Rishi Kumar

Rishi Kumar (born in October 1967)[1] is a tech executive, council member of Saratoga, and U.S. Congressional candidate in California's 18th District. Rishi has served as a council member in California's city of Saratoga since 2014[2]. While serving as council member he focused on increasing neighborhood safety[3][4] and fighting water rate hikes. Between 2016 and 2017, the neighborhood watch programs he created helped decrease residential burglaries by 47%[5]. He is also an executive board member of the California Democratic Party and a Delegate representing California's 28th State Assembly district. A resident of Silicon Valley since 2000, Rishi has worked for many tech companies such as IBM and Cisco[6]. In the 2020 election, Rishi is running against incumbent Anna Eshoo for her seat as Representative of CA-18[7]. If elected Rishi could be the 5th Indian American in Congress[8][9].

Career

2020 House Campaign

On March 3, 2020 Rishi faced off against four other candidates in the California primary for a seat as the Representative of California's 18th District[10]. These candidates included Richard Fox (Republican), Phil Reynold (Republican), Bob Goodwyn (Libertarian), and incumbent Anna Eshoo (Democrat)[11]. Anna obtained 61.7% of the vote and Rishi came in second at 16.3% with 38,826 votes[7][12][13]. As a result of California's jungle primary system[14], Kumar and Eshoo will face off in the general election[15]. Anna plans to debate Rishi on September 26th, preceding the November 3rd election date[16].

Political Positions

Rishi is a progressive democrat who supports Medicare for All[17], increased transportation systems in Silicon Valley[18], and resolving issues unearthed by the pandemic[19]. He is running his 2020 campaign without money from PACs or special interest groups[6].

Personal Life

Kumar resides in Saratoga, California with his wife, Seema Kumar. They have two children.[2]

Hit and Run

On September 26, 2019, Kumar was cited for a hit and run vehicle collision[20][21]. On December 3, 2019, the hit and run charges were dismissed, and the incident was resolved as a non-moving violation[22].

Election History
California's 18th congressional district, 2020
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 146,225 61.7
Democratic Rishi Kumar 38,826 16.4
Republican Richard B. Fox 28,863 12.2
Republican Phil Reynolds 18,600 7.9
Libertarian Bob Goodwyn 4,462 1.9
Total votes 236,976 100.0
General election
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent)
Democratic Rishi Kumar
Total votes 100.0
Democratic hold
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References
  1. "Rishi Kumar". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  2. "Rishi Kumar: From immigrant student to Congressional aspirant". The American Bazaar. December 6, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  3. "Saratoga's Neighborhood Watch credited with reducing crime". The Mercury News. June 8, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  4. "Saratoga sees quick growth of Neighborhood Watch programs". The Mercury News. April 7, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  5. Nov 5, Niharika Srivastav / TNN /; 2018; Ist, 13:37. "Council Member Rishi Kumar strives to make Saratoga neighborhoods safe - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved August 12, 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. June 8, Sathvik Nori; 2020. "Interview: Talking COVID, politics, and youth empowerment with Congressional Candidate Rishi Kumar – M-A Chronicle". Retrieved August 13, 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. "California Primary Election Results: 18th House District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  8. "Rishi Kumar could be 5th Indian-American in US Congress | India Post News Paper". December 12, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  9. "Over half a dozen Indian-Americans win Congressional primaries". The Economic Times. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  10. Lee, Lloyd. "Residents find political signs on their lawns — for a candidate they don't support". www.paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  11. "Why we endorse incumbent Anna Eshoo for 18th Congressional District". The Stanford Daily. March 2, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  12. KGO (February 28, 2020). "California Primary Election 2020: Live results from statewide, Bay Area races". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  13. "California Primary 2020: Real Time Election Results". KRON4. March 4, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  14. ""TOP TWO" PRIMARY IN CALIFORNIA | Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act". www.sjgov.org. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  15. report, Daily Journal staff. "With deadline past, San Mateo County candidate list solidifies". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  16. "Nancy Pelosi's election challenger says she's not progressive enough. She's ignoring him". SFChronicle.com. July 14, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  17. GmbH, finanzen net. "Rishi Kumar Supports Medicare For All | Markets Insider". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  18. Inc, The Young Turks, The Conversation: Rishi Kumar, Thom Hartmann, retrieved August 13, 2020
  19. Jiang, Rachel. "MVHS students help council member Rishi Kumar adapt to COVID-19 while he runs for Congress". El Estoque. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  20. Writer, Staff (October 28, 2019). "Saratoga councilmember implicated in hit-and-run". Cupertino Today. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  21. "Saratoga Councilman, 2020 Congressional Candidate Rishi Kumar Charged in Hit-and-Run". San Jose Inside. November 22, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  22. Reporter, GIOVANNI ALBANESE Jr /India-West Staff. "Hit-and-Run Charges Dropped Against Saratoga Councilman, Congressional Candidate Rishi Kumar". India West. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
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