MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A longshot candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin who has never run for office in the state before plans to launch her candidacy Tuesday, becoming the first Republican to officially get in the race against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Rejani Raveendran, a 40-year-old college student and chair of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Republicans, planned to announce her candidacy for the 2024 election at an evening event in Stevens Point, according to her campaign.
Several other higher-profile Republicans have decided against taking on Baldwin as she seeks a third term in a presidential election year. U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher and Tom Tiffany have both opted against a run. Other Republicans considering getting in the race include Madison businessman and 2012 Senate candidate Eric Hovde, Franklin businessman Scott Mayer and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.
Raveendran declined to comment ahead of the campaign launch event to The Associated Press. But in a flyer detailing her candidacy, provided by her campaign, Raveendran said that she decided to run because she felt the political system needed "new people with new ideas.”
Raveendran said she is a single mother with three children and is running to “bring the perspective of regular people and regular moms to Washington,” according to her campaign material. She said that she was motivated to run for the Senate after visiting Washington earlier this spring.
Raveendran’s campaign flyer said if elected she will push for eliminating illegal immigration, “fight against the woke agenda and preserve the innocence of our children,” end the war in Ukraine and push for congressional term limits.
Raveendran plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a certificate in international relations next year.
She immigrated to the United States in 2011 from India where she was a nurse and midwife. She became a U.S. citizen in 2015 and lived in California before moving to Wisconsin in 2017.
Raveendran told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she supported former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 and is supporting him again in 2024.
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
