Sri Preston Kulkarni

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Sri Preston Kulkarni

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

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Sri Preston Kulkarni (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 22nd Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Biography

Sri Preston Kulkarni lives in Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University. Kulkarni’s career experience includes working as a foreign service officer. He served as a policy and defense advisor for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas' 22nd Congressional District election, 2020

Texas' 22nd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Texas' 22nd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 22

Troy Nehls defeated Sri Preston Kulkarni and Joseph LeBlanc in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 22 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Troy Nehls (R)	51.5	210,259
		Sri Preston Kulkarni (D)	44.6	181,998
		Joseph LeBlanc (L)	3.9	15,791

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 408,048
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 22

Troy Nehls defeated Kathaleen Wall in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 22 on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Troy Nehls	69.9	36,132
		Kathaleen Wall	30.1	15,547

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 51,679
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 22

Sri Preston Kulkarni defeated Derrick Reed, Nyanza Moore, and Carmine Petricco III in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 22 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sri Preston Kulkarni	53.1	34,664
		Derrick Reed	24.7	16,126
		Nyanza Moore	14.5	9,449
	Submit photo	Carmine Petricco III	7.8	5,074

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 65,313
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Chris Fernandez (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 22

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 22 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Troy Nehls	40.5	29,583
✔		Kathaleen Wall	19.4	14,201
		Pierce Bush	15.4	11,281
		Greg Hill	14.1	10,315
		Dan Mathews	3.0	2,165
	Submit photo	Bangar Reddy	1.6	1,144
		Joe Walz	1.4	1,039
	Submit photo	Shandon Phan	1.1	773
		Diana Miller	1.1	771
		Jon Camarillo	1.0	718
		Douglas Haggard	0.5	398
		Howard Lynn Steele Jr.	0.4	283
		Matt Hinton	0.4	274
	Submit photo	Brandon Penko	0.1	96
		Aaron Hermes	0.1	92

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 73,133
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Schell Hammel (R)
• Keli Chevalier (R)
• Clint Morgan (R)
• Felicia Harris Hoss (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 22

Joseph LeBlanc advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 22 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Joseph LeBlanc (L)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Texas' 22nd Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 22

Incumbent Peter G. Olson defeated Sri Preston Kulkarni, John McElligott, and Sara Kellen Sweny in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 22 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter G. Olson (R)	51.4	152,750
		Sri Preston Kulkarni (D)	46.5	138,153
	Submit photo	John McElligott (L)	1.1	3,261
		Sara Kellen Sweny (Independent)	1.1	3,241

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 297,405
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Stephanie Williams (Independent)

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 22

Sri Preston Kulkarni defeated Letitia Plummer in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 22 on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sri Preston Kulkarni	62.1	9,502
		Letitia Plummer	37.9	5,794

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 15,296
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 22

Sri Preston Kulkarni and Letitia Plummer advanced to a runoff. They defeated Stephen Keith Brown, Margarita Ruiz Johnson, and Mark Gibson in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 22 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sri Preston Kulkarni	31.8	9,466
✔		Letitia Plummer	24.3	7,230
		Stephen Keith Brown	21.0	6,246
		Margarita Ruiz Johnson	12.7	3,767
		Mark Gibson	10.2	3,046

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,755
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 22

Incumbent Peter G. Olson defeated Danny Nguyen, James Green, and Eric Zmrhal in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 22 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter G. Olson	78.4	35,782
		Danny Nguyen	13.5	6,170
		James Green	5.5	2,521
		Eric Zmrhal	2.6	1,174

