Caroline Louise Gleich (born December 31, 1985) is an American environmentalist, skier, and mountaineer.[1] An advocate for environmental justice and climate reform, she was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 2024 United States Senate election race in Utah, but lost to Republican Representative John Curtis in the general election.[2]

Caroline Gleich
Gleich in 2022
Personal details
Born (1985-12-31) December 31, 1985 (age 38)
Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Robert J. Lea
(m. 2019)
EducationUniversity of Utah (BS)

Early life and education

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Gleich was born in Rochester, Minnesota, on the last day of 1985.[3][4] She and her family moved to Salt Lake City at the age of 15, where she developed an interest in skiing.[3] Both of her parents are physicians at the University of Utah. Gleich decided to become an activist during her senior year in college after enrolling in a course on American national government.[5][6] She graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in anthropology in 2010.[3]

Career

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Gleich advocates for environmental justice and climate reform.[5][6] Some of her work was cited by Protect Our Winters.[6] She is a supporter of the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act of 2019, and testified in front of Congress in support of the bill.[7]

On January 8, 2024, Gleich announced her candidacy for the 2024 United States Senate election in Utah.[8] She has filed a request seeking an exemption from some campaign finance rules surrounding sponsored social media posts that she alleges make it difficult for content creators to run for office when they have sponsors. This is because current Federal Election Commission rules prevent sponsored posts in Utah within 90 days of the election unless they are listed in campaign finance reports.[9]

Personal life

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Gleich and her husband, Robert J. Lea, live in Park City, Utah. They were married at the Snowbird Resort on August 10, 2019.[10][11]

In addition to her activism, Gleich is a professional skier and mountaineer.[9] In 2017, she became the first woman and fourth skier to ski all 90 lines of the Chuting Gallery, a series of skiing slopes in the Wasatch Mountains.[12] She summited Mount Everest with her husband in 2019, in an effort to promote gender equality in sports.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Beal-Cvetko, Bridger (March 27, 2024). "Caroline Gleich wants to change what people think a senator should 'look' like". KSL.com.
  2. ^ Lewis, Scott (April 27, 2024). "Utah Democrats nominate Caroline Gleich for Senate, Katrina Fallick-Wang for House". ABC4 Utah.
  3. ^ a b c Barker, Sarah (December 22, 2016). "From Minnesota hockey kid to western mountaineer". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Caroline Gleich". Warren Miller. May 13, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Pace, Barbara (October 29, 2019). "U Grad Caroline Gleich: Mount Everest Conqueror, Social Activist". The Daily Utah Chronicle. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Protect Our Winters Advocates for Racial Justice in Climate Fight". POWDER Magazine. June 23, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Lozancich, Katie (June 17, 2020). "Podcast: Caroline Gleich Explores Environmental Justice Activism". Teton Gravity Research. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Anderson Stern, Emily (January 8, 2024). "World-renowned ski mountaineer, environmental activist running for Utah's open Senate seat". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  9. ^ a b Lorenz, Taylor (July 10, 2024). "Influencer running for U.S. Senate challenges campaign finance rules". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Mallozzi, Vincent (August 10, 2019). "They'd Climb the Highest Mountain, but Not Necessarily for Each Other". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Caroline Gleich's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  12. ^ "Caroline Gleich completes McLean's Wasatch Chuting Gallery". Backcountry Magazine. April 18, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Utah
(Class 1)

2024
Most recent