Since launching his campaign for Congress, Jay Vaingankar has leaned heavily into his own multicultural identity – he’s the son of Indian immigrants and a fluent Spanish speaker who grew up in a plurality-white town – and the multiculturalism of the 12th congressional district. It’s probably a smart strategy in the incredibly diverse district, but it’s also made him a target.
Last week, Vaingankar posted a video to social media featuring a Hindi-language appeal (with English subtitles) to Desi voters in the 12th district, encouraging them to get more engaged in the electoral process. Like most things congressional candidates post, the video drew relatively little notice – until Friday, that is, when major right-wing accounts began discovering and pillorying it.
Laura Loomer, an activist with close ties to President Donald Trump, said Democrats were “forc[ing] Americans to read translations just to understand their ads.” End Wokeness, a right-wing influencer account, reposted it derisively to their nearly 4 million followers on X. What had been a minor campaign video in Democratic House primary that has not (yet) garnered much outside attention suddenly became a national talking point.
Vaingankar said that what followed was a deluge of threats declaring him un-American, calling for him to be deported, and even exposing his parents’ former immigration status (they were not yet citizens when he was born). “I will call ICE and I will make sure you lose this election,” one email shared with the New Jersey Globe reads.
But the negative attention, Vaingankar said, has been counteracted by a surge of positive interest in his campaign, both nationally and in the district.
“People have been calling me and saying, ‘How do I get involved in your campaign? Can I donate? Can I come knock doors for you this weekend?’” Vaingankar said. “The exciting thing about this campaign is we’re involving people who have never really been involved in politics before.”
The 12th district is one of the most racially diverse districts in the country, with sizable populations of white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American voters spread out across suburban Central Jersey. (It’s also loyally Democratic; no Republican presidential candidate has broken 40% of the vote there in decades.)
The 13 Democratic candidates running to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) are an equally diverse bunch, and several of them would make history if elected, among them Vaingankar, who along with Sujit Singh is aiming to be New Jersey’s first South Asian member of Congress.
Vaingankar, though, argued that the district’s Democratic organizations – all of which are supporting other candidates in the race – have not done enough to make voters who speak languages other than English feel at home in the Democratic Party.
“I see my ability to speak Hindi and Spanish as a huge asset,” he said. “It allows me to help make up for where the local Democratic parties have fallen short in listening to and organizing in Asian and Latino communities, which make up huge chunks of the electorate. I think what I’m doing here is going to be a net benefit for the Democratic Party.”
