Facebook Co-Founder's Husband Sean Eldridge Files Papers to Run for Congress

Sean Eldridge, the husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, has filed papers in New York to run for Congress, Gawker reports:

According to the filings, Eldridge, a Democratic activist and the head of an investment firm, will be seeking a House seat in New York's 19th District, currently represented by Representative Chris Gibson. Gibson, a two-term Republican and former West Point professor, was reelected in November by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent. But the 19th District also broke for Obama; it is one of the dozens of vulnerable districts Democratic strategists are gunning for in 2014 in an effort to reclaim the House.

Chris Hughes Has 'Serious Concerns' About Mark Zuckerberg's Friend Chris Christie: VIDEO

Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes sat down this weekend with ABC News' Abby Phillip to discuss a range of topics, including business partner Mark Zuckerberg's decision to hold a fundraiser for Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Hughes started by saying that what he loves about Zuckerberg is that he's so unpredictable, and then went on to explain that he has "serious concerns" about Christie because of the outspoken lawmaker's veto of a marriage equality bill.

"I, for one, have a lot of questions about Chris Christie, particularly because less than a year ago he vetoed a marriage equality bill in the New Jersey state legislature," he said. "For me personally, I got married to my husband last June, [and it] was just really personally frustrating."

...There are tens of thousands of couples in New Jersey that can't share their love and be recognized under the law because of that decision. I'm not a single issue voter, and I think most people aren't either, but for me personally, it would raise serious concerns about supporting someone like him.

Hughes was also asked about his plans for The New Republic, the long-running magazine he bought last year and currently edits and publishes, and according to Hughes, the only thing that will change is its scope.

"With the redesigned New Republic, we're trying to hold on to this hundred year old tradition of doing deep analysis on politics and culture. But we're also trying to broaden that and cover everything from technology to science to the world of ideas in a way that's really accessible," he said. "In a way that feels like it invites you in as a reader."

Watch Hughes speak about Christie, The New Republic and interviewing President Obama AFTER THE JUMP.

Gay Donor's Dough Becomes Controversy In Texas Senate Race

In the NPR article about gay political donations cited earlier, journalist Ari Shapiro mentions a 1988 incident in which Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis turned down a $1 million donation from gay donors. Juxtaposing that fact against today's far more gay-friendly fundraising climate showed how far the nation has come in terms of LGBT acceptance.

But that doesn't mean the States have completely evolved on the "acceptability" of LGBT dough. Just look down at Texas, where a donation from Peter Thiel (pictured) is complicating Tea Party U.S. Senate hopeful Ted Cruz's campaign.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Cruz's opponent in the upcoming GOP primary run-off, is currently criticizing his rival for accepting $5,000 from Thiel, the openly gay PayPal co-founder and Facebook investor who has dedicated hundreds of thousands to equality causes.* As the July 31 runoff nears, Dewhurst's team is saying self-proclaimed conservative Cruz's alignment with a pro-gay businessman is "deceptive." 

"It's hypocritical and deceitful for Ted Cruz to claim to be a Tea Party Republican when his largest donor spends millions of dollars pushing the opposite side of conservative issues important to Republicans," said Mark Miner.

Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, a former contender in this race, also used Thiel against Cruz, citing the $250,000 Cruz took from Thiel in his failed 2009 state attorney general race. "[Cruz] received a quarter-of-a-million dollars from the gay activist who was leading the fight for gay marriage in California," Leppert said.

Thiel had no comment on this controversy, but Cruz, who once attacked Mayor Leppert for attending Dallas pride, responded by reiterating his opposition to marriage equality, one of Thiel's primary political purposes.

"Ted's record of defending marriage between one man and one woman is as clear and unwavering as his commitment to reduce the size of government and defend the Constitution come hell or high water," said a Cruz spokesperson. The candidate, however, is "grateful" for any and all support.

*(In a strange "six degrees of Facebook separation," the site reporting on this, The Texas Tribune, is edited by Evan Smith, a former deputy editor at The New Republic, the liberal magazine now owned by gay Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. The Texas Tribune headline on this topic is "Cruz Mega-Donor is Gay, Pro-Pot Billionaire.")

News: Chris Hughes' Other Investment, Higgs Boson, Scientology, Renewal

Look, it's Mitt Romney on a jet ski, with wife Ann in the driver's seat.

Latest Gallup headline: "Obama Now Leads Romney, 48% to 43%."

Megan Rapinoe, a member of the U.S. women's Olympic soccer team who is a lesbian, discusses homophobia in sports: "I feel like sports in general are still homophobic, in the sense that not a lot of people are out. I feel everyone is really craving [for] people to come out. People want -- they need -- to see that there are people like me playing soccer for the good ol’ U.S. of A."

