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Young Indian-American Ro Khanna has announced that he will contest for a US House of Representatives seat that represents most of the Silicon Valley in California for a second time after losing out in the 2014 polls by a narrow margin.
“I am running to represent this community in Congress,” Khanna said on Monday as he announced his bid for the 2016 elections. He lost to veteran Democrat and his own party colleague Mike Honda in his maiden Congressional bid in 2014.
“I was raised to believe in the American Dream. My parents immigrated to the United States so that my brother and I could have a shot at it through a good education and hard work,” Khanna said.
“What’s heartbreaking is that today, for the first time, there’s an anxiety about whether that American Dream will exist for the next generation. It’s an anxiety driven by economics. We’re earning less, but working more. The cost of living, especially here in the Bay Area, is through the roof,” he said.
Khanna announced that this time too he would be contesting against his own party colleague Honda, who won the 2014 polls by a narrow margin of 3.6 per cent votes.
California laws provides for contesting against own party colleague.
Honda has accepted the challenge.
“Mike Honda welcomes the challenge and believes his long history of serving the district honourably and with principle will outweigh the determination of the wealthy interests backing his overly ambitious challenger,” a statement issued by Honda’s office said.