Roy Michael Huffington Jr. (born September 3, 1947) is an American politician, LGBT activist,[1] and film producer.

Huffington's wealth is derived from a merchant bank he started and his share of the family's Houston oil, gas and real estate firm that was sold to Taiwan interests in 1990.

In 1992, Huffington was elected to the House of Representatives from California's 22nd District (Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties).

In 1994, Huffington did not seek re-election to the House but spent $28 million in a bid for the seat in the United States Senate held by Dianne Feinstein.

She had won the seat in a special election two years earlier against John F. Seymour, who had been appointed in 1991 to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Governor-elect Pete Wilson.

[4] During 1998, Huffington was co-chairman (with actor and director Rob Reiner) of Proposition 10 in California, which increased the state excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack.

A moderate Republican organization with libertarian leanings, it advocated fiscal conservatism, social progressivism, environmental protection and limited government interference in personal matters.

[6] In 2013, Huffington was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief in support of same-sex marriage, submitted to the Supreme Court during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.

Later that year, he provided the initial grant that launched SOIN (Sexual Orientation Issues in the News)[13] at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.

[15] Huffington was raised Presbyterian, became Episcopalian at age 38,[citation needed] and ultimately joined the Greek Orthodox Church during his marriage to Arianna.