Quick Facts
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Paul Eric Strauss (born April 11, 1964) is the senior United States shadow senator from the District of Columbia since 1997. He is also the principal attorney at a law firm specializing in real estate, business, and family law.
Political career
As one of the District of Columbia's two shadow senators, Strauss lobbies the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on behalf of the citizens of D.C. in their attempt to gain full federal representation, self-determination, and eventually admittance to the Union as the 51st state. As a shadow senator, Strauss does not receive a salary from the government and cannot vote on matters before the Senate.
In 2014, Strauss launched the "51 Stars" campaign, enlisting the help of 51 celebrities and public figures to support the initiative for D.C. Statehood and endorse the District of Columbia as the fifty-first star on the U.S. flag upon admittance to the union.
In 2006, Strauss ran for the Council of the District of Columbia to represent Ward 3. He came in second place in the Democratic primary, receiving 15% of the vote, while Mary Cheh received 44% of the vote.
Strauss was selected to be a superdelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention where he endorsed Barack Obama.
Strauss was re-elected in 2008. Strauss received 65% of the vote in the September Democratic primary, while Democratic challenger Phil Pannell received 33%. In the November general election, Strauss faced Republican Nelson F. Rimensnyder, D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate Keith Ware, and Libertarian Party Candidate Damien Lincoln Ober. Strauss received 82% of the vote, giving him his largest margin of victory ever.
Strauss was again re-elected in 2014, with 77.3% of the vote.
International diplomacy
In 2015, Strauss appeared before a panel of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and citing the lack of statehood for Washington D.C., successfully petitioned for the District of Columbia to become the first and only North American participant in the international body.Strauss addressed the European Union Parliament in 2018 to discuss the issue of D.C. statehood.
He is an honorary member of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law.
Election history
1996 shadow senator, D.C., Democratic Primary Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 74% |
| Eduardo Burkhart (D) 22% |
| Write-in 4% |
1996 shadow senator, D.C., General Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 76% |
| Gloria R. Corn (R) 14% |
| George Pope (Umoja) 9% |
| Write-in 1% |
2002 shadow senator, D.C., Democratic Primary Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 66% |
| Pete Ross (D) 31% |
| Write-in 3% |
2002 shadow senator, D.C., General Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 73% |
| Norma M. Sasaki (R) 8% |
| Joyce Robinson-Paul (Statehood-Green) 18% |
| Write-in 1% |
2006 representative for Ward 3 in the D.C. Council, Democratic Primary Election
| Mary M. Cheh (D) 44% |
| Paul Strauss (D) 14% |
| Sam Brooks (D) 8% |
| Robert Gordon (D) 8% |
| Cathy Wiss (D) 8% |
| Erik S. Gaull (D) 7% |
| Bill Rice (D) 7% |
| Eric Goulet (D) 3% |
| Jonathan Rees (D) 0% |
| Write-in 0% |
2008 shadow senator, D.C., Democratic Primary Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 65% |
| Phillip Pannell (D) 34% |
| Write-in 1% |
2008 shadow senator, D.C., General Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 81% |
| Nelson F. Rimensnyder (R) 8% |
| Keith Ware (Statehood-Green) 7% |
| Damien Lincoln Ober (L) 3% |
| Write-in 1% |
2014 shadow senator, D.C., General Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 77% |
| David Schwartzman (Statehood-Green) 11% |
| Glenda Richmond (I) 7% |
| John Daniel (L) 5% |
| Write-in 1% |
2020 shadow senator, D.C., Democratic Primary Election
| Paul Strauss (D) 97% |
| Write-in 3% |
Personal life
Strauss was born in Brooklyn, raised in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and graduated from Dwight School. His father was a painting contractor for Yankee Stadium. As a youth, Strauss was active in politics, volunteering for the election campaigns of Mario Biaggi, Hugh Carey, and Jimmy Carter. At 17, he interned for New York City mayor Ed Koch with his own desk and phone in the Tweed Courthouse. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1982 at the age of 18, later earning his bachelor's degree (1986) and Juris Doctor (1993) at American University. In his first political campaign in Washington, D.C., he mobilized other college students to register to vote against raising the drinking age to 21.
Strauss is a former chairperson of the District's Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals. He has also been a union organizer for Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union Local 25. Additionally, Strauss is a former at-large member of Washington, D.C.'s Democrat State Committee and chairman of its Statehood Committee.
On October 1, 2008, Strauss was arrested for drunken driving. He was found to have a blood-alcohol level at twice the legal level of intoxication. On May 29, 2009, he pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to a 60-day suspended jail sentence, 11 months of supervised probation, a $300 fine, and $100 fine to be paid to the victims of violent crime compensation fund.
Strauss lives in the Observatory Circle/Glover Park neighborhood in the District. Strauss is an attorney and principal of the Law Offices of Paul Strauss & Associates, P.C., a law firm specializing in real estate, business, and family law.