Lindy Li

Not to be confused with Lindy Lee.

Lindy Li
Born	(1990-12-14) December 14, 1990 (age 34) Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Alma mater	Princeton University (BA)
Political party	Democratic (before 2025)

Lindy Li (born December 14, 1990) is an American political commentator and campaign advisor who served as the Women's co-chair and Mid-Atlantic Regional Chair at the Democratic National Committee. She served on the Asian American outreach team for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign.^[1] Once a vocal defender of the Biden administration, Li became a critic of the Democratic Party after the 2024 United States presidential election.^[2]

Li serves as a political contributor for NBC News and MSNBC. Li hosted a weekly TV series, Listening with Lindy Li, in 2018 which aired on cable television in the Philadelphia area.

Early life and education

Lindy Li was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, moved to Sheffield, England, at age three, and immigrated with her family to the United States when she was five.^[3] Her grandparents were illiterate farmers.^[4] Li spent much of her childhood in Malvern, Pennsylvania.^[5] Li attended public school until she transferred to the Agnes Irwin School, a private college-preparatory day school for girls, under a scholarship,^[4] graduating in 2008.^[6] In high school, she was involved in crew and ran cross-country and track. She describes her upbringing as strict, telling the Washington Post, “I was forced to play piano hours a day; I was forced to study.” “I did everything I could, because I was terrified about getting into college.”^[4]

Her father is a real estate executive and property owner; her mother is involved in the church. Li has a younger brother named Jeffrey.^[4] In high school, Li interned for Pennsylvania congressman and 2020 presidential candidate, Joe Sestak.

Li attended Princeton University and was elected class president at age 17. She became the first woman at Princeton to hold the position of class president for all four years. There, she started the "Do It In the Dark" campaign, which encouraged students across campus to reduce their carbon footprint.^[4] She wrote her senior thesis on the ethics of climate change legislation and graduated in 2012 with a philosophy degree.^[7] At Commencement, Li addressed Princeton's graduating Class of 2012 as their four-time Class President.^[8]

Career

Before entering politics, Li worked as a financial analyst for Merck and Morgan Stanley.^[9][10] Of this decision, she told the Washington Post in 2015, “At Princeton, all of us go into Wall Street,” she explains. “We have so much to offer society, but we’re enticed by these ephemeral and meaningless ups. It’s sad that so many of us have lost touch with the ideals we brought into college.”^[4]

In 2016, at 25, Li became a candidate for Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district becoming the youngest female congressional candidate in U.S. history.^[9][11] Three months before the Democratic primary, she transferred her candidacy to the 6th congressional district, citing advice from party leaders.^[9] Li withdrew her candidacy in April 2016, after a court challenge that Li did not have enough signatures from registered Democrats in her own district.^[12]

In 2018, Li was one of ten candidates competing in the Democratic primary for Delaware County, Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district.^[13] She received support from Dianne Feinstein and her husband Richard Blum.^[14] During this campaign, Li described herself as a "tree-hugging progressive" who supported the legalization of marijuana, a national jobs guarantee, and opposed foreign policy interventionism.^[15] The 2018 Democratic primary was won by Mary Gay Scanlon: 28.4% to 7.0%.^[16][17]

Li serves as a political contributor for NBC News and MSNBC.^[18] Li also hosted a weekly TV series, Listening with Lindy Li, which aired on cable television in the Philadelphia area. On her show she interviewed various figures including members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the former CEO of Comcast, David L. Cohen, and others. Li was featured in a 2020 Fox News documentary titled My Socialism Nightmare.^[19]

Li previously served as the Treasurer for the Pennsylvania Young Democrats from 2017 to 2020. She resigned the post after conflict with group leaders over her Twitter posts critical of Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Li had tweeted a 2-min. video of Sanders from 1988 praising the Moscow metro: “#BernieSanders lavishes praise on Communist Russia, preferring the Soviet Union to the American way of life.”^[14] Li alleged her resignation was a real-life example of bullying by Bernie Bros; the club president denied this, saying that her resignation was voluntary.^[20][21] Vanity Fair also reported the resignation as voluntary.^[14]

