Jack Orchulli (born 1946 in Pennsylvania) is an American former founder and CEO of
Michael Kors
Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...
and former political candidate from
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
.
Early education
Raised in
Alpha, New Jersey
Alpha is a borough in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,369,[Phillipsburg Catholic High School
Phillipsburg Catholic High School was a parochial high school in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. It was operated by the Roman Catholic parish of Saints Philip and James Church in Phillipsburg.
History
The school originally opened in 1923 as Sts. Phil ...]
, and then received a degree from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
.
He later attended night school and received a master's degree in finance from
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates unde ...
in New York City.
Political career
He is a
Darien, Connecticut
Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any ...
, resident and was the unsuccessful
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate for the Connecticut seat held by
Christopher Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's histor ...
in the 2004
U.S. Senate election.
The split with Michael Kors
Orchulli, previously an independent, became a Republican in August 2003 shortly before launching his bid for the U.S. Senate and ran for office with no prior political experience. Just months before deciding to run for the U.S. Senate, Orchulli sold his family's ownership interest in Michael Kors (a fashion enterprise) in 2003 and announced his retirement from business. Orchulli had started the
Michael Kors Company with Kors in 1981 and remained its CEO/partner until he left the company which, then, had a retail sales volume of about $200 million worldwide.
First campaign
In November 2004, Orchulli garnered 33 percent of the vote as a long-shot standing against incumbent Senator
Christopher Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's histor ...
, who won his fifth consecutive term for the Democrats with 66 percent of the vote.
Second campaign
Two years later, Orchulli was considered a possible mid-campaign replacement for Republican U.S. Senate candidate
Alan Schlesinger
Alan Schlesinger, (aka Alan Gold) (born January 4, 1958) is an American attorney, entrepreneur, and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Florida. He has previously served as the Mayor of Derby, Connecticut from 1994 to 19 ...
, who had come under media fire for a claim that Schlesinger had gambled in the past under an assumed name at Connecticut casinos. Schlesinger was running for the seat held by U.S. Senator
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for ...
in the
November 2006 election. However, Jack decided not to pursue a late entry campaign.
In 2006 and 2007, Orchulli, as a newcomer to small-town politics, led the local Darien (CT) Republican Party to its largest defeat in the history of the town's municipal elections. In November 2007, in the town where Republicans outnumber Democrats 3 to 1, Orchulli and the Republicans lost control of the Board of Selectmen to the Democrats by a vote of 65% to 35%, unprecedented for the town and mirroring Orchulli's 66% to 32% defeat by Dodd three years earlier
Chairmanship
He was the state Republican Party finance chair in 2007. In addition, he was a board member of the Connecticut Development Corporation for over three years, a quasi-state government organization which looks to retain and grow jobs in the state.
Third campaign
On May 22, 2010, Orchulli was nominated to be the Republican candidate for
State Comptroller, the post being vacated by incumbent Democrat
Nancy Wyman
Nancy S. Wyman (born April 21, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician who was the 108th lieutenant governor of Connecticut, from 2011 to 2019. She was state comptroller of Connecticut from 1995 to 2011, and was the first woman elect ...
. Orchulli went on to lose the general election to Democrat
Kevin Lembo, receiving 43% of the vote.
In November 2012, Orchulli was quoted as saying about a fellow unsuccessful candidate for the senate, Linda McMahon's decision to align herself with Obama that it "showed, from my perspective, a sense of desperation."
Fourth campaign
In 2016, Orchulli sought the
Republican nomination to run for U.S. Senate against the incumbent Democrat
Richard Blumenthal
Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...
. He placed third at the state Republican convention on May 9 and urged his delegates to support party nominee
Dan Carter
Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player.
Carter played for Crusaders (Super Rugby) in New Zealand and played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in ...
.
Private life
He has one son, Andrew, who resides in New York City.
References
External links
Official site of Orchulli's 2014 state campaign November 3, 2004
2004 Senate campaign financial summary from OpenSecrets.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchulli, Jack
Connecticut Republicans
American people of Italian descent
Baruch College alumni
People from Alpha, New Jersey
People from Darien, Connecticut
1946 births
Living people
Rutgers University alumni
Candidates in the 2004 United States elections