Jason Rae

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

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[edit] Personal background

Jason Rae was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin[1] (a town of 8400 people), to John and Lori Rae. He is a student at Marquette University currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science. Rae will complete his degree in 2009.

While in high school, Rae was appointed to serve as a United States Senate Page[2]. He was also the high school class president and yearbook editor, and was in the band and National Honor Society[3].

[edit] College activism

Rae was the chair of the Marquette University chapter of College Democrats[4] and was elected Chair of the College Democrats of Wisconsin in 2008. 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[5][6]. He previously served in the MUSG Senate as Senator, student representative to the Faculty Academic Senate, College of Arts & Sciences Committee chair, and Parliamentarian.[7][8] Rae was the author of a bill passed by the Marquette University Student Government to provide domestic partner benefits to faculty.[9]

At Marquette, Rae received the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Governance and Organizational Leadership in 2007[10], and the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Service in 2006[11]. Rae is also on the Board of Directors for the Rice Lake Boys & Girls Club[12].

[edit] 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.[13]

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[14]. 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. According to a PBS Newshour article:[15]

Every four years, 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.

Rae attended the 2004 Democratic National Convention as a special guest of the Wisconsin delegation. He is 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[citation needed] and the Herb Kohl for United States Senate campaign[citation needed]. He has also interned at People for the American Way[citation needed]. In the summer of 2006 he interned at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund[citation needed]. He came out to members of the DNC in February of 2007, which he discussed in an interview with The Advocate in February 2008.[16]

On Thursday, February 21, 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].

[edit] Media appearances

Rae has appeared as a commentator on CNN, FoxNews, ABC News Radio, 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[19] and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°,[20]on radio,[21] and in news reports[22] about his experiences. He recounted meeting with Michelle Obama, having breakfast with Chelsea Clinton, and receiving calls from Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Madeleine Albright, and others.[19][20] 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. Jason Jones interviewed Rae on The Daily Show.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rice Lake Chamber of Commerce
  2. ^ madison.com
  3. ^ CNN.com - Transcripts
  4. ^ Marquette University College Democrats
  5. ^ Marquette University Student Government | Legislative
  6. ^ Youngest super-delegate | News | Marquette Magazine
  7. ^ First MUSG meeting for new leaders - News
  8. ^ Learning the ropes - News
  9. ^ Eric Lombardi. "MUSG recommends partner benefits", Marquette (Wisconsin) Tribune, 2007-04-02. Retrieved on 2008-02-13. 
  10. ^ Leadership Awards | Office of Student Development | Marquette University | Office of Student Development | Marquette University
  11. ^ http://www.marquette.edu/osd/leadership/dsa_2007.shtml
  12. ^ Boys and Girls Clubs of Rice Lake - Youth Service
  13. ^ madison.com
  14. ^ Graeme Zielinski. "He's elected but can't yet vote: Rice Lake boy, 17, going to Boston on Democratic National Committee", Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 2004-07-05. Retrieved on 2008-02-13. 
  15. ^ "Young People Who Feel Included Will Vote", PBS, 2004-07-26. Retrieved on 2008-02-13. 
  16. ^ Kerry Eleveld. "Gay Superdelegate Breaks the Mold", The Advocate, 2008-02-15. Retrieved on 2008-02-17. 
  17. ^ Greg J. Borowski. "Another super delegate to Obama", Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 2008-02-21. Retrieved on 2008-02-21. 
  18. ^ From near, far, the delegates descend on Hub - The Boston Globe
  19. ^ a b "Transcript of February 11, 2008 Live with Dan Abrams", MSNBC, 2008-02-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-13. 
  20. ^ a b "Transcript of February 12, 2008 Anderson Cooper 360°: Superdelegates", CNN, 2008-02-12. Retrieved on 2008-02-13. 
  21. ^ E.g., on KGO 810 radio, on the Karel program during the 9:00PM PST hour on February 17, 2008.
  22. ^ Karen Travers. "College Junior Breakfasts With Chelsea Clinton", ABC News, 2008-02-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-13. 

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Rae, Jason
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Democratic National Committee member from the state of Wisconsin
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1986
PLACE OF BIRTH Rice Lake, Wisconsin, USA
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH