Patel, a Democrat, will face incumbent Kris Jordan.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian-origin political candidate Niranjan “Neil” Patel won the primary election in his Ohio district last week, meaning that he will advance to the general election this November.
Patel (59), a Democrat, is running for a seat in the Ohio State Senate, where he hopes to represent the state’s 19th district. Patel was the only Democratic candidate to have officially filed for the primary, so his victory in the primary was not exactly hard fought, and his general election opponent was also unopposed. That opponent is Kris Jordan, a Republican state senator.
This is not the first time around for Patel and Jordan, as both men faced off in the exact same race four years ago. Jordan obviously won that race, as he still holds the state senate seat and is trying to defend it. In the 2010 race, Jordan claimed over 69% of the votes, with Patel only managing to eke out just under 31%.
According to his LinkedIn page, Patel is a resident of Westerville, Ohio. A prolific businessman, with hotels and other businesses in both Ohio and West Virginia, Patel became interested in politics in 1996. He has helped fund the campaigns of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, and other high-ranking political officials, mainly in Ohio.
Since 2005, he has been the chairman and president of Ohio’s Federation of Indian Associations. From 2002-2004, he was the president of the Association of People from Vibrant State of Gujarat, India’s Gujarati Mandal. He holds a B.S. in Business from Gujarat University.
The general election for the state senate seat will be on November 4.
1 Comment
Does Neil participate or donate to Hindu temple? Is Neil a Hindu?