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,647
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sri Preston Kulkarni did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Kulkarni’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Jobs and Economic Opportunity “My father came to this country because he knew he would have the chance to make something of himself when he got here. Economic opportunity is a core principle of America’s identity. This is a principle we need to protect and expand.” We need to stabilize our economy and ensure it is in a position for growth after we defeat the virus. We must have a tax and regulatory environment that rewards entrepreneurs and prioritizes small businesses. This means helping to facilitate access to early capital, small business loans, and funding programs that invest in innovative businesses, especially for groups who have historically been discriminated against in banking practices. By protecting our small businesses, we can ensure that we keep the backbone of our economy, and our community, intact. In Congress, I will Expand access to capital and loans for small businesses. Push for a start-up tax credit to help small businesses scale up. Advocate for greater COVID-19 business release measures, such as more PPP funding. Oppose tax cuts that favor America’s Billionaires over communities like my own. Protect Social Security. Stand firmly with unions and fight for safer workplace conditions. Creating quality jobs for the digital age. Health Care “When my father was diagnosed with Leukemia, the medical bills nearly bankrupted our family. No individual should face financial ruin—especially when they fall sick.” In the midst of a pandemic, the United States is also in a health care crisis. Americans now pay twice as much as any other developed nation for their health care, but for the first time in a century, life expectancy has declined for 3 straight years. Two thirds of all bankruptcies are caused by medical costs. Before arguing about specific health care proposals, we must all agree on the two basic problems: the cost of health care in America is too high and tens of millions of people still don’t have access. In Congress, I will: Oppose any effort to dismantle, privatize, or undermine Medicaid or Medicare. Texas refused the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. But now, in this pandemic, we see how important it is that everyone—not just the wealthy few—have access to quality health care. I will push for expanded coverage for our nation’s poor, disabled, and elderly. Stand up against special interests who put profits over people. I will advocate for lower prescription drug costs and hold Big Pharma accountable. Protect coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, such as COVID-19. Money in Politics Middle class families’ voices are being left out of the political process. Powerful special interest groups with unlimited amounts of money undermine our democracy. Texans are tired of the partisan dysfunction and the corrupting influence of money in politics. I will work every day to stand up for Texas families. I am refusing corporate PAC money in this campaign, instead I am building a campaign powered by people, and I look forward to fighting for real campaign finance reform in Congress. Veterans “I worked in the U.S. Foreign Service for fourteen years, alongside the bravest Americans I’ve ever known. Our country needs to better support veterans, who put their lives on the line to protect this country and its founding principles.” Our government must make the transition to civilian life as painless as possible for our nation’s heroes. This means expanding access to job training, child care, healthcare, and counseling. In Congress, I will: Fight for reforms to the Transition Assistance Program to better equip our veterans with the tools to enter the workforce and secure their futures. Work to implement solutions to the military’s problems of sexual assault to honor SPC Vanessa Guillen. Reject efforts to privatize the Department of Veterans Affairs. Increase health coverage for veterans. In TX-22, many veterans have to travel over 30 minutes to hospitals that will accept their health insurance. This must change. We need to decrease VA hospital wait times and expand telehealth services. Fight for better mental health services for our veterans by expanding counseling and treatment services for TBIs. Criminal Justice Reform “Growing up, I was frequently exposed to the injustices of the criminal justice system. When I was mugged, police officers tried to pressure me into accusing the wrong person—because they needed more evidence to lock him up for other charges. This is unacceptable. We need accountability.” Our criminal justice system has failed our communities—specifically our communities of color. Justice and reform is long overdue. In Congress, I will: Fight to end the war on drugs and reduce sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders. I will treat drug addiction like a medical issue, not a crime, because it is. Support the rehabilitation and reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals, by supporting job training and prison education programs. Take human and sex trafficking seriously here in TX-22. Fight for greater accountability in county jails and make sure incarcerated individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Work to end the government’s practice of contracting with for-profit detention centers. End discriminatory cash bail programs that disproportionately hurt communities of color Energy and the Environment “Climate change is not a myth. It’s not a hoax. It is real, and it is harming communities