David Oks Explained

David Oks
Birth Name:David E. Oks
Known For:Managing the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign

David E. Oks is an American writer and former political activist, best known for organizing and managing the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign as a high school senior.[1] [2] [3] [4] In 2020, Oks helped found the Gravel Institute, a progressive political advocacy group named after Mike Gravel, following the end of Gravel's 2020 presidential campaign.[5]

Early life and education

Oks was born to a family of Jewish immigrants from Argentina.[6]

Oks attended the Masters School, where he was a student when he convinced former senator Mike Gravel to enter the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. He enrolled in Pembroke College at the University of Oxford in the fall of 2019.[7]

Campaign work

Oks previously ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for mayor of Ardsley, New York in 2017.[8] His campaign for mayor was notable for his young age, which received attention in The New York Times and on WNYC.[9] [10] He garnered 50 votes, or approximately 3% of the vote, in the election.[11]

Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign

Oks contacted Gravel on March 14, 2019, to propose a campaign in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. The stated goal was not to win the primaries but to reach the Democratic debate stage.[12] Gravel was hesitant at first, but Oks and school friend Henry Williams convinced Gravel to launch a campaign in order to promote their left-of-center political views.

According to Oks, he first learned about Gravel from Nixonland by Rick Perlstein, but was also encouraged by Felix Biederman's praise of Gravel on Chapo Trap House.[13]

Shortly after the campaign unofficially launched on March 20, 2019, Oks claimed authorship of posts that attracted much attention on Twitter.[12]

Along with Williams, Oks was the subject of a June 9, 2019 profile in The New York Times Magazine.

After Gravel's campaign ended on August 6, 2019, Oks said that his goal with the campaign was "to push for a new sort of politics" and "to talk about issues we thought no other candidate was talking about."[14]

Subsequent work

According to The American Prospect, Oks was involved with the creation of the Gravel Institute, a now defunct advocacy group that promoted progressive causes and ideas through YouTube videos.

Oks has written several articles for Palladium Magazine,[15] including reporting from Afghanistan[16] and Ukraine.[17]

With Henry Williams, Oks published a piece in American Affairs arguing that outside of East Asia, development built on manufacturing has generally failed and has weak prospects.[18] [19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Keiles . Jamie Lauren . Are These Teenagers Really Running a Presidential Campaign? Yes. (Maybe.) . The New York Times . 15 June 2019 . 6 June 2019.
  2. Web site: Crosbie . Jack . Mike Gravel's Viral 2020 Campaign Is the Brainchild of a New York Teen . Splinter . March 20, 2019 . 15 June 2019.
  3. Web site: Graham . David A. . Mike Gravel's Plan to Rock the Democratic Primary . The Atlantic . 15 June 2019 . 10 April 2019.
  4. Web site: Farzan . Anita Noori . An 88-year-old ex-senator is the newest Democratic dark horse . Press Herald . 15 June 2019 . 21 March 2019.
  5. Web site: Pollard . Amelia . The Gravel Institute Punches Up . The American Prospect . 28 June 2022 . en-us . 11 May 2021.
  6. Web site: Pink . Aiden . An Orthodox Teenager Is Running The Most Unorthodox Presidential Campaign . The Forward . May 20, 2019 . 15 June 2019.
  7. Web site: Bring. Daniel M.. 28 August 2019. David Oks's day off. 31 August 2019. Spectator USA.
  8. Web site: 2017-11-07. 16-Year-Old Wants To Become Next Mayor Of Ardsley, Then Go From There. 2020-06-29. Greenburgh Daily Voice. en.
  9. News: Too Young to Vote, but Asking for Yours. Foderaro. Lisa W.. 2017-09-28. The New York Times. 2019-05-28. en-US. 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: Teen Betting on Write-In Campaign for Ardsley Mayor WNYC New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News. WNYC. en. 2019-05-28.
  11. VILLAGE OF ARDSLEY - MAYOR . 2017 General Election Canvass Book . 557 . Westchester County.
  12. Web site: An 88-year-old ex-senator is the newest Democratic dark horse thanks to the 'acerbic' teens running his Twitter. www.msn.com. 2019-05-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528023103/https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/an-88-year-old-ex-senator-is-the-newest-democratic-dark-horse-thanks-to-the-acerbic-teens-running-his-twitter/ar-BBV5Tsw. May 28, 2019. dead.
  13. News: Meet the 88-year-old powering his insurgent 2020 bid with teens. Adjei-Kontoh. Hubert. 2019-04-20. The Guardian. 2019-05-28. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  14. Web site: Mike Gravel's former campaign manager reflects on end of run . CBS News . CBS Interactive . 17 August 2019.
  15. Web site: David Oks, author at Palladium Magazine. 2024-01-15 . Palladium Magazine . February 23, 2023 . en.
  16. Web site: The West Lives On in the Taliban's Afghanistan. 2023-02-23 . 2024-01-15. Palladium Magazine . en.
  17. Web site: Waiting for the Russians in Ukraine. 2024-01-15. 2022-02-18 . Palladium Magazine . en.
  18. Web site: The Long, Slow Death of Global Development. 2022-11-01 . American Affairs . en.
  19. Web site: Odd Lots Transcript: So Much of the World Economy Has Been Going in Reverse. 2022-11-01 . Bloomberg . en.

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