| Caroline Gleich | |
| Birth Date: | December 31, 1985 (age 38) |
| Birth Place: | Rochester, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Education: | University of Utah (BS) |
Caroline Louise Gleich (born December 31, 1985) is an American skier, mountaineer, and environmentalist.[1] She advocates for environmental justice and climate reform. Gleich is the Utah Democratic Party's nominee in the 2024 United States Senate election.[2]
Gleich was born in Rochester, Minnesota on the last day of 1985.[3] [4] She and her family moved to Salt Lake City at the age of 15, where she developed an interest in skiing. Both of her parents are physicians at the University of Utah. Gleich decided to become an activist during her senior year in college after enrolling in a course on American national government. She graduated with a bachelor's degree, cum laude, in anthropology in 2010. Gleich and her husband, Robert J. Lea, were married at the SnowBird Resort in Utah on August 10, 2019.[5]
Gleich advocates for environmental justice and climate reform.[6] [7] Some of her work was cited by Protect Our Winters. She is a supporter of the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act of 2019, and testified in front of Congress in support of the bill.[8]
In addition to her activism, Gleich is a professional skier and mountaineer.[9] In 2017, she became the first woman and fourth skier to ski all 90 lines of the Chuting Gallery, a series of skiing slopes in the Wasatch Mountains.[10] She summited Mount Everest with her husband in 2019, in an effort to promote gender equality in sports.
On January 8, 2024, Gleich announced her candidacy for the 2024 United States Senate election in Utah,[11] making her most likely the first full-time content creator to run for Congress. She has filed a request seeking an exemption from some campaign finance rules surrounding sponsored social media posts that she alleges make it difficult for content creators to run for office when they have sponsors. This is because current Federal Election Commission rules prevent sponsored posts in Utah within 90 days of the election unless they are listed in campaign finance reports.