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Shawn O'Connor

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Shawn O'Connor was a 2016 independent candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of New Hampshire.[1] O'Connor initally declared for the race as a Democrat but switched his affiliation to independent in June 2016.[2]

Biography

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O'Connor attended Harvard Business School and graduated with a Master’s in business administration with highest honors. He also earned his Juris Doctor, from Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude. He majored in international politics at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he graduated summa cum laude.[3]

O'Connor is the founder and CEO of Stratus Prep, a test preparation and admissions counseling firm. He also founded The Stratus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that helps underprivileged students with college preparation. He speaks about higher education at various universities across the United States and writes about college admissions and LSAT preparation for outlets such as Forbes and U.S. News and World Report. O'Connor lives in Bedford, New Hampshire, and serves on the board of City Year New Hampshire and Red River Theatre in Concord. He is also the treasurer of St. Matthew’s Church in Goffstown.[3]

Elections

2016

See also: New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District election, 2016

New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Carol Shea-Porter (D) defeated incumbent Frank Guinta (R), Robert Lombardo (L), and businessman Shawn O'Connor (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Guinta defeated Republican challengers Jamieson Gradert, Rich Ashooh, Michael Callis, and Robert Risley in the Republican primary on September 13, 2016. This election marked the fourth contest between Guinta and Shea-Porter, who alternately won against one another in elections; Guinta defeated Shea-Porter in 2010 and 2014 and Shea-Porter defeated Guinta in 2012. Guinta was a member of the NRCC's Patriot Program, which was designed to assist vulnerable Republican incumbents seeking re-election.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

U.S. House, New Hampshire District 1 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngCarol Shea-Porter 44.3% 162,080
     Republican Frank Guinta Incumbent 43% 157,176
     Independent Shawn O'Connor 9.5% 34,735
     Independent Brendan Kelly 1.7% 6,074
     Libertarian Robert Lombardo 1.5% 5,507
Total Votes 365,572
Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State


U.S. House, New Hampshire District 1 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngFrank Guinta Incumbent 46.6% 26,400
Rich Ashooh 45.3% 25,678
Michael Callis 4% 2,243
Robert Risley 2.4% 1,347
Jamieson Gradert 1.8% 1,031
Total Votes 56,699
Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State

Campaign themes

The following issues were listed on O'Connor's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

“
  • Job Creation: As an entrepreneur, Shawn has created hundreds of jobs. He will work daily to create good-paying jobs by supporting efforts to help fund job training, education, and innovation. He will promote workplace safety and fair wages by supporting the right of workers to bargain collectively and support American businesses by promoting fair, not simply free, trade.
  • Increasing the Minimum Wage: On Shawn’s first day in office, he will submit legislation to raise the minimum wage incrementally to $15/hour by 2020 while protecting New Hampshire’s small businesses (those that employ fewer than 100 people) by providing these businesses with an annual tax credit equal to a 50% of the increase in their payroll as a result of that year’s increase in the minimum wage. 96% of New Hampshire’s businesses will qualify for this tax credit. By 2020, this policy will dramatically reduce income inequality, increase the income of 52% of Americans, and produce billions in new consumer spending resulting in a significant economic stimulus.
  • Guaranteeing Women's Unfettered Access to Healthcare: Shawn will advocate daily to restore full funding to Planned Parenthood so that all women can gain access to affordable cancer screening, family planning, and contraceptives in their local communities. Shawn will defend a woman’s right to make her own healthcare choices with her doctor. He will seek to overturn the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision that gives a woman’s employer a voice in her healthcare decisions.
  • Educating New Hampshire's Young People for the 21st Century: The son of a teacher, Shawn believes that all American children deserve access to high quality full-day kindergarten and Pre-K. He will work to close the opportunity gap between students in well-funded districts and those in more economically marginalized communities. Shawn believes that every student should be able to afford the postsecondary education of his or her choice. He will help students attain their dreams by controlling the costs of postsecondary education, increasing Pell Grants, lowering student loan interest rates to 1-2%, and allowing students and parents to refinance existing student loans at these lower interest rates.
  • Fighting for LGBT Equality: Having worked with Mary Bonauto, the GLAD attorney who successfully argued the Massachusetts and Supreme Court marriage cases, Shawn recognizes that the fight for full LGBT equality is far from over. While the Supreme Court’s decision making gay marriage legal nationwide represented a major victory, Americans in 29 states can be married on Saturday and fired on Monday simply because of who they love. Shawn will co-sponsor the EQUALITY Act, which has been endorsed by President Obama, that would extend the protections enshrined in the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

[16]

”
—Shawn O'Connor's campaign website

Campaign donors

2016

BP-Initials-UPDATED.png The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, "O'Connor names campaign team," March 24, 2015
  2. ↑ WMUR 9, "1st CD candidate Shawn O’Connor changes affiliation, will run as independent," June 9, 2016
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shawn O'Connor for New Hampshire, "Meet Shawn," accessed November 20, 2015
  4. ↑ Roll Call, "Exclusive: NRCC Announces 12 Members in Patriot Program," February 13, 2015
  5. ↑ Politico, "Frank Guinta scandal splits New Hampshire Republicans," May 22, 2015
  6. ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, "O'Connor names campaign team," March 24, 2015
  7. ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, Former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter to run in 1st District election," September 19, 2015
  8. ↑ Politico, "Frank Guinta scandal splits New Hampshire Republicans," May 22, 2015
  9. ↑ Jamieson for Congress, "Home," accessed August 12, 2015
  10. ↑ Twitter, "John Distaso," accessed October 21, 2015
  11. ↑ WMUR9 ABC, "Innis: Guinta violations ‘major factor’ in bid for Congress," October 29, 2015
  12. ↑ New Hampshire Public Radio, "Republican Pam Tucker Enters 1st District Congressional Race," February 18, 2016
  13. ↑ WMUR 9, "1st CD candidate Shawn O’Connor changes affiliation, will run as independent," June 9, 2016
  14. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "State Primary - September 13, 2016," accessed June 13, 2016
  15. ↑ Politico, "New Hampshire House Primary Results," September 13, 2016
  16. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.


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