We are lucky in the Texas 10th to have 3 progressive candidates — Mike Siegel, Shannon Hutcheson & Pritesh Gandhi are all good progressives. I’m writing to tell you about Dr. Gandhi.
I first noticed him on Twitter, with a strong pro-choice stance:
https://twitter.com/priteshgandhimd/status/1155130974595760129
He is also very much involved in the fight for gun safety:
https://twitter.com/priteshgandhimd/status/1192816795805274112
I also found this thread about overcoming a stutter to be moving & impressive:
https://twitter.com/priteshgandhimd/status/1198648972665077767
And he is continuing to treat patients — at a free clinic! — while running for the nomination. I love his compassion for people who can’t afford their meds:
https://twitter.com/priteshgandhimd/status/1207307200617746432
Dr. Gandhi is originally from Houston — Houston did go blue, but the part of it in CD10 at least was conservative, and has always been the problem in this district. Houston is so big that even a little sliver of it just overwhelms us. But he has support there — the Katy area is changing – and that will help us win this time. There is a big immigrant community there, and Dr. Gandhi’s story resonates. I feel sure his story will help us finally win against McCaul’s millions of dollars.
Info from his campaign:
● This is his first time running for office, but he has been involved in activism for a long time, including working to combat gun violence and protesting the current
administration’s inhumane policies at the border with Mexico
○ Started a group called Doctors for Gun Safety after the Sandy Hook shooting in
2012
○ Led the nation’s largest rally of physicians and health care professionals at the
Tornillo detention center last year to protest the Trump administration’s border
policies
● He is a former Fulbright scholar and was voted Austinite of the Year
● Pritesh lives in Austin with his wife and three young daughters
About the race:
● There are 3 Democrats running in the primary, which will take place on March 3rd:
○ Pritesh
○ Mike Siegel – was the Democratic nominee in this district last year and he’s a great progressive, but while Beto won the popular vote in the district by about half a point, Siegel lost the district by a bit more than 4 points. Although Siegel made significant progress in the district,because of his background and diverse life experiences, Pritesh is better positioned to defeat Congressman McCaul in the general election next November.
○ Shannon Hutcheson – Shannon is a corporate lawyer in Austin; who left a big firm and started her own small, women-owned law firm with a longtime colleague and friend. According to the Emily’s List page for her, she has supported the Austin Children’s Shelter/SAFE Alliance, and done legal work for Planned Parenthood. However, the Texas Observer recently reported on Shannon’s work defending some troubling clients, including a prison guard who sexually abused migrant women. [and yes, she was endorsed by Emily’s List, but voting in a Republican primary, combined with her problematic legal work….. makes her a “no” for me. I know in a lot of areas of Texas, the only contests are in the Republican primary but that’s not the case in Austin. There’s no excuse to vote in their primary in Austin. ]
● Michael McCaul has been in Congress for seven terms and hasn’t held a town hall in the district in a decade.
[Personal note — I have never gotten a single reply to any e-mail I sent his office. For congressional constituent stuff, I go to the very best congressman ever in the history of the U.S., Lloyd Doggett. Technically, he has been gerrymandered away from most of Austin, but he still represents us. Oh, and he has a primary opponent, so if you want to give him some love also, that would be great]
● Soon after Pritesh announced his campaign for Congress, McCaul made an official visit to Pritesh’s clinic (for the first time) in an apparent attempt to intimidate Pritesh.
Needless to say, it didn’t work!
Issue-based information about Pritesh’s policies and views can be found on our website:
www.gandhifortexas.com .
I love this video from his campaign, on how important immigrants & diversity are:
You did good. {{{anotherdemocrat}}} Holding the Good Thought on Dr. Gandhi winning – both primary and general. moar {{{HUGS}}}