On November 5, Americans will cast their votes not only for the presidency but also for 34 Senate seats, all 435 House seats, 11 governorships and thousands of state legislative positions. Among the new contenders is Ashwin Ramaswami, a young Indian American Democrat challenging Republican Senator Shawn Still in Georgia’s Senate District 48, a traditionally conservative seat.

Who is Ashwin Ramaswami?

1. Ashwin Ramaswami was born to Indian immigrant parents from Tamil Nadu and grew up in Johns Creek. He is running for the Georgia State Senate in District 48, and just meets the minimum age requirement of 25, turning that age in May 2024.
2. Ashwin Ramaswami studied Computer Science at Stanford University and then pursued a law degree at Georgetown University, as per his election campaign website.
3. He has a strong background in cybersecurity, having worked with CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, where he helped secure local election systems from cyberattacks, and Schmidt Futures, where he conducted research on securing open-source software, which contributed to a bill in Congress. He decided to quit his job at CISA after three years to run for office after realising that the greater threat to democracy lies not just in cyberattacks but in political misinformation surrounding election integrity, reported NBC News.
4. During his studies, he taught classes on Hindu philosophy and raised $100,000 for Dharmic programmes at Georgetown, supporting students of various faiths, including Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist.
5. Ashwin Ramaswami’s campaign promises election security and integrity, positioning him against Shawn Still’s alleged 2020 election-related activities. Shawn Still was one of the fake electors who participated in the Donald Trump fake electors plot, which aimed to award Georgia’s electoral votes to Donald Trump despite him losing the state to Joe Biden. Mr Ramaswami’s campaign has raised more than $700,000 in funding, which is considered a significant amount for a first-time candidate.

Ashwin Ramaswami, the first GenZ Indian-American running for Georgia Senate seat.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Ashwin Ramaswami, the first Gen Z Indian-American running for a U.S. State legislature, has raised over $280,000, which is considered to be a substantial figure at the State level.

Mr. Ramaswami, 24, has outraised his incumbent opponent Shawn Still by 22 times in the latest filing period from Feb 1 to April 30. While Mr. Ramaswami raised over $146,000, his opponent raised only $6,400. The two are running for the State Senate in the District 48 of Georgia.

According to the latest public campaign finance report, Mr. Ramaswami has raised a total of over $280,000 and has $208,000 cash on hand, his campaign said.

“Our latest reports are further evidence that our community values honesty and integrity in our leadership above all,” said Mr. Ramaswami, a second-generation Indian-American who has built a career in software engineering, election security, and technology law and policy research.

“We’ve built a grassroots campaign with unprecedented momentum to ensure we elect a leader who will serve our communities first and foremost: funding our schools, supporting our small businesses, preparing us for the technology of the future, and protecting the right to vote,” he said.

           “Our community will never forget Shawn Still’s utter lack of leadership and integrity when he tried to overturn Georgians’ votes in 2020,” said Mr. Ramaswami.

“Experience matters significantly, and it’s clear that Shawn Still has the wrong kind of experience,” he said.

The young Indian-American’s campaign has also been endorsed by Congresswoman Lucy McBath of Georgia’s seventh Congressional district.

“I am endorsing Ashwin Ramaswami’s historic bid for District 48 because he has the vision and experience to fight for Georgians in the state legislature. This seat is the most competitive in the Georgia Senate, making it the top pickup opportunity for Georgia Democrats,” said Congresswoman McBath.

“Ashwin’s opponent, Senator Shawn Still, is currently facing a seven-count indictment for his role as secretary of the false elector meeting of conspiracy theorists to overturn the results of the 2020 election for Donald Trump. The people of SD 48 want a leader, not a conspiracy theorist facing indictment. Ashwin will always work to protect our democracy,” she said.

A native of Georgia, Mr. Ramaswami has worked with nonprofits, startups, and small businesses to use technology for public interest and create jobs. As a civil servant, he worked at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on cybersecurity and election security, working with state and local election offices to secure the 2020 and 2022 elections. Ashwin also worked as a legal fellow in the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

His parents worked in the IT sector after coming to the U.S.