Ro Khanna

Ro Khanna
Member-elect of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 17th district
Taking office
January 3, 2017
Succeeding Mike Honda
Personal details
Born (1976-09-13) September 13, 1976
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Alma mater University of Chicago, Yale Law School
Occupation lawyer
author
politician
university lecturer
congressman
Known for Former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the United States Department of Commerce

Rohit "Ro" Khanna (born September 13, 1976) is an American teacher, lawyer, politician, and the member-elect for California's 17th congressional district. He served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the United States Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama. Khanna is a member of the Democratic Party and was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives in California's 17th congressional district in 2014.

In 2015, Khanna announced that he would again run for the United States House of Representatives in California's 17th congressional district.[1]

In the June 7, 2016 primary, Khanna earned more votes than incumbent Mike Honda. Because of California's Top Two Primaries system, the two faced each other again in the November general election. Khanna defeated Honda in the general election held on November 8, 2016.[2][3]

Early life

Khanna's maternal grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar, was part of Gandhi's independence movement working with Lala Lajpat Rai and spent years in jail in the pursuit of human rights and freedom.[4][5][6]

Rohit Khanna's parents emigrated to the United States from India before his birth. His father is a chemical engineer who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the University of Michigan, and his mother is a former substitute school teacher.[7] Khanna was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1976. He received his B.A. degree in economics with honors from the University of Chicago in 1998, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[7][8][9] He attended Yale Law School, receiving his law degree in 2001. He specializes in intellectual property law.[10]

Career

As a student at the University of Chicago, Khanna worked for William D. Burns walking precincts during Barack Obama's first campaign for the Illinois Senate in 1996.[11][12][13] Khanna interned for Jack Quinn when Quinn served as the Chief of Staff for Vice President Al Gore.[14]

President Barack Obama appointed Khanna to a role in the United States Department of Commerce in 2009.[8] In his role as deputy assistant secretary,[15] Khanna led international trade missions[16] and worked to increase United States exports.[17]

He was later appointed to the White House Business Council.[15] Khanna resigned from the Department of Commerce in August 2011 to join Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a law firm located in Silicon Valley.[18]

His pro bono legal activity includes work with the Mississippi Center for Justice on several contractor fraud cases on behalf of Hurricane Katrina victims and co-authoring an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in the Mt. Holly case to allow for race discrimination suits under the Fair Housing Act of 1968.[19][20]

Khanna teaches economics at Stanford University and law at the Santa Clara University School of Law,[7] and has taught American Jurisprudence at San Francisco State University.[21] He wrote a book on American competitiveness in business, Entrepreneurial Nation: Why Manufacturing is Still Key to America's Future, which was published in 2012.[15][22] Jerry Brown, the Governor of California, appointed Khanna to the California Workforce Investment Board in 2012.[23]

Khanna ran one of the nation's first anti-Iraq war campaigns for the United States House of Representatives in the 2004 elections, unsuccessfully challenging Tom Lantos in the Democratic primary in California's 12th congressional district.[24] He received endorsements from prominent officials, including Matt Gonzalez,[24] and newspapers, including the San Mateo County Times,[25] but lost.[26]

Khanna intended to run for the House in California's 15th congressional district in the 2012 election, hoping to succeed Democrat Pete Stark after Stark's eventual retirement, though stating he would not challenge Stark directly.[27]

He raised $1.2 million, receiving support from Governor Brown, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Anna Eshoo, and businessmen Vinod Khosla and John W. Thompson.[27] Khanna's fundraising total for the fourth quarter of 2011 exceeded that of all but two House candidates nationwide.[14] Eric Swalwell defeated Stark in 2012.[28]

On April 2, 2013, Khanna announced that he would challenge Mike Honda for California's 17th congressional district in the 2014 midterm elections.[29] Khanna has assembled a campaign team composed of top members of President Obama's re-election team, including Jeremy Bird, Obama's 2012 national field director, and Steve Spinner, one of Obama's top-three fundraisers.[30] Khanna has been backed by executives at Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other tech companies,[31] and by the editorial boards of the San Jose Mercury News,[32] the San Francisco Chronicle,[33] the Oakland Tribune,[34] and the Contra Costa Times.[35] Khanna earned the endorsement of San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed,[36] and has also won the endorsement from the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.[37]