like ours, who are facing more severe natural disasters than ever before.” Our energy and environmental policy must be based on scientific evidence and economic realities, not partisan ideology. We need to stop ignoring this crisis and investing in clean energy jobs for our district. In Congress, I will: Expand our energy economy by investing in renewable and nuclear infrastructure. Texas already leads the nation in wind energy, with wind turbine technician listed as the fastest-growing job in the state, and we can be a future leader in solar energy, creating tens of thousands of new green jobs for our economy and ensuring we remain the leader in the energy economy. Work to implement evidence based climate change reforms. Protect TX-22 from floods and hurricanes, which will only become more severe and frequent as climate change worsens. Check out our Flood Protection Issue page here. Gun Violence “Growing up, I was no stranger to gun violence — I witnessed it personally and my neighbors were victims of it. Gun violence tears whole communities apart. We need to pass common sense measures that will protect our community.” Gun violence is a public health crisis. Congress has failed to do its job to keep families safe. We must respect the second amendment and protect law-abiding gun owners’ rights while dealing with the reality that gun violence and mass shootings have created an atmosphere of terror for Texan children and families. In Congress, I will: Fight for universal background checks, which nine out of ten Texans support, including the majority of gun owners. Push for red flag laws, which would prevent firearms from landing in the hands of violent criminals and domestic abusers. Promote gun safety education in Texas public schools, like our own Kempner High School and Pearland High School, to prevent the unspeakable tragedy of school shootings. Push to close the loophole that allows individuals to buy guns without a background check from an unlicensed dealer at a gun show. Promote safe gun storage practices. All firearms must be properly secured for owner protection, and the safety of any children in the home. Retirement Security People who have worked their entire lives and paid in to Medicare and Social Security should be able to retire in dignity, without being forced to pay for the fiscal irresponsibility of Washington. Under the current Administration, the deficit has exploded to over $1 trillion. In order to pay for this unprecedented debt expansion, cuts to Medicare and Social Security for middle class retirees have been proposed. This is an immoral transfer of wealth away from the middle class and should be opposed. Education “My father was a professor. He taught me that there is no gift better than an education.” People live in this community because of the quality education we have. A thriving education system is essential for a competitive economy, and we need to guarantee that every child has access to a quality education, regardless of zip code or socioeconomic background. Relying on virtual learning is a burden on so many families, but we can’t send our children back to school unless we can promise them a safe environment to learn. We should be relying on expert health opinions to make these decisions, not political ideologies. In Congress, I will: Push for investments in community colleges, such as the Houston Community College Southwest, to increase accessibility and quality. Advocate for increased investment in historically black colleges and universities Expand and invest in vocational training programs, such as TX-22’s own Living Word Pharmacy Technician school and the Texas School of Continuing Education. Support student debt relief plans such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Sri’s Covid-19 Education Plan Increased PPE and testing for public schools across the country, so our nation’s public educators can stay safe. Push for greater funding for digital learning services to make online learning a possibility for immunocompromised families. POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY PLATFORM While we respect good police officers who are doing their best to protect our communities, our policing system is long overdue for change. Police abuse and systemic racism have plagued communities for far too long. We cannot pretend to be blind to such a flawed system, and the time for change is now. We must develop and implement bold policies that hold the police accountable to the communities they serve, and we must end policies that serve as shields for racism and violence. We cannot lose another Black life because of police brutality. CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF POLICE MISCONDUCT Federal law currently states that to charge and convict police for killing or harming an individual, prosecutors have to prove willful intent on the part of the police officer to kill or harm the victim. But proving willful intent from police officers can be extremely difficult, if not impossible. There are thousands of victims of police brutality who have never received the justice they deserve. We must allow officers to be prosecuted if they kill or harm someone who is acting with “reckless disregard”. We must stop officers from getting away with crimes while doing their job poorly. ENDING QUALIFIED IMMUNITY​ In the past, courts have given police officers broad immunity from being sued if they have violated the constitutional rights of an individual, a phenomenon known as qualified immunity. The moral and legal standard for our nation’s police forces can not be lower than that for the average American. No one in our country should ever be above the law, regardless of holding