In addition to donating $100,000 to fight for marriage equality in Maine, newly married Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes last year gave $500,000 to the company NationBuilder, which gives political groups the tools to launch online campaigns. Many progressive groups have worked with NationBuilder. So too has Steve Pidgeon, the Washington State attorney general candidate who fights against marriage equality. This some wonder: should Hughes ask for a NationBuilder refund?

Chick-fil-A donated almost $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010: "Though Chick-fil-A continues to deny supporting an anti-gay agenda, the company has donated over $3 million to organizations like the Family Research Council and Exodus International between 2003 and 2009. And in 2010 alone, Chick-fil-A donated over $1.9 million to anti-gay causes, more than any other year for which public records are available."

In honor of the film version of Anna Karenina, Banana Republic is creating a clothing line based on the legendary novel.

Is it unpatriotic to prefer Australia's Olympic swim hunks to America's?

HBO has officially renewed True Blood for a sixth season and new drama The Newsroom for a second.

What will happen within evangelical churches as younger Christians, more inclined to support gay rights, take congregations' reins? Will they leave the church, change the church or fall into ideological line?

Scientists at CERN are again teasing that they've discovered the Higgs boson, also known as the God Particle: "We've discovered something which is consistent with being a Higgs."

California's anti-bullying law "Seth's Law," named for Seth Walsh, a 13-year old who killed himself after being relentlessly taunted, is officially in effect statewide.

How many of you owned a Speak and Spell?

Another burning question: what is Beyonce thinking in this picture with Kim Kardashian?

Naomi Watts as Princess Diana.

Katie Holmes reportedly fears Tom Cruise's Scientology buddies are following her.

On a related note, even Rupert Murdoch has misgivings about Scientology.

Katy Perry on her gay marriage evolution: "I came from a different mind-set growing up, and my mind has changed… My viewpoint on all these things [have changed] -- equality for women, the choice to love anyone you want."

Facebook Founder Chris Hughes Weds Boyfriend Sean Eldridge: PHOTOS

Facebook founder Chris Hughes and long-time boyfriend Sean Eldridge tied the knot in Garrison, New York, this weekend.

In addition to being one of the minds behind Facebook, Hughes is also the editor in chief and publisher of The New Republic and has become a leading contributor to the fight for marriage equality.

Eldridge, meanwhile, founded the advocacy group Protect Our Democracy, which, according to its mission statement, "is working to reform New York's campaign finance system—to reduce the influence of money and special interests in state elections, engage more citizens in the political process, and create a model for national reform."

From The New York Times' write-up on the mens' relationship:

The couple met in November 2005 through a college acquaintance of Mr. Eldridge’s at a brunch in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass. Mr. Eldridge was working as a customer service manager for a moving company in Somerville, Mass., and Mr. Hughes was a senior at Harvard, and already a founder of Facebook.

"He was very intelligent and charismatic," Mr. Hughes said of Mr. Eldridge. "He was very kind and politically engaged, and he cared about the world around us. All of that was very attractive to me."

Mr. Eldridge was equally attracted. A week later, he asked Mr. Hughes out on a date.

"I think we shared a lot of important, common interests," Mr. Eldridge said. "We have a love of philosophy, politics and literature. He was one of the most intelligent and ambitious people I had ever met."

No word on where the men will be spending their honeymoon, but hopefully they make the most of it!

See some wedding photos Hughes posted, where else?, on Facebook AFTER THE JUMP.

Anti-Gay Activist Calls Marriage Equality "Monstrous Insaneness"

With the pro-equality groups fundraising like gangbusters to pass a November vote on same-sex nuptials, homophobic activist Mike Heath (pictured) is trying to convince other right-wingers to join his hateful cause.

In a post over at the group Americans For "Truth" About Homosexuality, Heath, who heads up two PACs fighting a ballot measure that would give same-sex couples the same rights as straights, decries Facebook founder Chris Hughes' $100,000 donation to the pro-LGBT cause and then proceeds to suggest fellow activists start describing "this whole issue" — he calls it "sodomy-based marriage" — as "monstrous insaneness."

From Heaths' post, via Good As You:

[Hughes made] a huge $100,000 donation to assure Maine enacts sodomy-based “marriage” in November of this year.
...
The Christian supporters of common sense in Maine struggle to stay faithful in the fight. Even though Maine is the only political jurisdiction to have twice overturned “gay” rights in statewide voting, the momentum has shifted to the homosexual activist lobby. Polling shows them winning the vote in November. That would make Maine the first state to approve of so-called same sex marriage in a popular vote.

Now is, of course, not the time to soften our message. It is, in fact, the time to abandon the pro-family politicking of the past four or five decades and simply tell the truth. A good place to start is this sermon by Saint John Chrysostom. He calls this whole issue “monstrous insaneness."

Heath is most likely fighting an uphill — not to mention archaic — battle: the latest polling gives equality a 20-point lead over tired, old discrimination.