A lawsuit was filed before Sacramento County Superior Court, alleging Khanna had recruited candidates with similar names to enter the race as Republicans to split the Republican vote three ways, effectively diluting votes that would otherwise be cast in favor of Vanila Singh. On March 28, 2014, the Court disqualified one of the candidates, Vinesh Singh Rathore, but did not find Khanna responsible in connection with the disqualification.[38]

On November 4, 2014, incumbent congressman Mike Honda defeated Khanna 69,561 (51.8%) votes to 64,847 (48.2%). Khanna's campaign was largely funded by many of the technology industry's biggest names, including Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer, Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Napster founder Sean Parker, investor Marc Andreessen and venture capitalist Steve Westly.[39]

For his 2016 campaign, Khanna raised $480,500 from the securities and investment industry and $170,752 from the electronics manufacturing industry.[40]

In June 2015 Khanna announced his intention to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 17th congressional district.[41]

On June 7, 2016, Khanna won California's 17th Congressional District Primary receiving 52,059 (39.1%) votes.[42] Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mike Honda came in second place receiving 49,823 (37.4%) votes. The two Democrats advanced to the general election on November 8, 2016. Khanna became the District 17 congressman-elect on November 8 after defeating Honda, 84,392 (60%) to 56,787 (40%)[43]

As of 2016, Khanna was a Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Smart Utility Systems, an energy efficiency company with an office in Santa Clara. Smart Utility Systems produces software for water conservation and for reducing electricity consumption.[44][45]

Electoral history in the U.S. House of Representative

United States House of Representatives elections, 2016[46]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Honda (incumbent) 90,919 39.0
Democratic Ro Khanna 142,262 61.0
Total votes 233,181 100
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
California's 17th congressional district primary election, 2016[47]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ro Khanna 52,059 39.1
Democratic Mike Honda (incumbent) 49,823 37.4
Republican Peter Kuo 12,224 9.2
Republican Ron Cohen 10,448 7.8
Democratic Pierluigi C. Oliverio 5,533 4.2
Libertarian Kennita Watson 3,125 2.3
Total votes 133,212 100
United States House of Representatives elections, 2014[48]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Honda (incumbent) 69,561 51.8
Democratic Ro Khanna 64,847 48.2
Total votes 134,408 100
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold

Personal life

Khanna resides in Fremont, California, with his wife Ritu Ahuja.[27][49]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Merl, Jean (May 28, 2015). "Ro Khanna plans another crack at unseating fellow Democrat Mike Honda". LA Times. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Khanna Defeats Eight-Term Incumbent Honda For Congress". Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ Press, Associated (2016-11-09). "Khanna Defeats Eight-Term Incumbent Honda For Congress". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  4. ↑ "Members Bioprofile". 164.100.47.132. December 8, 1902. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Towards socialism: a compilation". Worldcat.org. July 26, 1974. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Elections '99". Tribuneindia.com. August 19, 1999. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Ro Khanna profile". RoKhanna.com. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Obama Taps Fremont Man, Ro Khanna's Selection Heartens Indo-American Community". San Jose Mercury News. August 8, 2009. p. 1C. Retrieved April 5, 2013. (subscription required)
  9. ↑ Jouvenal, Justin (January 14, 2004). "Young hopeful touts vision". San Mateo County Times. Retrieved April 4, 2013. (subscription required)
  10. ↑ Boudreau, John (August 7, 2009). "Obama taps Fremont man for tech post". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved January 27, 2013. (subscription required)
  11. ↑ Green, Joshua. "Ro Khanna, Silicon Valley's Wannabe Obama". Businessweek. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  12. ↑ Jaffe, Alexandra. "Top 5 House primaries to watch". Thehill.com. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  13. ↑ Margarita Lacabe (posted) (August 26, 2013). "Ro Khanna: A Political Portrait". Sanleandrotalk.voxpublica.org. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Silicon Valley Democrat tops in fundraising, even though he's not running yet". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 Marinucci, Carla. "Honda v. Khanna: Could Silicon Valley be ground zero for 2014 House Asian-American battle royale?". Blog.sfgate.com. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Ro Khanna to lead US energy trade mission to India". Indian Express. August 21, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Government helping firms expand exports". Charlotte Observer. May 21, 2010. p. 8A. Retrieved April 5, 2013. (subscription required)
  18. ↑ Boudreau, John (August 20, 2011). "Ex-U.S. Commerce official from Bay Area believes government can help, not hinder economy". The Argus. Retrieved April 5, 2013. (subscription required)
  19. ↑ Kamisugi, Keith (November 5, 2013). "Brief Filed with Supreme Court in Mt. Holly Case Says Implicit Bias a Major Cause of Housing Discrimination". Equal Justice Society. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  20. ↑
  21. ↑ "The Website You are Trying to Access is not Currently Active". Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  22. ↑ Sweet, Ken (August 13, 2012). "Former Obama Official Says Manufacturing Should be a National Security Issue". Forbes.com. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  23. ↑ Ross, Andrew S. (August 29, 2012). "Governor staffs up job investment panel". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  24. 1 2 Jouvenal, Justin (January 17, 2004). "City Supervisor endorses Khanna". San Mateo County Times. Retrieved April 5, 2013. (subscription required)
  25. ↑ Traubman, Libby; Traubman, Len (February 17, 2004). "We can entrust America with Khanna's principles". San Mateo County Times. Retrieved April 5, 2013. (subscription required)
  26. ↑ "Rep. Mike Honda digs in against potential challenger Ro Khanna". Inside Bay Area. February 4, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  27. 1 2 3 Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer (January 20, 2012). "Pete Stark may put Ro Khanna's rise on hold". SFGate. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  28. ↑ Molly Redden (December 5, 2012). "Eric Swalwell, Pete Stark's Young Vanquisher, Gets Oriented". Tnr.com. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  29. ↑ Richman, Josh. "Silicon Valley Congressional battle takes shape: Ro Khanna to challenge Mike Honda, using Obama campaign operatives". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  30. ↑ Green, Joshua. "Ro Khanna, Silicon Valley's Wannabe Obama". Businessweek. Bloomberg. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  31. ↑ Onishi, Norimitsu (February 5, 2014) "Tech Industry Flexes Muscle in California Race." New York Times; retrieved September 2, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Mercury News editorial: Ro Khanna should replace Mike Honda in Congress". Mercurynews.com. May 3, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Ro Khanna offers upgrade in Congress for Silicon Valley". SFGate. May 4, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Oakland Tribune editorial: Ro Khanna should replace Mike Honda in Congress". ContraCostaTimes.com. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  35. ↑ Contra Costa Times/Oakland Tribune. "June 2014 election recommendations from the Contra Costa Times/Oakland Tribune editorial board". ContraCostaTimes.com. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  36. ↑ Chuck Reed endorses Ro Khanna, mercurynews.com; accessed December 1, 2014.
  37. ↑ Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce endorses Ro Khanna over Mike Honda, mercurynews.com; accessed December 1, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Indian-American Vinesh Singh Rathore ousted from Congressional race". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  39. ↑ Rucker, Philip (June 2, 2014). "In Silicon Valley, tech titans try to replace a longtime Democratic congressman". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Wall Street's fab five: House members, candidates most reliant on funding from finance industry". OpenSecrets Blog. June 1, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  41. ↑ Karerat, Raif (June 2, 2015). "Ro Khanna launches his 3rd bid to become a Congressman and unseat 'the dozer' Mike Honda". The American Bazaar. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  42. ↑ "U.S. House of Representatives District 17 - Districtwide Results". vote.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Mike Honda vs. Ro Khanna: Rematch set in District 17 congressional race". mercurynews.com. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  44. ↑ Richman, Josh (January 26, 2015). "Political Blotter: Ro Khanna's new job". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  45. ↑ "SUS: Company: Our Management Team". Smartusys.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  46. ↑ Office of the California Secretary of State "United States Representative in Congress"; retrieved November 27, 2016.
  47. ↑ Office of the California Secretary of State "United States Representative in Congress," (retrieved June 18, 2016)
  48. ↑ Office of the California Secretary of State "United States Representative in Congress"; retrieved January 22, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Ritu Ahuja and Rohit Khanna". New York Times2015. August 15, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
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