Newshour[14]

Rae attended the 2004 Democratic National Convention as a special guest of the Wisconsin delegation. He was a superdelegate for the 2008 convention in Denver. Additionally, Rae is chair of the DNC's Youth Council. In this position, he has been active in increasing youth involvement in politics and working to see that candidates address issues of importance to young people. He has spoken at DNC meetings to members of Kids for Democracy, as well as other interested groups, such as Y-Press.

In spring 2007, Governor Jim Doyle (D-WI) appointed Rae as the youth representative to the Governor's Commission on the United Nations. From June 23–30, 2007, Rae participated in a delegation of 10 DNC members to Taiwan, where they met with various elected officials in the Taiwanese government to better understand the present situation with China.

Rae worked on the Allen Thomell campaign for the Georgia State House and the Herb Kohl for United States Senate campaign. He has also interned at People for the American Way.[15] In the summer of 2006 he interned at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. He came out as gay to members of the DNC in February 2007, which he discussed in an interview in The Advocate in February 2008.[16]

On 21 February 2008 Rae announced his support of Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.[17]

Rae's ultimate goal in politics is to become President himself.[18]

Rae currently serves as the Board President of Fair Wisconsin, the state's only statewide LGBT advocacy organization.[19]

Media appearances

Rae has appeared as a commentator on CNN, FoxNews, ABC News Radio, Craigslist and other small network channels. He is often sought after as an expert in youth voting and politics. Before the 2006 midterm elections, Rae contributed to FoxNews' analysis of youth voter trends.

As a super-delegate for the 2008 Democratic convention, Rae has been courted by both campaigns and has appeared on television news shows including MSNBC's Live with Dan Abrams and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°, on radio, and in news reports about his experiences.[20][21][22][23] He recounted meeting with Michelle Obama, having breakfast with Chelsea Clinton, and receiving calls from Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Madeleine Albright, and others.[20][21] BBC TV's North America editor briefly interviewed Rae in a report on the 2008 Democratic Party primaries on 10 O'clock News on 21 April 2008. Jason Jones interviewed Rae on The Daily Show.

Rae is included on a list of openly gay politicians in The Advocate's "Forty under 40" issue of June/July 2009.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Rice Lake Chamber of Commerce
  2. ↑ Nation Consulting Biography of Jason Rae
  3. ↑ Marquette University College Democrats
  4. ↑ Marquette University Student Government | Legislative
  5. ↑ Youngest super-delegate | News | Marquette Magazine
  6. ↑ First MUSG meeting for new leaders - News
  7. ↑ Learning the ropes - News
  8. ↑ Eric Lombardi (2007-04-02). "MUSG recommends partner benefits". Marquette (Wisconsin) Tribune. Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ Leadership Awards | Office of Student Development | Marquette University | Office of Student Development | Marquette University
  11. ↑ Boys and Girls Clubs of Rice Lake - Youth Service
  12. ↑ madison.com
  13. ↑ Graeme Zielinski (2004-07-05). "He's elected but can't yet vote: Rice Lake boy, 17, going to Boston on Democratic National Committee". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  14. 1 2 "Young People Who Feel Included Will Vote". PBS. 2004-07-26. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  15. ↑ [xclusive_detail_ektid52256.asp | title=Gay Superdelegate Breaks the Mold | author=Kerry Eleveld | publisher=The Advocate | date=]
  16. ↑ http://www.advocate.com/e2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-17. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ Greg J. Borowski (2008-02-21). "Another super delegate to Obama". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  18. ↑ Paulson, Michael; Schweitzer, Sarah (2004-07-25). "From near, far, the delegates descend on Hub". The Boston Globe.
  19. ↑ "Fair Wisconsin Board of Directors". 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  20. 1 2 "Transcript of February 11, 2008 Live with Dan Abrams". MSNBC. 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  21. 1 2 "Transcript of February 12, 2008 Anderson Cooper 360°: Superdelegates". CNN. 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  22. ↑ E.g., on KGO 810 radio, on the Karel program during the 9:00PM PST hour on February 17, 2008.
  23. ↑ Karen Travers (2008-02-11). "College Junior Breakfasts With Chelsea Clinton". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  24. ↑ Forty Under 40: Politics

External links

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