a badge or title. We must end qualified immunity and make it easier for plaintiffs to recover damages against police officers that violate their rights. MODIFYING NO-KNOCK WARRANTS On March 13, police shot and killed innocent 26-year-old Breonna Taylor after using a battering ram to break down her door and exchanging fire with Taylor’s boyfriend. The police were executing a search warrant for a drug case involving two completely separate individuals but broke down Taylor’s door because they believed the men were receiving packages at her apartment. No-knock warrants violate the rights of innocent Americans to live without fear. We can’t allow more lives, like Breonna Taylor, to be lost due to the negligence of the police. No-knock warrants should only be used if there is a credible threat of imminent harm or death. BAN CHOKEHOLDS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL​ George Floyd died after a police officer placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Restraint tactics that kill innocent civilians like George Floyd need to be banned from our nation’s police forces. Police chokeholds, which impede victims’ ability to breathe, must be banned immediately. CREATE A NATIONAL REGISTRY FOR MISCONDUCT BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS​ Right now, there’s currently very little data available to other police departments about misconduct among officers, making it difficult to identify past offenders and ensure that they don’t receive jobs in new departments. We must create a national misconduct registry that would enable local police departments to make informed hiring decisions and prevent dangerous police officers from shifting departments—and brutalizing innocent civilians in other cities. Moreover, there is no transparency regarding how often officers are using force to restrain civilians. States must be required to report the use of force to the Justice Department and law enforcement agencies must be made aware of how often police are using force. This data will allow the federal government to determine which departments are excessively forceful—holding police officers and their departments accountable for their actions. Registries like these are crucial: not just to hold our law enforcement officers accountable, but to make informed policy decisions for the future. PROMOTE INDEPENDENT REVIEW BOARDS​ None of these rules will make a difference if they aren’t enforced. If we allow police departments to police themselves, we create a recipe for corruption. As we’ve seen time and time again, police brutality is often covered up by police departments in an effort to avoid punishment and justice. State attorneys general should be encouraged and offered resources to create an independent review process to investigate misconduct or excessive use of force in their local police departments. DEMAND RACIAL BIAS & DE-ESCALATION TRAINING​ Police brutality affects Black lives the most. That is why we have to institute national standard for racial bias training for police officers. Racial bias training is aimed at forcing law enforcement officers to recognize their own explicit and implicit biases — and how these attitudes affect the way they respond in different situations. In addition to requiring it at the federal level, funding for state and local police should be withheld if police forces refuse to commit to implementing racial bias training programs. We must also train our officers in safer de-escalation techniques and require officers to use deadly force only as a last resort. MAKE LYNCHING A FEDERAL CRIME​ In addition to discussions of police brutality, we must also recognize the rise in modern-day lynchings, such as that of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man killed by two white neighbors while jogging. Even though lynching has taken innocent Black lives for centuries, there remains no law on the books classifying lynchings as a federal crime. EXPAND THE USE OF BODY AND DASHBOARD CAMERAS​ Federal officers must be required to use body cameras and dashboard cameras. Local and state law enforcement should have federal funding withheld if they refuse to implement body and dashboard cameras. To receive federal funding, police departments must be required to have body cameras on at all times and keep footage readily accessible. Officers who refuse to turn their body and dashboard cameras should be punished and dismissed. LIMIT THE TRANSFER OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT TO LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS Military equipment, such as armored vehicles and drones, do not belong on America’s streets. The military should not be able to distribute excess equipment to local law enforcement agencies. Additionally, local law enforcement agencies should not be able to purchase military grade equipment for use on our streets. ANTI-RACISM We are fighting two vicious diseases simultaneously in America right now: COVID-19 and systemic racism. Protests have emerged across the country after the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breona Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless more that were not captured on tape. The nation is crying out for justice. We are crying out with them. We must stand as proud allies of the Black community. We should educate ourselves in the history of systemic racism in this country. We should celebrate Black lives, Black businesses, and Black culture. We should support organizations that fight for racial equality and justice. Resisting Nationalism and Fascism “My path to Congress started while I was serving overseas, when I saw rising bigotry and division at home, exemplified by the Muslim