Patel is a decorated Vietnam War veteran.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Six candidates are currently battling it out to win the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District, and at the center of the tightly contested race is an Indian American candidate: Rajive Patel.
A decorated Vietnam War veteran and a long-time resident of North Carolina, Patel (66) is also the former Mayor of East Spencer, a small town in nearby Rowan County. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Patel currently resides in Winston-Salem, and is a graduate of Winston-Salem University and Shaw University, located in Raleigh. Although currently retired, Patel was an ordained minister.
The 12th Congressional District is heavily Democratic, and although there are two Republicans vying for the GOP primary, the fact that the District leans so far left means that whoever wins the Democratic primary will likely become the next Congressional Representative.
Patel is facing off against state legislators Alma Adams and Marcus Brandon, attorney George Battle, political activist Malcolm Graham, and attorney Curtis Osborne. All five of them participated in a televised debate on Tuesday, leaving Patel as the only Democratic candidate not at the critical election event, which will likely be the only televised debate for the whole primary campaign.
Candidates discussed the need to increase the minimum wage to above $10 per hour, and bolster local infrastructure to create jobs and boost the economy. But Patel’s platform features more specific elements that he would like to see implemented, should he be nominated.
On his official campaign website, Patel says that his main areas of focus are veterans’ benefits, public assistance, teachers, women’s rights, and minimum wage. Patel says that he is in support of “advocating for Operation Keep the Promise, protecting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, & Food Stamp Programs, advocating for [teachers’] Salary & Tenure, advocating for the Right to Choose & Equal Pay, [and] advocating for Minimum Wage Reform.”
“Vote for me […] for real change,” Patel said in a statement on his website. “I am an experienced candidate dedicated to meeting the needs of the people. My goal is to protect the rights of veterans and women, support our teachers, and preserve our public assistance programs.”
So far, numbers don’t seem to show any single candidate pulling out ahead of the pack in a significant way. With the primary fast approaching on May 6, and primary runoffs (if necessary, which they very well could be) on July 15, time is running out for Patel and the other candidates to show that they are the right person to represent North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District to Congress.