WASHINGTON: Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, has said that she was “seriously” considering running for the White House in 2020.
This is for the first time that the four-time Democratic lawmaker in the US house of Representatives from Hawaii has indicated that she may run for the presidency.
“I’m seriously considering it,” Gabbard, 37, told MSNBC News on Wednesday in response to a question on her presidential aspirations.
If she announced her candidature, she would be the first Hindu ever to be running for the presidency in the United states. And if elected in 2020, she could be the youngest ever and first woman to be elected as the US president.
“I’m concerned about the direction of our country. I’m thinking through it very carefully,” Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran, said in response to a question on her presidential run.
Before challenging President Donald Trump in the November 2020 elections, she would have to fight it against her own Democratic party colleagues in primary elections beginning early that year.
In the last few weeks, Gabbard has been talking to her party leaders and reaching out to Indian-Americans to get their feedback on the issue.
Gabbard, who converted to Hinduism early in her life, is highly popular among Indian-Americans.
The 2020 presidential primary cycle is scheduled to kick off from the Iowa Caucuses on February 3, 2020, followed by the New Hampshire Primary on February 11, Nevada caucus of February 15 and South Carolina on February 22.
President Donald Trump is all set to seek his re-election in 2020, none of the Democratic candidates have announced their bid yet. The Democratic race is expected to be crowded by the summer of 2019.
Among those Democrats speculated to run for the 2020 primaries include former vice president Joe Biden, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Kaine and Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris. PTI
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