Ice skater Michelle Kwan's husband to run for Rhode Island governor
1/27/2014PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Clay Pell, the grandson of a former U.S. senator and husband of retired U.S. Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, indicated on Monday he intends to run as a Democrat for governor of Rhode Island.
The personal website of the Providence, Rhode Island-based attorney features a picture of Pell and Kwan and reads “Clay Pell For Governor.”
Pell, 32, is expected to officially announce his candidacy on Tuesday.
Neither Pell nor his representative could immediately be reached for comment.
In a YouTube video posted on www.ClayPell.com on Monday, Pell confirms his plan to run for office, saying he “decided to run for governor because I believe I can help restore hope and economic growth in our state.”
His grandfather, former Senator Claiborne Pell, served six terms and was best known in the early 1970s for his championing of federal financial aid grants for college students, a U.S. government scholarship program which in 1980 was renamed the Pell Grant. The senator died in 1995.
Clay Pell will face off against two other Democrats in a primary election in September - Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Providence Mayor Angel Taveras.