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Person

Allen Blue

Allen Blue is a technology executive and Democratic political donor. Blue, along with Reid Hoffman and other founders from PayPal and SocialNet, launched LinkedIn in 2002. Since 2014, Blue has made contributions to various Democratic Party politicians and Democratic Party-aligned political action committees (PACs). Blue spent over $800,000 to help elect Democratic Party candidates during the 2020 election cycle. [1]

Background

Allen Blue attended Stanford University and received a bachelor of arts in drama and English in 1990. [2] Blue’s academic concentration focused on scenic design for theatre, and for seven years after graduating he worked in theater production until he met Reid Hoffman and was offered a product design and co-founder position with Hoffman’s company SocialNet, the predecessor to LinkedIn. [3]

Political Contributions

Since 2014, Allen Blue has made contributions to various Democratic Party candidates and PACs. [4]

In 2014, Blue made political contributions to Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) ($5,200), Al Franken (D-MN) ($1000), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) ($500). He also supported then-Rep. Bruce Bailey (D-IA) ($500) in his unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate from Iowa Senate seat and the failed reelection campaign of Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) ($2,700). [5]

In 2020, Blue made political contributions to committees supporting the the 2020 presidential campaign of Joe Biden ($213,000), DigiDems ($279,500), Democratic National Committee ($71,000), PAC to the Future ($10,000), Georgia Federal Elections Committee ($7,100), Rep. Nancy Pelosi congressional campaign (D-CA) ($5,600) and Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund ($46,100), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($71,100), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) ($5,600), Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO)($2,800), Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA)($2,800), Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) ($2,800), Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) ($5,600), and many others. [6]

Digdems

Allen Blue contributed close to $279,500 during the 2020 election cycle to the Digidems PAC, an organization that since 2018 provides cybersecurity and data-analytics services to Democratic Party campaigns. [7] The organization has to date supported 104 House of Representatives campaigns, 28 Senate campaigns, and 3 gubernatorial campaigns. [8]

References

  1. Lapowsky, Issie. “Here Are the Top Political Donors from Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft. Only One Is Backing Trump.” Protocol. November 17, 2020. Accessed October 16, 2021. https://www.protocol.com/tech-political-donors-2020-amazon-apple-facebook-google-microsoft. ^
  2. “Allen Blue” Crunchbase. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/allen-blue ^
  3. Bluestein, Adam. “Allen Blue’s Journey From Limelight To LinkedIn” June 1, 2012. Accessed October 16, 2021. https://www.fastcompany.com/1838999/allen-blues-journey-limelight-linkedin ^
  4.  “Allen J. Blue” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=allen+blue ^
  5. “Allen J. Blue – 2014” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=allen+blue&min_date=01%2F01%2F2014&max_date=12%2F30%2F2014[note]

    In 2016 Blue made political contributions to the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton as well the Hillary Victory Fund ($266,800). The same year, Blue made various contributions to political organizations such as the Maine Democratic Party ($5,263.20), Wyoming Democratic Senatorial Committee ($5,263.20), Ohio Democratic Party ($5,263.20), Democratic Executive Committee of Florida ($5,263.20), Massachusetts Democratic State Committee ($5,263.20), Georgia Federal Elections Committee ($5,263.20), Delaware Democratic State Committee ($5,263.20), Mississippi Democratic Party PAC ($5,263.20), New Jersey Democratic State Committee ($5,263.20), and many others. [note] “Allen J. Blue – 2016” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=allen+blue&min_date=01%2F01%2F2016&max_date=12%2F30%2F2016 ^

  6. “Allen J. Blue – 2020” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=allen+blue&min_date=01%2F01%2F2020&max_date=12%2F30%2F2020 ^
  7. “Highlights” DigiDems. https://digidems.com/our-work/#highlights ^
  8. “Highlights” DigiDems. https://digidems.com/our-work/#highlights ^
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