Ban, the Charlottesville Nazi rallies, and Roy Moore’s campaign. I came home to stand up for the America that my parents raised me to believe in. A country that rejects sexism, racism, Islamophobia, or any kind of prejudice, and where anyone can worship and live in peace, regardless of gender, race, or creed.” Sectarian nationalism has no place in a pluralistic democracy. No one should ever face discrimination based on religion, race, or gender. Naturalized citizens should never face bigotry based on country of origin, and all citizens should have an equal right to participate in democracy, especially our elections. At the same time, no foreign governments or organizations should be allowed to interfere with U.S. elections. This campaign has the support of many immigrant communities, including Indian-Americans, Chinese-Americans, and Pakistani-Americans, but it does not accept support from any foreign entities, nor is it connected to or influenced by any foreign organizations, such as RSS, CCP, or their affiliates. This campaign is based on American principles and values, including that all people are created equal with inalienable rights, we support human rights for all people anywhere in the world, and we oppose all terrorism, both foreign and domestic. Our goal is to build the most inclusive grassroots campaign in the country. We are proud to have had more Hindu, Muslim, and AAPI volunteers than any other Congressional campaign in Texas history. We will continue to engage and encourage all communities to become more involved in our elections, so that everyone has a voice in our democracy. COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated many communities—and TX-22 is no exception. This is a scary and uncertain time for our community. We need our leaders to step up and protect us—from this virus and the resulting economic downturn. Our campaign takes COVID-19 very seriously. We’ve suspended all in-person campaign events and we’re now working to turn TX-22 blue from home. Beating this virus takes sacrifice, selflessness and responsibility, but I know we can do it. We wanted to share with you what we know about COVID-19 and what I think needs to be done. What We Know about Beating COVID-19 Masks work. Studies estimate that masks can save up to 70,000 lives. Wear a mask or facial covering when you’re going out and stay 6 feet away from others. We can all help protect our communities by staying home as much as possible, washing our hands often (and for at least 20 seconds!), and contacting health care providers immediately if you have symptoms like fever, cough, or shortness of breath. What Our Community Needs: Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation—more than 650k Texans have lost their insurance during COVID-19. We need to protect the Affordable Care Act and expand healthcare programs like medicaid and medicare. No one should forego medical treatment due to the fear of financial ruin. Job-generating small businesses are struggling because of the pandemic. We need to give them access to capital and loans, and a start-up tax credit to help small businesses scale up quickly. By supporting small businesses, we can infuse resources into our local communities and help everyone prosper. This pandemic is affecting low-income communities of color especially hard. Our state and federal governments need to sustain stimulus relief programs and unemployment insurance. Families are suffering now, which means we need to provide them with relief quickly. Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, will be vital to controlling this pandemic. We need to guarantee our frontline workers—such as doctors and nurses—have the protection they need by funding the production and distribution of PPE. We also must increase access to ventilators. Testing must be free and readily accessible to all Texans. Action must be taken to reduce delays in reporting test results. When a vaccine arrives, it must be available for all, not just those who can afford it. Our government should work to make sure at-risk communities and frontline workers receive the vaccine as soon as possible. Nobody should be in the dark about this pandemic due to language barriers. We need to invest in multilingual literature about COVID-19, its symptoms, and how to remain safe. Flooding Platform “My family lost our car, almost lost our lives, and had to sleep on a stranger’s floor when we were stranded by flooding. We need to start acting proactively to prevent these tragedies.” Our community is no stranger to severe weather and flooding. And as climate change makes natural disasters—such as Hurricane Harvey—more frequent and serious, we must protect our community by strengthening infrastructure, expanding relief policies, and implementing smarter detection tools. This plan would include: Hurricane Harvey flooded at least 900 levee-protected homes in Fort Bend. We need to strengthen the 20 levees in Fort Bend, and identify new areas that require drainage infrastructure. Expediting the distribution of Harvey relief funding and streamlining the relief funding process Invest in larger storm sewers and pumps in the Katy area, specifically around the Brazos river Coordinate with local governments to ensure proper implementation of flood mitigation projects, such as Katy’s Patna Drive drainage improvement project and the Pitts Road Detention Pond Revising the floodplain maps Devising and installing a system for coastal surge protection Incentivizing public-private partnerships for flood mitigation projects Expand affordable, quality flood insurance plans; streamline the flood insurance application process	”
—Sri Preston Kulkarni’s campaign website (2020)