After the 2020 Super Tuesday primary elections, Li appeared on Al Jazeera to debate Sanders supporter Linda Sarsour concerning which Democrat would be best to defeat Donald Trump.^[22] During the interview, Li stated that she would not vote for Bernie Sanders if he became the Democratic nominee.^[23]

Alongside Aftab Pureval, the Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, Li co-chairs the Justice Unites Us Super PAC, a multimillion dollar political action committee that focuses specifically on increasing Asian-American turnout across the country, particularly in battleground states.^[24] In 2022, she was named by City & State Pennsylvania as one of the rising stars of Philadelphia.^[25] In 2022, 2023, and 2024 she was named by City & State Pennsylvania as one of the 100 most powerful women in the state and was one of the youngest to make the list each year.^[26][27]

In August 2023, Li was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as a Commissioner of Pennsylvania, serving on the Governor's Advisory Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs.^[28] She also serves on the DNC's National Finance Committee.^[29]

In 2024, WIRED magazine named Li one of the top influencers shaping the presidential election.^[30] Li was credentialed by the 2024 Democratic National Convention as one of its official content creators.^[31] This marked the first time in history that top influencers were given exclusive access to the convention.^[32]

In 2024, after the US presidential election, Li transitioned from being a supporter of to being a critic of the Democratic Party. Li described the Kamala Harris campaign as a "$1 billion disaster," stating that Democrat donors were misled by the campaign to believe "that this is an eminently winnable race".^[33] In an interview on America's Newsroom, Li intensified her criticism, saying "I lost tens of thousands of followers because I dared to tell the truth. Because in a cult, you can't tell the truth. You can't ask any questions, but I'm done with that," and ridiculed the notion of Harris running for Governor of California in 2026.^[34][a] In an interview on Fox News, Li indicated she would no longer be supporting the Democratic Party stating that "leaving the Democratic Party or even questioning the Democratic Party is like leaving a cult. It’s terrifying. I don’t want to be a part of this craziness anymore.” Li also expressed support for Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense. ^[35][36][37] Li further said she "has been a conservative all my life."^[2]

Personal life

Li lives in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia and was close with Richard Blum, Dianne Feinstein's late husband. She is a runner and likes Taylor Swift. Li's candidacy for congress in 2016 cost her a relationship.^[14]

Notes

1. "This was a resounding defeat and, right now, Kamala Harris is indulging in delusions of running for governor of California, possibly in 2026 or even president again in 2028. America has said, 'We don't want to be coconut-pilled. We do not want Kamala Harris. We don't want failed border policies,' "

