As the Texas Senate primary results begin to roll in, one of the big moments for the Indian-American community was Pooja Sethi’s victory in Texas House District 47. Sethi recently created a stir because she strongly pushed back against racist comments about her ethnicity and instead flaunts it as an honor, saying her heritage is not an insult, it’s her story.
Commenting on a hateful post that mocked her campaign poster because of her surname, she wrote: “My heritage is not an insult. It is my story. And like millions of Americans, it is rooted in hard work, belief in this country, and service to our community. If this offends you, that says more about you than it does about me.”Asian American Democrats in Texas condemned the attack and said this is not a political debate.
“Comments like ‘Don’t Indianize my Texas’ are not political criticism or political disagreements. They are rooted in fear and exclusion, and send the message that some Texans don’t belong. We unequivocally reject that message,” the group said.
Pooja Sethi’s victory over 20-year US Army veteran Joseph Kobser was decisive as Sethi received 76% of the votes to Kobser’s 24%. Sethi will now be the party’s candidate on the ballot in the general election in November.
She will compete against Republican candidate Jennifer Musthaler. If she wins the general election, she will become state representative for Texas House District 47.
Sethi served as chief of staff to Texas State Representative Vicki Goodwin for four years. Before that, she worked as an immigration attorney for Catholic Charities, where she represented families navigating the immigration system and fought for dignity and due process, her resume says. “I’m running for Texas House District 47 because I’m a mother — and I can’t continue to raise my child in a state that turns its back on children. Every session, we’re told we’re here to fight for kids. But every session, I’ve watched cruelty win. In the last session, I stood next to a father who lost his child in the Uvalde shooting. He showed the head of Homeland Security his child’s school notebook — which has a bullet hole in it.”
This is what he has left of them. “We have been calling for a hearing on the Raise the Age bill — which would increase the minimum age to purchase certain high-powered firearms from 18 to 21 — with the goal of reducing gun violence and keeping our communities safe,” Sethi said as the reason she is running for reelection.
