Dan Seals (politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dan Seals
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Seals in 2008
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| Born | June 19, 1971 |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago (MBA) Johns Hopkins University (MA) Boston University (BA) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mia Seals |
| Children | 3 |
Daniel Joseph Seals (born June 19, 1971) is an American business expert and a Democratic politician from Illinois. He is known for running three times to become a U.S. Representative for the 10th district of Illinois. In 2006 and 2008, he ran against Mark Kirk and lost. In 2010, he ran for the third time and was defeated by Robert Dold.
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About Dan Seals
Early Life and School
Daniel Joseph Seals was born on June 19, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois. His father, George Seals, used to play football for the Chicago Bears. His mother was a social worker. Dan was mainly raised by his mother in Hyde Park.
He finished high school at Kenwood Academy in 1989. He went to college and earned several degrees. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University. He also has a master's degree in International Economics and Japanese Studies from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Later, he earned an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Career Before Politics
After college, Dan Seals taught English in Japan from 1993 to 1995. He then worked as an aide for important government officials. This included helping the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Senator Joe Lieberman.
Later, he worked in marketing. He was at Sprint from 2001 to 2003. Then, he became the Director of Marketing at General Electric Commercial Finance. In 2005, he took a break from this job to run for Congress.
In 2009, Dan Seals worked as a consultant. He also taught a class about public policy at Northwestern University. In 2011, the Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, appointed him to a state government role. He became the assistant director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Dan Seals and his wife, Mia, live in Wilmette. They have three daughters.
Running for Congress
Dan Seals ran for the United States House of Representatives three times. He wanted to represent the 10th Congressional District of Illinois.
2006 Election
In 2006, Dan Seals first ran for the Democratic nomination. He won the primary election against Zane Smith. After that, he faced the current U.S. Representative, Mark Kirk.
Seals focused on important issues like the war in Iraq. He also pointed out that Kirk often voted with other Republican members of Congress. Seals lost to Kirk, but he came closer than other Democratic candidates had before.
2008 Election
Dan Seals decided to run for Congress again in 2008. He won the Democratic primary election easily.
In the general election, he again faced Mark Kirk. This election was seen as very important. Barack Obama, who was from Illinois, was running for president as a Democrat. Many thought he would win the district easily.
Even though Obama won the district by a lot, Dan Seals lost to Mark Kirk again.
2010 Election
In 2010, Dan Seals ran for Congress for a third time. This time, Mark Kirk was not running for this seat. Kirk decided to run for the U.S. Senate instead.
Seals won the Democratic primary election by a small margin. He then faced a Republican businessman named Bob Dold. Several newspapers supported Seals in this election. However, Dan Seals lost to Bob Dold.
