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Meet Ashwin Ramaswami, Indian-origin Gen Z Democrat up against Trump ally in Georgia
Ashwin Ramaswami, a 25-year-old Democrat, just meets the election age requirement to contest the polls in Georgia’s Senate District 48.
Indian-American Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami is set to be the youngest candidate to contest the senate elections from Georgia's Senate District 48 seat on November 5, when the entire country casts their vote for the US Presidential elections 2024. While the Georgia senate is traditionally a conservative seat, Ramaswami is expected to give a tough fight to incumbent Shawn Still, a Republican and a close ally of Donald Trump.
Ashwin Ramaswami, born to Indian parents, just met the age minimum requirement for contesting the elections, turning 25 in May 2024. Here is what you need to know about the Gen Z Democrat set to stand against Trump ally Shawn Still in Georgia.
Who is Ashwin Ramaswami?
25-year-old Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami was born to Indian immigrant parents, who hail from Tamil Nadu. Ramaswami grew up in Johns Creek, and is running for Georgia State Senate in District 48.
According to his election campaign website, Ashwin studied Computer Science at Stanford University after which he pursued a law degree at Georgetown University. It was during his time as a law student when he first decided to enter the political arena after discovering that Still was one of three Trump electors indicted on felony charges in 2020.
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Ashwin decided to run for office after working in cybersecurity due to the 2020 fake electors case, where Shawn Still and two other Trump allies were accused of awarding ‘fake votes’ to the former US president in Georgia, despite him losing the state to Joe Biden.
Ramaswami has a strong background in cybersecurity. The Democrat worked with Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) where he secured the local elections from being prone to cyberattacks. After three years of working with CISA, he decided to run for office, reported NBC News.
While studying at Georgetown University, Ashwin extended support for students of various faiths, including Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist. He also taught classes on Hindu philosophy and history, and raised $100,000 for Dharmic programmes.
Ramaswami believes cyberattacks on elections and polls is a smaller threat on democracy than misinformation spread during the campaigning phase. The young Democrat's campaign has raised $700,000 in funding, which is a hefty amount for a first-time candidate.
