IMPACT endorses nearly two dozen Indian Americans

Washington, DC: IMPACT, a leading Indian American left-leading advocacy organization Aug. 26 announced in a virtual town hall the endorsements of 23 general election candidates.

Among the endorsements IMPACT announced for the 2020 November election are a slew of Indian Americans on the ballot, chief among them Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who was endorsed alongside presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“With so much at stake, the Indian American community will be actively leveraging our growth and galvanizing the community across the country to elect candidates that reflect the values we hold dear – justice, equality, and opportunity – up and down the ticket,” said IMPACT executive director Neil Makhija in a statement.

In addition to the Biden-Harris ticket endorsement, IMPACT is backing a number of candidates running for seats in Congress.

Among those running for seats in the House who received endorsements were Ami Bera, seeking a seat in California’s 7th Congressional District; Sara Gideon, running for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat; Pramila Jayapal, seeking re-election in Washington’s 7th Congressional District; Ro Khanna, who is looking for a third term as California’s 17th Congressional District representative; Raja Krishnamoorthi, running for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District seat; Sri Kulkarni in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District; and Hiral Tipirneni in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District.

IMPACT also announced its endorsements for a number of statewide and local offices. They announced support for Nina Ahmad for Pennsylvania auditor general; Ronnie Chatterji for North Carolina treasurer; Jay Chaudhuri for North Carolina SD-15; Jeremy Cooney in New York’s SD-56; Nima Kulkarni in Kentucky’s HD-40; Padma Kuppa in Michigan’s HD-41; Rupande Mehta in New Jersey’s SD-25; Pavan Parikh in Ohio’s Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas; Jennifer Rajkumar for New York HD-38; Kesha Ram in Vermont’s SD-Chittendon; Ravi Sandill in Texas’ DJ-127; Nikil Saval in Pennsylvania’s SD-01; Amish Shah in Arizona’s HD-24; Vandana Slatter in Washington’s HD-48,1; and Kevin Thomas in New York’s SD-06.

Makhija, who was joined on the call by endorsed candidate for North Carolina State Treasurer Chatterji, added: “With nearly 200,000 citizens in battleground states like Pennsylvania and 125,000 in Michigan, Indian Americans can make all the difference in the course of the country.”

“Indian Americans have made the American Dream their own – a dream that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris understand because they’ve lived it, and a dream that is under existential threat if Donald Trump is re-elected,” Makhija said.

IMPACT’s endorsements come at a time of rising Indian American political engagement, it said.

An estimated 1.3 million Indian Americans are expected to vote in this year’s election, including nearly 200,000 in Pennsylvania and 125,000 in Michigan, the organization noted.

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