Summary: Andrew Aldridge Young, born March 23, 1966, is a United States political operative in the Democratic Party who was a key staff member in the John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign. Andrew Young came to prominence via a scandal in which he claimed paternity of Rielle Hunter’s child, Quinn, born on February 27, 2008. John Edwards had admitted a past affair with Hunter, but denied paternity of the baby even though Edwards was in fact the father. Andrew Young has since renounced that statement. In his book, The Politician: An Insider’s Account of John Edwards’s Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That Brought Him Down, he claims that Edwards knew all along that he was the child’s father, but pleaded with him to accept responsibility. On January 21, 2010, John Edwards admitted that he was Quinn’s father. Andrew Young is the son of the Robert T. Young (1935–2009), a Methodist minister who held positions at churches in Asheville, Boone, Statesville and at Duke Chapel, all in North Carolina. Andrew Young’s uncle is the author Perry Deane Young. After earning a bachelors degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a law degree at the Wake Forest University School of Law, Andrew Young was a volunteer for John Edwards’ winning campaign for U.S. Senate. Hired by Edwards in 1999, Andrew Young became his most trusted aide, raising more than $10 million for his various causes and playing a key role in his efforts to become President of the United States. Now a private citizen, he lives in Chapel Hill with his wife Cheri and their three children.
