Senator Bernie Sanders had endorsed Jayapal in April.
AB Wire
Indian American Pramila Jayapal won the open primary for Washington’s 7th Congressional District Tuesday night and will advance to the general elections in November.
Jayapal, who was one of the first Congressional candidates to be endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders in April, won 38 percent votes in the primary. She would become the first Indian American woman to enter the US Congress if she wins the November elections.
Joe McDermott and Brady Walkinshaw, the rivals of Jayapal, finished with 21.5 percent and 20.9 percent respectively. The top two finishers will move to the general election.
“We’re building a movement that can clearly stake out a positive vision for the future of America at a time when too many people feel cynical about change, and when too many people are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table,†Jayapal said after the victory.
A prominent advocate for the rights of immigrants, Pramila Jayapal came to limelight when she founded the organization Hate Free Zone to fight the intolerance following the terrorist attack of the 9/11.
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“She is a bold progressive game changer whose strong performance shows that voters are hungry for bold progressive ideas like expanding Social Security benefits, debt-free college, and a $15 minimum wage,” Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee was quoted as saying by Common Dreams.
Born on September 21, 1965, in Chennai, Jayapal moved to the U.S in 1982 to pursue her studies. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and an MBA from Northwestern University in Chicago.
She started her political career through campaigns for the rights of immigrants, women, and workers. In January 2016, Jayapal declared her candidacy for Congress in Washington’s 7th congressional district, after Congressman Jim McDermott announced his retirement.
Earlier this year, Bernie Sanders’ endorsed Jayapal saying, she was “willing to continue the fight we started in this campaign.â€
“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,†Sanders told The Nation about Jayapal’s victory.