Two powerful and established Democrat legislators in New York will face Primary challenges from young Bangladeshi-Americans in the upcoming 2020 elections.
Shaniyat Chowdhury, a 27-year-old Marine veteran and political organiser from Queens, New York, is launching a bid to challenge US representative in Congress Gregory Meeks, while Mary Jobaida of Long Island City, a progressive Democrat, has thrown her hat in the ring against State Assembly’s deputy speaker Catherine Nolan.
Shaniyat Chowdhury worked for firebrand Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the last elections, when she unseated senior Congressman Joe Crowley, and hopes to pull off a similar victory against Representative Meeks who is the chief of Democratic Party in Queens.
“We don’t have to wait our turns,” Chowdhury told the local media in an interview, adding, “The district has the opportunity to be one of the most progressive seats in the country, but currently it’s being wasted on a corporatist that hasn’t represented our interests in a very, very long time.”
Chowdhury, the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, has served in the US marine Corps, is a rugby player and currently works as a bartender at a Jazz club.
He faces a tough battle against Representative Meeks, who has a strong donor network and the support of his own African-American community but hopes to run on a campaign similar to Ocasio-Cortez by challenging the status quo.
Mary Jobaida is up against Catherine Nolan, who has been in the State assembly for 35 years and has not faced a democratic primary challenger in the last 10 years.
“Make no mistake, we are challenging a status quo here,” she said in her campaign launch statement.
“Having only one name to choose from on a local ballot is not what true democracy looks like,” she added.
Jobaida, a mother of three children, works as an outreach specialist for Urban Health Plan, a Bronx-based medical practice and is a graduate of the prestigious New York University.
She is running on the progressive message of --government for all, medicare for all, tuition-free university—socialist democratic themes made popular by the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016.
Bangladeshi-Americans are emerging as strong political voices in many parts of the country and a progressive agenda fuelled by the success of candidates like Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar has been inspiring for many. But in terms of political muscle they still have an uphill task.
Both these young candidates are getting strong support from the Bangladeshi community and have the background and resume that appeals to progressive voters. Yet, these alone may not be enough to push them across the finishing line.
They will have to find support in the Hispanic and African-American communities, who have a sizeable vote, and run an innovative and powerful campaign to pose a serious challenge.