Suneel Gupta

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Suneel Gupta

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 7, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan, Dearborn

Graduate

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Law

Northwestern Law School

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal website

Personal Twitter

Suneel Gupta (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 11th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 7, 2018.

Biography

Gupta earned a B.S. in computer programming from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, an M.B.A. from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, and a J.D. from Northwestern Law School. Gupta has worked in the following positions: Rise – founder & CEO, Groupon - VP of product development, Mozilla – director of product development, MI Democratic coordinated campaign - field operations, Clinton White House - press office.

Elections

2018

See also: Michigan's 11th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

Haley Stevens defeated Lena Epstein, Leonard Schwartz, and Cooper Nye in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 11 on November 6, 2018.

General election

General election for U.S. House Michigan District 11

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Haley Stevens (D)	51.8	181,912
		Lena Epstein (R)	45.2	158,463
		Leonard Schwartz (L)	1.7	5,799
		Cooper Nye (Independent)	1.3	4,727

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 350,901 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Haley Stevens defeated Tim Greimel, Suneel Gupta, Fayrouz Saad, and Nancy Skinner in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 11 on August 7, 2018.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 11

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Haley Stevens	27.0	24,309
		Tim Greimel	21.8	19,673
		Suneel Gupta	21.4	19,250
		Fayrouz Saad	19.4	17,499
		Nancy Skinner	10.4	9,407

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 90,138
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dan Haberman (D)

Republican primary election

Lena Epstein defeated Rocky Raczkowski, Mike Kowall, Klint Kesto, and Kerry Bentivolio in the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 11 on August 7, 2018.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 11

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lena Epstein	30.9	26,925
		Rocky Raczkowski	25.5	22,216
		Mike Kowall	18.4	16,011
		Klint Kesto	14.0	12,213
		Kerry Bentivolio	11.3	9,831

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 87,196
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kurt Heise (R)
• Kristine Bonds (R)

Endorsements

Click here to see a list of endorsements in the Democratic primary

Democratic primary endorsements Endorsement Date Greimel Gupta Haberman Saad Stevens Individuals Hillary Clinton August 5, 2018 ✔ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez July 30, 2018 ✔ Former U.S. Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich.) March 6, 2018 ✔ Former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) February 22, 2018 ✔ U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) November 20, 2017 ✔ Former U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) November 2, 2017 ✔ Organizations The Detroit Free Press July 27, 2018 ✔ The Detroit News July 12, 2018 ✔ American Federation of Government Employees July 12, 2018 ✔ Indian American Impact Fund July 10, 2018 ✔ Detroit Regional Chamber June 28, 2018 ✔ Michigan AFL-CIO June 18, 2018 ✔ AFSCME Council 25 June 6, 2018 ✔ Service Employees International Union Michigan State Council April 6, 2018 ✔ United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951 April 6, 2018 ✔ International Association of Machinists April 6, 2018 ✔ Communications Workers of America April 6, 2018 ✔ Women Under Forty Political Action Committee March 29, 2018 ✔ American Federation of Teachers-Michigan March 27, 2018 ✔ National Organization for Women March 6, 2018 ✔ National Education Association February 14, 2018 ✔ Democracy for America January 25, 2018 ✔ Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council November 9, 2017 ✔ Detroit Building Trades November 9, 2017 ✔ Michigan Maritime Trade Port Council November 9, 2017 ✔ Michigan Teamsters Joint Council #43 September 13, 2017 ✔ 314 Action Unknown ✔ Common Defense Unknown ✔ Justice Democrats Unknown ✔ AAPI Victory Fund Unknown ✔

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Tim Greimel	Democratic Party	$1,018,678	$1,016,016	$2,662	As of December 31, 2018
Suneel Gupta	Democratic Party	$1,482,709	$1,478,979	$3,730	As of December 31, 2018
Fayrouz Saad	Democratic Party	$769,824	$764,190	$4,875	As of September 30, 2018
Nancy Skinner	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Haley Stevens	Democratic Party	$4,199,607	$4,184,089	$15,518	As of December 31, 2018
Kerry Bentivolio	Republican Party	$37,274	$34,656	$1,017	As of December 31, 2018
Lena Epstein	Republican Party	$2,723,099	$2,675,140	$47,958	As of December 31, 2018
Klint Kesto	Republican Party	$649,799	$649,799	$0	As of October 15, 2018
Mike Kowall	Republican Party	$325,931	$325,931	$0	As of September 30, 2018
Rocky Raczkowski	Republican Party	$241,810	$241,910	$0	As of December 31, 2018
Leonard Schwartz	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Cooper Nye	Independent	$6,877	$6,877	$0	As of November 16, 2018
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Campaign themes

