Eric Lynn, a former liaison between the Obama presidential campaign and the Jewish community, is running for Congress in Florida.
Lynn, a 36-year-old Jewish Democrat, launched a challenge last week against the Republican incumbent, Rep. David Jolly, in the Tampa-area district. Lynn, who graduated from high school in St. Petersburg, now works in the district as a defense industry consultant.
Jolly is considered vulnerable. He won the district in 2014 following the death of longtime incumbent Republican Rep. C.W. Bill Young, but the district favored Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Lynn parlayed his 2008 role in getting out the Jewish vote for Obama into senior advisory jobs in government, first at the State Department and then at the Pentagon. He once served as an intern at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. — jta