STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) – Back in August, Wisconsin was introduced to a U.S. Senate candidate that many consider to be a long shot to defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Rejani Raveendran, a 40-year-old college student and chair of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Republicans, was the first GOP candidate to enter the race after high-profile elected officials such as Rep. Tom Tiffany and Rep. Mike Gallagher chose to run for reelection for their Congressional seats instead.
Raveendran immigrated to the United States in 2011 from India and became a U.S. citizen in 2015 while she was living in California before moving to Wisconsin in 2017. She is currently enrolled at UW-Stevens Point and plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a certificate in international relations in 2024.
When speaking to WSAU about claims that she isn’t a viable candidate, Raveendran pushed back, stating that the voters decide, not big-money donors and influencers, saying, “Everyone is viable to step up to make a change in our nation, save our country from falling further down, so viability comes not by money, not by influence, but instead by the people of Wisconsin who will choose.”
Raveendran also laid out what she what legislative priorities she would have in D.C. if elected, saying, “From securing the border to saving our children from sexual mutilation and woke agenda, introducing and passing bills to protect children from sex trafficking, fighting against grooming, supporting the right to life and medical freedom, and I will work with the President and the Congress to end the war in Ukraine.”
When asked what separates herself from more well-known candidates such as businessman Eric Hovde, Raveendran stated that she is a true outsider looking to bring change, saying, “I have the perspective of the regular person and I’m not a career politician, a millionaire, businesswoman, and I don’t have any government experience or the background. I am just a person you can see in the street and I can relate to all of you and am one of you.”
The primary for the U.S. Senate race will be on August 13, 2024, and the GOP nominee will officially face Baldwin on election day November 5, 2024.