2018

Gupta’s campaign website stated the following:

“	AFFORDABLE, QUALITY HEALTHCARE FOR ALL At a time when Donald Trump wants to cut Medicare by over $500B, I’m the candidate in this race with hands-on healthcare experience who has stood up to the pharmaceutical companies who are ripping off families and seniors - and I will fight him every step of the way. I will not rest until we acknowledge that living in the greatest country in the world comes with the responsibility to take care of our neighbors and to make healthcare a human right. That means: Using collective bargaining power to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Prioritizing the opioid epidemic, and holding the drug companies accountable. Acknowledging and investing in mental health care. A WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION FOR EVERY STUDENT Generations ago, America made a commitment to give every child the education they need to obtain a good-paying job. It’s time to restore that commitment. Betsy Devos has looted our education system, and let corporations siphon taxpayer money from our schools. I’m a proud product of Novi public schools, and the one candidate in this race with a STEM education. I’ve created thousands of good-paying jobs, and can advocate for the resources teachers and students need to prepare our kids for a changing economy. That means: Preventing for-profit charter schools from receiving a single dime of tax-payer money. Reducing crushing student loan debt for parents and students. Empowering every student to pursue higher education or community college, and making it impossible to work full-time and still feel poor. A RETURN TO DECENCY In Donald Trump’s America, we’re being divided into two camps, and pitted against each other every day. But in this country, we are better than that. We know that decency and strength are not opposing values. We can have both. I’m a lifelong progressive who has fought special interest groups, created jobs, and delivered healthcare to working families. I’m also the son of Ford Motor Company’s first female engineer, and the father of two little girls, ages 1 and 5. I want to see them grow up in a world that feels safe and empowering for women. That means: Preventing the use of tax-payer money to sweep bad behavior underneath the rug. Demanding that women receive equal pay for equal work, and access to affordable child care and family leave. Fighting tooth-and-nail for common-sense gun legislation, and reversing the tide of Citizens United so that the NRA and large corporations can no longer drown out the voices of families.	”
—Suneel Gupta’s campaign website (2018)

Ballotpedia biographical submission form

The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:

“	What is your political philosophy? I was born and raised in the 11th District. I went to Novi public schools. I washed dishes at Salvatore Scallopini and went to U of M Dearborn. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Michigan values that shaped my life: compassion towards others, to be grateful for what you have, to work hard, to take personal responsibility. And if you see something in the world that you don’t like, don’t stay on the sidelines. Get involved. In Michigan in recent years we haven’t always done the best in creating jobs and preparing ourselves for what’s next and that’s something I learned how to do in building successful businesses and in creating jobs in the new economy in the tech and healthcare fields. I believe what’s important is that we have a Congressperson who understands how the economy works, and what it’s like to be in a family that’s hard hit. That person should be able to prove that they can bring real results to the district. I’m that person. I’ve helped create 1,000s of good paying jobs and have balanced budgets. I want to fight for better jobs, better wages, and better skills for the 11th.	”
—Suneel Gupta

See also

• United States House of Representatives
• Michigan's 11th Congressional District election, 2018
• Michigan's 11th Congressional District

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Campaign website

Footnotes

[show]

Michigan's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Gary Peters (D)

Elissa Slotkin (D)

Representatives

District 1

Jack Bergman (R)

District 2

John Moolenaar (R)

District 3

Hillary Scholten (D)

District 4

Bill Huizenga (R)

District 5

Tim Walberg (R)

District 6

Debbie Dingell (D)

District 7

Tom Barrett (R)

District 8

Kristen Rivet (D)

District 9

Lisa McClain (R)

District 10

John James (R)

District 11

Haley Stevens (D)

District 12

Rashida Tlaib (D)

District 13

Shri Thanedar (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (7)