Chivukula hopes to raise $1 million to fight June 3rd primary.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: New Jersey Congressional candidate Upendra Chivukula held a fundraiser for his campaign at the Hampton Inn in Stamford, Connecticut, during which the campaign received over $5,000 in donations.
The fundraiser was hosted by local community leaders Thomas Abraham, Sailesh Naik, Ashok Nichani and Varghese Ninan on March 27th, said a press release issued by the organizers. Chivukula spoke to the gathered attendees about the state of his campaign, saying that he considered himself to have a good shot at winning the seat to represent New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.
Chivukula, a Democrat, is vying for the seat that is currently occupied by Rep. Rush Holt, also a Democrat. Holt announced several weeks ago that he would not seek re-election this year, and Chivukula announced shortly afterward that he would seek to claim the seat for himself. Other Democrats have also entered the fray, however, including New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, State Senator Linda Greenstein, and local businessman Brian Hughes.
Chivukula’s campaign has run on the tenets of economic growth, educational reform, and defending the Affordable Care Act. Last month, he announced that he would support the legalization of marijuana, which was proposed by New Jersey Senator Nick Scutari. He also announced that he would support initiatives to increase the number of students getting into STEM fields, and will work to alleviate poverty throughout his district.
The 12th Congressional District covers Middlesex and Somerset counties, the latter of which is where he resides. It also includes portions of Mercer and Union counties, as well as Princeton, Monroe Township, East Windsor, and South Brunswick.
An engineer by training, Chivukula is originally from Nellore, India. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Guindy Engineering College in Chennai, and his master’s degree in the same field from the City College of New York. He is also a graduate of the Emerging Leaders Program at the University of Virginia.
Chivukula is currently a New Jersey State Assemblyman, a seat for which he has consistently won re-election every two years since 2001. He previously ran for the US House of Representatives, for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, in 2012, but lost that race to Republican Leonard Lance.
For now, Chivukula is hoping to raise one million dollars for his campaign, which he says will be enough to buy him air time and push him over the edge for the June 3rd Democratic primary.
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