Indian-American Group Endorses Kamala Harris, 23 Others Running for Elected Offices

Senator Kamala Harris speaks after Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden introduced her as his running mate during a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Indian-American advocacy organisation IMPACT has announced it has raised $10 million for its endorsed candidates, six of which are running for US Congress and one for the Senate - Sara Gideon from Maine.

PTI Washington
Last Updated: August 26, 2020, 11:26 PM IST

An influential pro-Democratic Indian-American group on Wednesday endorsed presidential candidate Joe Biden, vice president candidate Kamala Harris, and 23 other Indian-origin candidates running for Congress and in other state polls this November.

Indian-American advocacy organisation IMPACT has announced it has raised $10 million for its endorsed candidates, six of which are running for US Congress and one for the Senate - Sara Gideon from Maine. Other Indian American candidates running for House of Representatives and endorsed by IMPACT include four incumbents - Congressmen Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

IMPACT has also endorsed Sri Kulkarni and Hiral Tipirneni who are making their second and third successive bids respectively for a seat in the House. "With so much at stake, the Indian-American community will be actively leveraging our growth and galvanising the community across the country to elect candidates that reflect the values we hold dear - justice, equality, and opportunity," said IMPACT executive director Neil Makhija.

"With nearly 200,000 citizens in battleground states like Pennsylvania and 125,000 in Michigan, Indian-Americans can make all the difference," said Makhija. The other Indian-Americans endorsed by IMPACT at the state-level are Nina Ahmad (Pennsylvania Auditor General), Ronnie Chatterji (North Carolina Treasurer), Jay Chaudhuri (North Carolina State Senate), Jeremy Cooney (New York State Senate), Nima Kulkarni (Kentucky State House), Padma Kuppa (Michigan State House) Rupande Mehta (New Jersey State Senate) and Pavan Parikh (Ohio Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas).

Jennifer Rajkumar (New York State House), Kesha Ram (Vermont State Senate), Ravi Sandill (Texas State District Judge), Nikil Saval (Pennsylvania State Senate), Amish Shah (Arizona State House), Vandana Slatter (Washington State House), Kevin Thomas (New York State Senate) have also been endorsed.

Asian-Americans are the fastest growing voting bloc in the US, and played a crucial role in key suburban House seats in 2018, according to a media release.

An estimated 1.3 million Indian-Americans are expected to vote in the November 3 Presidential polls.