References

1. "LINDY LI". Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
2. Tharp, Kyle (January 7, 2025). "The Curious Case of Lindy Li". The Bulwark. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
3. "First Princeton, Now the House: Lindy Li In Politics". The Phoenix. December 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
4. Loftus, Lauren (August 14, 2015). "The congressional kid: How a millennial plans to make it to the Capitol". Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2020. She started a campus-wide initiative to curb excessive energy use called Do It in the Dark. She thought about going to law school as a means to an eventual end in politics, but landed a high-paying job in finance instead.
5. Tamari, Jonathan (January 6, 2016). "Congressional candidate makes district switch". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2020. Democrat Lindy Li now plans to run in the Chester County-based Sixth District, after beginning her campaign last summer for the seat in the Delaware County-based Seventh.
6. "News Post". The Agnes Irwin School. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
7. Restauri, Denise (September 19, 2013). "Princeton Students Do It In The Dark. What About You?". Forbes. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
8. "Excerpts from Princeton Class Day 2012".
9. Fuchs, Chris (April 4, 2016). "25-Year-Old House Candidate Withdraws from Pennsylvania Race". NBC News. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
10. "Lindy Li". American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Retrieved April 13, 2022.
11. "An Exclusive Interview with Lindy Li, The Youngest Female Congressional Candidate in U.S. History". Cornell Business Review. December 22, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2020. In high school, I interned for my Congressman, and right now I'm a political contributor for MSNBC and NBC News. MSNBC is a TV channel, and NBC News publishes news articles online and is also one of the nation's foremost broadcasting networks. I also help lead Asian-American political and fundraising efforts for the Biden campaign.
12. Tamari, Jonathan (April 2, 2016). "Lindy Li withdraws from Chester County Congressional race". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
13. Otterbein, Holly (May 4, 2018). "A Q&A with Lindy Li, an ex-wealth manager running for Congress PA#5". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 14, 2020. Li, 27, supports Medicare-for-All, debt-free college and a ban on assault weapons. She was one of 10 Democrats in the primary for Pennsylvania's Fifth District, which is largely based in Delaware County but also includes part of Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
14. Savodnik, Peter (February 21, 2020). ""CANCELED BECAUSE OF A VIDEO YOU DIDN'T EVEN MAKE": INSIDE A BERNIE-BIDEN TROLL WAR". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 14, 2020. She "loves" Biden, but she really wants to beat Trump—and, most of all, she wants Sanders crushed.
15. Otterbein, Holly (May 14, 2018). "A Q&A with Lindy Li, an ex-wealth manager running for Congress". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
16. Almukhtar, Sarah; Bloch, Matthew; Lee, Jasmine C. (May 15, 2018). "Pennsylvania Primary Election Results". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
17. "The New Pennsylvania Congressional Map, District by District". The New York Times. February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2020. The old moose-and-antlers-like Seventh District might have been the most gerrymandered district in the nation...The new Fifth...includes all of Delaware County. It represents a natural political community: the Philadelphia suburbs.
18. Harris, Kathleen (November 1, 2019). "How to Be Resilient after a Loss with Political Contributor Lindy Li". thecru.com. Retrieved March 8, 2020.^{[dead link‍]}
19. "Internet Archive Search: listening with lindy li". archive.org. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
20. Brennan, Chris (February 18, 2020). "Lindy Li says 'Bernie Bro' bullying contributed to her resignation from Pa. Young Democrats". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
21. Zoellner, Danielle (February 18, 2020). "Prominent young Democrat steps down over 'bullying from Bernie Sanders supporters'". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
22. "And then there were two: Bernie Sanders vs Joe Biden". Al Jazeera. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020. I think the American people are speaking and they are saying we don't want a candidate whose staff and supporters are rife with toxic individuals
23. "WATCH: Biden Backer Lindy Li Criticized for Saying She Will 'Absolutely Not' Vote for Sanders If He Becomes Democratic Nominee". Common Dreams. March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020. I'm going to vote blue all the way down except for president...I'm absolutely not okay with it, but I'm also almost probably equally terrified and traumatized by the prospect of a Sanders presidency
24. "Democrats target Asian Americans with new super PAC". NBC News. May 23, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
25. "The 2022 Philadelphia Forty Under 40". City & State PA. June 13, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
26. "The Pennsylvania Power of Diversity: Women 100 - City & State Pennsylvania". Cityandstatepa.com. November 28, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
27. "The CSPA 2024 Power of Diversity: Women 100 - City & State Pennsylvania". Cityandstatepa.com. December 23, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
28. "Governor's Advisory Commission on AAPI Affairs Swears in New Members". Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.gov. August 22, 2023.
29. Ventura, Juliann (December 7, 2024). "DNC official defends Hegseth: 'I actually think he's a pretty good guy'". The Hill. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
30. "A Visual Guide to the Influencers Shaping the 2024 Election". WIRED. August 15, 2024.
31. "Pennsylvania delegate talks about the key factors for Harris election win". ABC News. August 21, 2024.
32. "For the first time, the DNC welcomes influencers to the stage". NPR. August 21, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
33. Vakil, Caroline (November 13, 2024). "DNC critic sparks discussions about what went wrong for Harris". The Hill.
34. Penley, Taylor (December 19, 2024). "DNC fundraiser roasts party's 'delusions' about a Kamala Harris political comeback: 'Not what America wants'". Fox News.
35. Halon, Yael (December 23, 2024). "DNC powerhouse fundraiser announces exit from Democratic Party following attacks: 'It's like leaving a cult'". Fox 40. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
36. Mesa, Jesus (December 24, 2024). "Controversial Ex-Democrat Says Trump Team More 'Humane' to Her Than DNC". Newsweek. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
37. Halon, Yael (December 23, 2024). "DNC powerhouse fundraiser announces exit from Democratic Party following attacks: 'It's like leaving a cult'". Fox News. Retrieved December 24, 2024. Prominent Democratic National Committee (DNC) powerhouse fundraiser Lindy Li announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party