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Pramila Jayapal, a state senator in Washington state, is poised to become the first Indian American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress in November. Jayapal, a Democrat and a Bernie Sanders supporter during the primaries, won the open primary from Washington’s District 7.
Chennai-born Jayapal will face off one of the two other Democrat candidates in the top-two primary system, which much like California, will pit the top two primary vote-getters against each other irrespective of their party affiliation. Jayapal secured 38 percent of the vote, while King County Council member Joe McDermott and State Representative Brady Walkinshaw were battling for second place with 21.5 percent and 20.9 percent respectively.
“Pramila… is not afraid to take on powerful special interests. She’s fought for immigrant rights, opposed the war in Iraq, and worked to protect Social Security. She’s also running her campaign with our political revolution,” the Hindu newspaper quoted Sanders as saying in an e-mail to donors during her primaries campaign.
Jayapal was one of the first 2016 congressional candidates to be endorsed by Sanders. Following her victory, The Nation quoted Sanders as saying: “Pramila just proved that candidates can run a strong progressive campaign funded by small-dollar donors and win big. The people-powered movement that propelled our campaign to victory in states around the country is already changing how campaigns are run up and down the ticket.” The Nation, a left-leaning magazine which endorsed Sanders, said Jayapal “scored one of the biggest progressive victories of 2016.”
Jayapal path to Capitol Hill was paved through a stint on the Wall Street and progressive activism in support of women and immigrants’ rights. She came to the U.S. in 1982 as a student.
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