Person

Daniel R. Lewis

Born:

1946

Occupation:

Philanthropist and Democratic political donor

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Daniel Lewis is a Democratic Party philanthropist and brother of late businessman Peter B. Lewis, the former CEO of Progressive Insurance, the third-largest insurance company in the United States.

Early Life

Daniel Lewis was born on August 1, 1946. 1 He received an accounting degree from Miami University in 1968. 2  He then worked as a real estate developer in Phoenix, Arizona, but eventually returned to his family’s company and took on general management, control, claims, product management, and board membership responsibilities. 3 Daniel Lewis’s father, Jack Lewis, founded Progressive Insurance in 1937. In 1965, Daniel and his brother Peter took over their father’s small insurance company and grew it into the third-largest insurance company in the United States. 4

Political Contributions

Lewis has consistently supported Democratic Party candidates and aligned political action committees (PACs) since 1984. 5

Between 2019 and 2020, Lewis contributed $5,600 to the presidential campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and $966.66 to the Democratic Party of Virginia. 6 In 2016, Lewis contributed $25,000 the Hillary Victory Fund PAC and $2,700 to the presidential campaign of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D), as well as $22,300 to the Democratic National Committee. 7 In 2012, Lewis contributed $5,000 to the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama8 and $5,000 to the campaign of Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY). 9

Third Way

Lewis sits on the board of Third Way. 10 Third Way claims to hold center-left positions on a variety of policy areas, including economic policy, national security, healthcare. While the organization’s economic policy does align closely with more moderate center-left politics, much of the organization’s other policy positions, such as advocating for increased government control over healthcare,11 and support for abortion organizations such as Planned Parenthood that seek taxpayer funding, indicate that on many issues Third Way is more of a left-of-center organization. 12

Lewis Music Prize

In 2018, Lewis established the Lewis Prize for Music Foundation, an organization that provides funding for young individuals to obtain formal education in music. A document created by the organization for applicants claims that inequities in the United States stem from “systems that devalue, exploit, and exclude people.” 13 The document states that the program seeks “applicants who have a solid progressive change initiative underway and are beginning to see progress toward a tipping point or are sustaining the transition to a new system.” 14

References

  1. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Public Data Digger. https://publicdatadigger.com/FL/miami/ne-miami-ct/109541043/Daniel-Lewis
  2. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Third Way. https://www.thirdway.org/about/board-of-trustees/daniel-r-lewis
  3. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Third Way. https://www.thirdway.org/about/board-of-trustees/daniel-r-lewis
  4. Fitzsimmons, Emma G. “Peter B. Lewis, Philanthropist Who Led Progressive Auto Insurance, Dies at 80.” New York Times. November 24, 2013. Accessed July 18, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/business/peter-b-lewis-philanthropist-who-led-progressive-auto-insurance-dies-at-80.html
  5. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=daniel%20r.%20lewis
  6. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=daniel%20r.%20lewis
  7. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=daniel%20r.%20lewis
  8. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=daniel%20r.%20lewis
  9. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=daniel%20r.%20lewis
  10. “Daniel R. Lewis.” Lewis Prize for Music. https://www.thelewisprize.org/aboutus 
  11. Ahmadi, Ladan and Kendall, David. “The Can’t-Miss Way to Expand Obamacare” Democracy Journal. April 30, 2021. Accessed July 18, 2021. https://democracyjournal.org/arguments/the-cant-miss-way-to-expand-obamacare/
  12. “Talking About Reproductive Rights in 2020.” Third Way. February 27, 2020. Accessed July 18, 2021. https://www.thirdway.org/memo/talking-about-reproductive-rights-in-2020 
  13. “2020 Definition of Systems Change.” The Lewis Prize for Music. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d51a410b7e2cc00012a7edf/t/5f1a0cd7ffbf7e08ad9b2c65/1595542743555/2020_LP_Systems.Change_Definition.pdf
  14. “2020 Definition of Systems Change.” Lewis Prize for Music. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d51a410b7e2cc00012a7edf/t/5f1a0cd7ffbf7e08ad9b2c65/1595542743555/2020_LP_Systems.Change_Definition.pdf

Connected Organizations

  1. Third Way (Non-profit)
    Trustee
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