Gandhi for Texas: Indian-American Doctor announces run for U.S. Congress

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In a sign of the increasing participation by Indian-Americans in electoral politics, a physician in Texas launched his bid for the U.S. Congress in 2020, in hopes of joining five others already on Capitol Hill .

Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, whose Twitter account describes him as a “proud father, husband & texan,” is a clinical assistant professor of population health at Dell Medical School. He announced his run March 5, from District 10, hoping to eventually unseat Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, when and if he wins the Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2020. But his biggest hurdle is during the primaries when another strong Democratic candidate is in the running.

In a March 5 tweet, Gandhi said, “This morning, I announced my campaign for #TX10. I’m running for Congress to bring a voice to working families of Texas. This campaign is about renewing our collective commitment to core American values of dignity, fairness, opportunity, and duty.” He went on to say, “@priteshgandhimd will not take one penny from corporate special interests. Not. One. #TeamGandhi will be fueled by everyday people, so you will always know who we are fighting for.” and urged people to join his campaign and also to donate.

According to Ballotpedia, District 10, which includes all of Austin, Colorado, Fayette, Waller, and Washington counties on the eastern side of the state, has a pretty homogenous population, the overwhelming majority (75.2 percent) being white, and only 5 percent Asian, and 9.7 percent Black. McCaul, who first won in 2004,  secured his 2016 re-election with 57.3 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic opponent Tawana Cadien who secured 38.4 percent.

In his 2018 re-election, McCaul’s vote went down to 51.1 percent with Democrat Mike Siegel, an attorney and civil rights activist, securing nearly 47 percent (46.8). In the latest Democratic primary, Siegel defeated Cadien winning 70 percent of the Democratic vote. How successful Gandhi will be against Siegel in the March 2020 Democratic primaries, is up for speculation.

Gandhi’s focus is on health care reform and poverty alleviation.

In an interview with thedailytexanonline.com, Gandhi said, “Our strategy is to talk — and listen — to every single person in this district, and I think that’s a winning strategy.”