An Indian-American of the Democratic Party is set to run for the United States Congress, making her the first woman of Kashmiri descent to do so.
Krystle Kaul, who has previously served in the US Army, has reportedly amassed $5,67,000 in campaign funds for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District race. She recently announced that her campaign funds have crossed $5,67,000, surpassing her Democratic opponent, Jennifer Wexton, who has $5,38,000 in cash.
“I am really excited to announce that the FEC (Federal Election Commission) reports just came out, and I have the most cash on hand of all candidates in the race. I’m leading the pack. I have $5,67,000. They said I couldn’t do it. They said I couldn’t surpass 500K, which was the goal, and I did it. I’m really excited, and I really appreciate all the support I’ve received,” she told PTI in a recent interview.
Krystle Kaul, whose father is from the Kashmiri Pandit community, is aiming to represent the Congressional District in Virginia, which includes Loudoun County, which has become a hub for Indian-Americans in the Greater Washington DC area over the past decade.
The primary election in Virginia is set for June 18, and Kaul is optimistic about securing the party’s nomination for the general elections scheduled for November 5.
“Locally, nationally, Indian-Americans have come out. Lots of different groups have come and supported Asian Americans, the Jewish-American community, and the defence community. Women have come out, and I’m really proud to say that, if elected, I would be the second Indian-American woman in Congress.
We definitely need representation. Today, we have five Indian-American members of Congress, but only one is a woman, and we definitely need to have more women that are in, and I think that it’s important to have that gender equation to look at as well,” Kaul said in response to a question.
Kaul said she is contesting to focus on key issues like education, affordable healthcare, and public safety, resonating with the Virginia district’s diverse population, which comprises 44% minorities.
“It is 16 per cent Asian, and we have a high population of Indian-Americans, close to almost 10 per cent. I have an overwhelming level of support from minorities in the district: from the Asian community, from the Indian American community, from the Italian community, from the Thai community, and from Koreans.
So I’ve been able to speak. I spoke at the Thai Temple at the Korean Association event. I’ve spoken at several Indian American events, small business events, defence contractor events, and so it’s really a wide issue,” she said.
District 10 includes Ashburn, Chantilly, Leesburg, Dulles, Manassas, Warrington, and a part of Fairfax.
“It is quite a broad district. It’s about 820,000 constituents, and it’s primarily made up of folks who are government contractors, defence contractors, and small business owners like myself. I’m also a teacher. I teach at MIT remotely,” she added.
Kaul also said she is not a career politician.
“I am someone coming in that really can relate to the average voter and not just from a female status, not just from a minority status, but also being a small business owner, coming from a defence background, being a government contractor myself, being a senior defence official,” Krystle Kaul said.
Kaul acknowledged the overwhelming support she’s received for her candidacy.
“I actually do believe that the US-India relationship is the most critical relationship of this century and want to see this relationship strengthen. I participated in the B20 summit in Delhi. I was part of some of the engagements at the G20 summit. I am a big advocate of bridging that skills gap and India can really come and help with IT, can help with technology algorithms to help advance the DODs mission. It can help with the chip war that we are in right now with China,” said Kaul.
India-US relationship has been improving post-civil nuclear deal, she said.
“Between the cash on hand and also the human capital I have, it’s really touching for me the fact that I have so many young Indian-American girls and boys that have joined my campaign both locally and nationally. It’s a multi-prong effort to get elected, and that is really what’s going to help me win this race. I really need to stay in that lead position,” Krystle Kaul added.