2018

Campaign website

Kulkarni’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Education The United States should invest in higher education so that all students are able to graduate from a public university, college, or vocational school debt free. We will push to provide adequate resources to our primary and secondary schools for all students, including those with special needs, difficult home situations, and linguistics barriers. The Department of Education should not be encouraging the depletion of those resources through voucher programs. The federal, state, and local governments should partner in a way to provide enough flexibility for school boards to implement needed changes, while the state and federal government share best practices in social and emotional student support systems. The federal government should also spur innovation, especially in use of technology and teacher training. Disaster Relief The United States must have an adequate disaster response system that treats victims with compassion and decency. In a year in which we saw the highest damage due to natural disasters in history, the response by the administration to flooding in Texas was incompetent, and Congress prioritized tax cuts over disaster relief. FEMA should be funded adequately to deal with the victims of these disasters. “We are not first responders” is not an acceptable answer when victims are out of their homes for months. Residents must have better information about the risks of the areas they live in, the federal government must have better services for victims, and constituents must have better representatives in Congress who prioritize disaster relief, do not spread misinformation about evacuations, and don’t avoid town halls with victims. Universal Health Care America must have a truly universal health care system, which brings down costs and ensures that no one suffers or dies simply because they cannot afford healthcare. We will advocate for a single payer system, such as Medicare for all, to achieve this goal. The United States spends almost one fifth of its GDP on health care, more than any other developed nation by a large margin, and achieves worse average outcomes. Many procedures cost twice or more here as they do in other developed countries like Israel, the UK, and Canada, where life expectancy is higher. Costs are rising too quickly and the recent changes to weaken Obamacare passed by Congress will only accelerate this problem. A universal health care system will not only ensure that every citizen has access to health care, but will also be cheaper for everyone. Universal healthcare must also include access to women’s reproductive health services, contraceptives, and vaccines for diseases such as HPV, which leads to over 40,000 cases of cervical cancer a year. Members of Congress who vote on laws that affect the reproductive health of their constituents should have an understanding of basic biology. Economic Inequality American workers must receive a wage that they can live on. We will fight to guarantee that no Texan who works full time is unable to afford basic needs, like food or housing. We also deserve a taxation system that can fund necessary public services and provide incentives for creating middle class jobs, instead of simply increasing economic inequality. Congress recently passed the most unpopular tax cut in history, adding $1.5 trillion to our national debt, the interest on which will be paid for by cutting government services, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. A tax cut that primarily benefits those making more than $700,000 in a year when the stock market is already hitting record highs is unnecessary and unfair to the middle class. Our trade deals should be contingent upon maintaining high labor and environmental standards. Criminal Justice Reform Our current mass incarceration is ineffective and inhumane, and we will introduce legislation to reform it. We have the largest prison population in the world, with more than 2.3 million people incarcerated at any one time and more than 11 million jail imprisonments every year, many for being too poor to pay a fine. Even as overall crime has decreased, the prison system has grown, destroying families of the incarcerated, and impacting our entire society through a huge loss of productivity and increase in the burden on public services. In addition to a system of rehabilitation which actually addresses the root problems of violence, America also needs a new approach to the 47-year failed War on Drugs. We waste more resources, with worse results, than countries who have taken a medical approach to the issue of drug addiction. By treating a medical issue with a medical solution, not a law enforcement solution, we can reduce our drug addiction rate, take revenue directly away