Daniel "Dan" Joseph Seals (born June 19, 1971) is an American business consultant and a Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Seals was the Democratic nominee in three campaigns to become

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for . In 2006 and 2008, he was defeated by the incumbent

Mark Kirk Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) is a retired American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Illinois from 2010 to 2017, and as the United States representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district fr ...

. In his third run, he was defeated by Republican candidate

Robert Dold Robert James Dold Jr. (born June 23, 1969) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. Prior to his election, Dold ran his family-ow ...

, on November 2, 2010, after Kirk vacated the seat to successfully run for the U.S. Senate.

Early life, education and career

Daniel Joseph Seals was born on June 19, 1971 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

George Seals George Edward Seals (October 2, 1942 – May 6, 2022) was an American football offensive and defensive lineman in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Biography Seals was bor ...

, a former Chicago Bears football player, and a social worker. Both of his parents are of mixed-raced ancestry. His parents divorced and Seals was primarily raised by his mother in Hyde Park. He graduated from

Kenwood Academy Kenwood Academy (also known as Kenwood Academy High School and formerly known as Kenwood High School) is a comprehensive public high school and magnet middle school located in the Hyde Park– Kenwood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Il ...

High School in 1989. He holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, a master's degree in International Economics and Japanese Studies from the

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

and an MBA from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He and his wife Mia live in

Wilmette Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

with their three daughters. After receiving his bachelor's degree Seals taught English in Japan from 1993 to 1995. From 1997 to 1998 he was a Presidential Management Intern (PMI), working as an aide to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and as an aide to Senator

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party (Uni ...

. He worked in marketing at Sprint from 2001 to 2003 and was Director of Marketing with General Electric Commercial Finance from 2003 until he took a leave of absence to run for Congress in 2005. In 2009, Seals did consulting work for Civic Consulting Alliance and The Point, an online service that helps charities and public campaigns with fundraising. He also served as a lecturer at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. In 2011, Seals was appointed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to be Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Campaigns for Congress

2006

Seals ran against Winnetka attorney and former Park Board Commissioner Zane Smith for the Democratic nomination in the 10th Congressional district. Smith highlighted Seals' lack of experience in prior elected office and his location outside the 10th district boundary. Ultimately the better financed Seals prevailed, winning 71% to 29%. Following his primary win Seals faced three-term incumbent Congressman Mark Kirk. He focused on popular dissatisfaction with the Iraq war and the scandals plaguing several Republican members of Congress. He also attempted to tie Kirk to national Republicans, claiming that he voted with the Republican majority 80% of the time. Kirk focused on local issues and argued that he broke from the Republican Party on several issues such as gun control, stem cell research and abortion. Seals came closer than the Democratic candidates in 2002 and 2004, but ultimately lost to Kirk 53% to 47%. After his 2006 loss to Kirk, Seals listed his occupation as "business consultant". He also taught a course in public policy at

school for continuing education in the spring of 2008.

2008

Seals announced in June 2007 that he would be running for Congress in the 10th district again. In the primary election he faced Jay Footlik, a former

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

official. Seals was endorsed by U.S. Senator

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate Dem ...

. Footlik raised the residency issue again during a ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' editorial board interview, to which Seals replied: "If I was a millionaire I could certainly just pick up and buy a new home, utI'm not a millionaire, and if you want more millionaires in Congress, I'm not your man." The

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

requires that candidates for Congress be residents of the state from which they are elected, but does not require district residency. Seals' home lies 0.3 miles outside of the 10th district, in the

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

which is represented by

Jan Schakowsky Janice Schakowsky ( ; née Danoff; born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

. Footlik contended that Seals didn't deserve another chance because he lost to Kirk by six points in a good Democratic year, while Seals argued he had superior name recognition. On February 5, 2008 Seals won the primary with 81% of the vote. Kirk and Seals both raised large sums of money. The race was considered one of the most competitive in the country; Illinois Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

was the Democratic nominee for president and was expected to carry the district easily. In the general election, Seals once again lost to Kirk 53% to 47%, despite Obama winning the district by over 20 points. Following the 2008 general election, it was reported that Seals was being considered by Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn to replace Obama in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

if Governor

Rod Blagojevich Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when ...

were to be removed from office. However, Blagojevich made the appointment, and chose former State Attorney General

Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected to ...

2010

In July 2009, Seals announced that he would be running a third time for . Kirk chose to retire in order to run for Obama's seat in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. Seals narrowly defeated state representative

Julie Hamos Julie Hamos (born January 29, 1949) is a former Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 18th District from 1999 to 2010. Her district included Rogers Park, Chicago, Rogers Par ...

in the Democratic primary, and faced Republican businessman

Bob Dold Robert James Dold Jr. (born June 23, 1969) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party (United ...

in the general election. Seals was endorsed for the General Election campaign by the Joint Action Committee ( JACPAC) which supports a strong US-Israel relationship;

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

organizations

NARAL NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

and

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

; environmental organizations

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

and

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...

; and

labor unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

including Illinois Federation of Teachers, Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois,

SEIU Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of members ...

, UAW Region 4, Illinois AFL-CIO and Communications Workers of District 4. Kirk had been endorsed by the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and Planned Parenthood in 2006 and 2008. In October, Seals was endorsed by the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' and suburban newspapers the '' Daily Herald'', ''

Lake County News-Sun The ''Lake County News-Sun'' is a regional newspaper based in Gurnee, Illinois, United States, that predominantly covers news for Lake County, Illinois, a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is currently owned by the Chicago Tribune Media ...

'', and

Pioneer Press The Pioneer Press publishes 32 local newspapers in the Chicago area. It is a division of Tribune Publishing, and is based in Chicago. The community newspapers are the main source of local news in Illinois communities such as Winnetka, Highland ...

Seals lost to Dold 51%-49%.

References

External links

Dan Seals for U.S. Congress
''official campaign site'' (2010 archive) *
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Tenth Congressional District Democrats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seals, Dan 1971 births Living people African-American people in Illinois politics Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Politicians from Chicago University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni Illinois Democrats Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people