War veteran, surgeon files candidacy as a Democrat.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Manan Trivedi, a Democratic physician from Philadelphia, has officially filed his candidacy for Pennsylvania’s 6th District seat in the US House of Representatives.
Trivedi, who has run unsuccessfully twice before in 2010 and 2012, decided to give it a third try after hearing that Republican incumbent Rep. Jim Gerlach would not run for re-election this November. So far, his only competition is fellow Democrat Mike Parrish, a former Republican who is a local businessman. Both he and Trivedi have something else in common: a military background, as Trivedi served in the Iraq War nearly 10 years ago as a battalion surgeon.
The constituency was re-districted in 2011, and is said to be more favorable to Republicans now by five points. The 6th District in Pennsylvania is comprised mainly of Chester County, a south-eastern county that is a suburb of Philadelphia and is near the state’s border with Delaware. The District also has Berks, Montgomery, and Lebanon counties under its purview, and houses a large population of Indian Americans. Trivedi lives in Birdsboro, located near Reading in Berks County.
Speaking with local news outlet Philly.com, the 39 year-old Trivedi said that he’s running because “this is a great opportunity to get a refreshing change in the district.”
Trivedi has a host of endorsements from State Senators and local luminaries, and is just now starting to raise funds for his campaign, but it will be a tough hill to climb to beat Parrish. The latter was recently endorsed by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and current Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA).
However, Parrish is looked upon unfavorably by many Democrats for being a former member of the opposing party, and even Republicans have mocked Parrish for jumping ship. So far, on the Republican side of the 6th District Race, Chester County Commissioners’ Chairman Ryan Costello is the only candidate, meaning that the winner of the Trivedi/Parrish primary will run against him in November.
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