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David E. Oks (/ɒks/) is an American writer and former political activist, best known for organizing and managing the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign as a high school senior.[1][2][3][4] In 2020, Oks helped found the Gravel Institute, a progressive political advocacy group named after Mike Gravel, following the end of Gravel's 2020 presidential campaign.[5]
David Oks | |
|---|---|
| Born | David E. Oks 2001 (age 22–23) |
| Education | Pembroke College, Oxford |
| Known for | Managing the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign |
Oks was born to a family of Jewish immigrants from Argentina.[6]
Oks attended the Masters School, where he was a student when he convinced former senator Mike Gravel to enter the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.[6] He enrolled in Pembroke College at the University of Oxford in the fall of 2019.[7][8]
Oks previously ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for mayor of Ardsley, New York in 2017.[9] His campaign for mayor was notable for his young age, which received attention in The New York Times and on WNYC.[10][11] He garnered 50 votes, or approximately 3% of the vote, in the election.[12]
Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign
Oks contacted Gravel on March 14, 2019, to propose a campaign in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.[3] The stated goal was not to win the primaries but to reach the Democratic debate stage.[13] Gravel was hesitant at first, but Oks and school friend Henry Williams convinced Gravel to launch a campaign in order to promote their left-of-center political views.[3]
According to Oks, he first learned about Gravel from Nixonland by Rick Perlstein, but was also encouraged by Felix Biederman's praise of Gravel on Chapo Trap House.[14]
Shortly after the campaign unofficially launched on March 20, 2019, Oks claimed authorship of posts that attracted much attention on Twitter.[2][13]
Along with Williams, Oks was the subject of a June 9, 2019 profile in The New York Times Magazine.[1]
After Gravel's campaign ended on August 6, 2019, Oks said that his goal with the campaign was "to push for a new sort of politics" and "to talk about issues we thought no other candidate was talking about."[7]
According to The American Prospect, Oks was involved with the creation of the Gravel Institute, a now defunct advocacy group that promoted progressive causes and ideas through YouTube videos.[5]
Oks has written several articles for Palladium Magazine,[15] including reporting from Afghanistan[16] and Ukraine.[17]
With Henry Williams, Oks published a piece in American Affairs arguing that outside of East Asia, development built on manufacturing has generally failed and has weak prospects.[18][19]
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