Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 25: While Indian-American candidates in high-profile US House races are attracting tens of millions of dollars, two lesser-known Indian-American contenders are entering the final stretch of their campaigns with only a few thousand dollars each, according to their Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
Sandeep Dixit, an independent candidate contesting Ohio’s 13th congressional district, reported $2,044.25 in cash on hand at the end of the October 1-14 reporting period, according to his pre-general election report.
Dixit raised $10,476 during the two weeks, with nearly the entire amount coming from a single $10,000 contribution by Rajanee Shendure, a financial planner based in Solon, Ohio. Another $250 came from Dhairyashil Rao.
His campaign spent $8,431.75 during the period, including expenses on yard signs and flyers, $1,000 each on Google and Meta advertisements, and $2,000 with Vibe.co, the report showed.
The report was due on October 22, but FEC electronic filing records show that it was submitted on October 24. Dixit has raised $81,896 over the election cycle through September 30, according to FEC figures.
He is challenging Democratic Representative Emilia Sykes, who raised $123,861.24 during the pre-general reporting period and had $941,757.91 in cash on hand as of October 14. Republican candidate Carey Coleman raised $2,806.10 and had $62,793.16 in cash.
In California’s 17th congressional district, Republican Ritesh Tandon is challenging fellow Indian-American Ro Khanna, who has one of the largest campaign war chests in the House of Representatives.
Tandon’s pre-general report, received by the FEC on October 15, showed that he raised $4,551 between October 1 and 14 and had $5,227.22 in cash on hand. He has raised $57,011.48 over the election cycle.
Khanna’s campaign, Ro for Congress, raised $84,314.40 during the same period, spent $442,389.37 and had $16,578,402.31 in cash on hand as of October 14, according to his pre-general report.
The figures mean Khanna has more than 3,000 times the cash reserves of his challenger.
The disparity contrasts with the substantial funding flowing into races involving Indian-American Democratic candidates Amish Shah in Arizona and Pia Dandiya in Florida, where outside groups have reported spending more than $23 million.
Tandon, a technology entrepreneur, has challenged Khanna in previous elections, while Dixit is contesting without party backing in a district centred on Akron.
The figures are based on campaign filings and may be amended. The US election is scheduled for November 3.