from organized crime, and free up resources for police to reduce violent crime. Climate Change Our government must base its environmental policy on evidence not ideology, and accept the overwhelming consensus among scientific experts that human activity is causing climate change. We will hold government agencies that do not accept scientific consensus accountable. As weather anomalies and natural disasters increase, there will be massive disruptions to economic and political systems, including massive new numbers of refugees from areas affected. We must recommit to addressing this problem as a global issue. The United States has always been a leader in energy production, and as the demand for fossil fuels decreases, we should not cede the renewable energy innovation space to other countries, such as China. America must continue to invest in renewable energy sources which will provide power and good jobs for middle class Americans. We should also look at an evidence-based approaches to mitigating our emissions, including innovations in land usage, agriculture, and waste disposal which will have major impacts on emissions going forward. Immigration Reform Congress must pass a clean DREAM Act as soon as possible, to address the situation of millions of children who have who have grown up in the United States without a legal status. This should not be a partisan issue, as 91% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans favor a pathway to citizenship, if certain conditions are met. Congress must also pass a comprehensive immigration reform which is sensible and compassionate, and takes into account the practical realities of maintaining security along 2,000 mile border with Mexico, the demands of American farms and companies for migrant labor, and the need for highly skilled workers from other countries, without undercutting American labor or lowering labor standards. Our immigration policy must provide funding for adequate border security, punishment for employers who do not adhere to U.S. labor standards, a legal route for migrant workers to supply their labor and return across the border, and a reduction in the red tape and complications for highly skilled workers to come to the U.S. We must also acknowledge that there is a global refugee crisis which will create more instability and conditions for fostering terrorism if the international community does not equitably share the burden of resettling and assimilating refugees. America must do its part to deal with this refugee crisis. Veterans and National Defense The United States must prioritize people over pork barrel spending. We should base our funding decisions in decency, and provide adequate care for Veterans before funding expensive projects that mainly benefit large contractors. The military investments of the future must be focused on the areas where we have the most vulnerability. First and foremost, American must invest in greater cybersecurity. From hacking of our financial systems to interference in our elections, the US remains more vulnerable to attacks online by malicious actors than any other kind of threat. We must conduct serious and thorough investigations into how the Russian government interfered in our most recent elections and take steps to identify and neutralize such interference by hostile powers in the future. We must also use all available resources to identify and disrupt terrorist networks before they are able to launch attacks on the United States or its allies. This includes forcefully rejecting any American leaders’ demonization of specific faiths, which can be used to increase recruitment for terrorism.	”
—Sri Preston Kulkarni’s campaign website (2018)

See also

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Footnotes

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New York's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

Chuck Schumer (D)

Representatives

District 1

Nicholas LaLota (R)

District 2

Andrew Garbarino (R)

District 3

Tom Suozzi (D)

District 4

Laura Gillen (D)

District 5

Gregory Meeks (D)

District 6

Grace Meng (D)

District 7

Nydia Velazquez (D)

District 8

Hakeem Jeffries (D)

District 9

Yvette Clarke (D)

District 10

Daniel Goldman (D)

District 11

Nicole Malliotakis (R)

District 12

Jerrold Nadler (D)

District 13

Adriano Espaillat (D)

District 14

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D)

District 15

Ritchie Torres (D)

District 16

George Latimer (D)

District 17

Michael Lawler (R)

District 18

Pat Ryan (D)

District 19

Josh Riley (D)

District 20

Paul Tonko (D)

District 21

Elise Stefanik (R)

District 22

John Mannion (D)

District 23

Nick Langworthy (R)

District 24

Claudia Tenney (R)

District 25

Joseph Morelle (D)

District 26

Tim Kennedy (D)

Democratic Party (21)

Republican Party (7)