Sean McElwee

Sean McElwee (born 1992 or 1993) is an American policy advisor, data scientist, and activist. McElwee was the founding executive director of Data for Progress, a progressive think tank and polling firm he co-founded in 2018. In December 2022, McElwee announced he would resign from the firm amidst allegations of artificially manipulating the results of polls and his close ties to accused fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.[1][2]

Sean McElwee
Born1992 or 1993 (age 30–31)
EducationThe King's College (BA)
Columbia University (MA)
Occupation(s)Data scientist, progressive activist
Known forData for Progress
MovementAmerican progressivism

Early life and education

McElwee was raised in Ledyard, Connecticut.[3] He attended The King's College, a Christian college in New York City, and holds a master's degree in quantitative Methods for social science from Columbia University.[3][4][5]

Career

After graduating from college, he briefly worked for the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. McElwee later became a researcher for the progressive think tank Demos.[3]

Political activism and journalism

McElwee began his journalistic career as an intern at CBS News and at Salon, and has since contributed to a variety of publications. Articles by McElwee include pieces where advocated in favor of the Abolish ICE movement in The New York Times.[6]

McElwee gained national attention in 2018 for his support for the Abolish ICE movement.[7][8] McElwee is an advocate of left-wing primary challenges to moderate Democrats. In 2020, McElwee reportedly pushed the Justice Democrats to spend money on Cori Bush's campaign against Lacy Clay.[9]

McElwee had close ties to Sam Bankman-Fried, a former cryptocurrency billionaire, who has since been criminally charged with fraud.[2] McElwee conducted polling for a Super PAC controlled by Bankman-Fried that was described as a "political strategy designed to shield crypto from government oversight."[2] Additionally, he has been described by Politico as a leading figure for helping Bankman-Fried make straw donations.[2]

Data for Progress
Main article: Data for Progress

In 2018, McElwee became the founding executive director Data for Progress (DFP), a progressive think tank and polling firm.[10] The firm was credited by The Atlantic for releasing one of the first reports on the Green New Deal,[11] and one independent analysis found that Data for Progress was the most accurate pollster in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.[12]

Polling and analysis from Data for Progress has been regularly cited by the Biden administration, and McElwee's tweets were noted for being frequently retweeted by White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.[13] Following the 2022 midterms, it was reported that McElwee was gambling on election results on the site PredictIt, which raised ethical concerns.[1] According to New York Magazine, McElwee had bet $20,000 on PredictIt that Joe Biden would win the 2020 presidential election.[1]

McElwee left the firm in November 2022 amidst allegations of gambling on election results and artificially manipulating polling results to affect races that he had bet money on.[1] Additionally, it has been reported McElwee had inquired among his employees about having them participate in an illegal straw donor scheme.[1] Senior members of Data for Progress informed McElwee that they would resign en masse, if he did not step down as the firm's executive director.[1] In a statement reported by Puck, McElwee said he would start a new organization in support of implementing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.[14]

References
  1. Freedlander, David (December 21, 2022). "The Fall of the Progressive Boy King". Intelligencer. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  2. Otten, Tori (December 22, 2022). "Who Is Sean McElwee, the Progressive Buddy of Sam Bankman-Fried". The New Republic. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  3. Freedlander, David (November 4, 2022). "Drinking Enemies: Two Cocktail Parties that Reveal the Schism in the Millennial Left". POLITICO. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  4. Terris, Ben (April 26, 2023). "The Washington gambler". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2023. Sean didn't stop gambling, but he did change. He went to Columbia University to get a master's degree in social science and quantitative methods.
  5. "QMSS in the News". www.qmss.columbia.edu. Columbia University. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  6. McElwee, Sean (August 4, 2018). "Opinion | The Power of 'Abolish ICE'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  7. "Voices on the left are rising in the US. Why aren't they in mainstream media?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  8. "How "Abolish ICE" Went From Twitter Slogan To Winning Over Progressives And Dividing Politics". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  9. "Are We Entering a New Political Era?". The New Yorker. May 21, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  10. Brennan, Trip (November 19, 2020). "Sean McElwee on How Data for Progress Operates". Blue Tent. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  11. Meyer, Robinson (November 15, 2019). "So Has the Green New Deal Won Yet?". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  12. "Pollster & Forecaster Ratings". projects.jhkforecasts.com. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  13. "Are We Entering a New Political Era?". The New Yorker. May 21, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  14. "An S.B.F. Ally in the Barrel". Puck. November 29, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
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