Indian-American political action committee announces slew of endorsements

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Indian American IMPACT, a leading Indian American advocacy organization, announced its slate of endorsed candidates for the 2020 general election, Aug. 26, in a virtual conference.

IMPACT will provide direct contributions to endorsed candidates where permissible, help connect campaigns to interested supporters, and provide technical support to candidates, the organization said in a press release.

“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,”  IMPACT Executive Director Neil Makhija, is quoted saying in a press release issued by the organization.

Makhija was joined on the call by endorsed candidate for North Carolina State Treasurer, Ronnie Chatterji.

“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,” said Makhija, adding, “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.”

In addition to the Biden-Harris ticket, the endorsements in 23 general election races include:

President and Vice President

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Congress

Ami Bera (US CA-07)

Sara Gideon (Maine Senate)

Pramila Jayapal (US WA-07)

Ro Khanna (US CA-17)

Raja Krishnamoorthi (US IL-08)

Sri Kulkarni (US TX-22)

Hiral Tipirneni (US AZ-06)

Statewide and local offices

Nina Ahmad (PA Auditor General)

Ronnie Chatterji (NC Treasurer)

Jay Chaudhuri (NC SD-15)

Jeremy Cooney (NY SD-56)

Nima Kulkarni (KY HD-40)

Padma Kuppa (MI HD-41)

Rupande Mehta (NJ SD-25)

Pavan Parikh (OH Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas)

Jennifer Rajkumar (NY HD-38)

Kesha Ram (VT SD-Chittendon)

Ravi Sandill (TX DJ 127)

Nikil Saval (PA SD-01)

Amish Shah (AZ HD-24)

Vandana Slatter (WA HD-48,1)

Kevin Thomas (NY SD-06)

Earlier IMPACT announced that it would be raising $10 million to support candidates that shared its values.

The organization said its endorsements come at a time of rising Indian American political engagement.

Asian Americans are the fastest growing voting bloc in the country, and made the difference in key suburban house seats in 2018, it said.

It estimates 1.3 million Indian Americans are expected to vote in this year’s election.