Tulsi Gabbard Could be the First Hindu to Run for 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

Tulsi Gabbard, known to be the first Hindu lawmaker from Hawaii in the Congress, is considering running for U.S. Presidency in 2020, according to reports.

At a Medtronic conference in Los Angeles on Nov 9, an Indian-origin member of the Republican Party, Dr. Sampat Shivangi introduced Gabbard and said that she could become the next President of the U.S. in 2020. This brief was followed by a standing ovation.

News agency PTI reported that a decision could be taken before Christmas, but a formal announcement may happen only next year. PTI also said that her team has been reaching out to prospective donors, several Indian Americans, and volunteers to build a team for the 2020 election.

Dr. Shivangi has been involved in several fundraising campaigns for the Congresswoman when she ran for the Congress for the first time in 2012. She became the first Hindu lawmaker to take oath on Bhagwat Gita.

“She has been a fresh voice in the Democratic Party, with her support for U.S.-India relations, her opposition to the war in Iraq, her opposition to arms sales to Saudi Arabia and her more recent vigorous opposition to among the rebels in Syria,” PTI quoted Dr. Shivangi as saying.

Gabbard, 37, a popular Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii, won for the fourth time in the recently concluded midterm election for the House of Representatives. A recent Politico report suggested that her one of her adviser Rania Batrice is reaching out for staff positions. The report further suggested that “a source with direct knowledge of her deliberations” informed the publication about Gabbard considering a run for the presidency on the Democratic ticket in 2020.

Gabbard is known to be both the first American Samoan and the first Hindu to elected to the U.S. House. However, she came into limelight later when she resigned from the position of vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and then publicly endorsed Bernie Sanders for president over Hillary Clinton.

Gabbard has also been the topic of controversy owing to her statement to marriage equality. But she clarified in an email to West Hawaii Today in 2016, “I fully believe in marriage equality, and my consistent and unequivocal voting record on marriage equality and other LGBT issues speaks for itself,” adding “Where I was on this issue more than a decade ago was wrong.”