Former Indian-American State Lawmaker Decides Against Running For Congress

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Former Ohio State Rep. Jay Goyal of Mansfield, has decided he will not run for the U.S. Congress. He announced his decision after some leading Democrats pressed him to consider doing so.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Jan. 17, that Goyal had ruled out the run.

“Public service is something that has always been important to me. However, I have certain commitments that I’ve made to my family business and I need to make sure I’m fulfilling those commitments,” Goyal is quoted saying in the Dispatch. In an earlier interview with News India Times, Goyal said, “Some people have reached out to me and it’s something I  am giving thought to and will make a decision shortly.”

According to the Dispatch, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, Ohio, from Jefferson Township, and Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady had approached Goyal and urged him to run in a bid to send a Democrat to Congress. They hoped that Goyal, 37, could help their party turn a red seat into blue as the district comprises of areas where Goyal had name-recognition from the time he served in the State House. Republicans have held the seat on Capitol Hill since 1982.

Goyal was just 26 when he was first elected in 2006 and served three terms from 2007-2013, in the State House, including some of those years as  Majority Leader.

He left the political arena in 2012 to help run the family business, Goyal Industries, a manufacturing concern that produces metal fabrications. He has been leading the company for several years now. Goyal graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University, he also has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.