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November 21st , 2024 Len’s Political Note #686 Kannan Srinivasan Virginia Senate District 32 Special Election
2025 Special Election
Kannan Srinivasan
Virginia Senate District 32
We look at special elections. They are important for themselves and they are clues to the future. We may look at a special election for a state senate seat, but think about Donald Trump. As votes are still being counted, we know better that Trump got less than 50% of the vote and his margin of victory in the popular vote will be among the closest in American history.
We are hoping to erase any sense of a Trump mandate to accompany his Electoral College victory. Can a state senate election help erase that mandate. Can a state senate election show us that Republicans have not eroded Democratic support? Those are good questions for a state senate special election where the stakes are pretty high.
Virginia’s state senate is closely divided. There were 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans. No longer. Now there are 20 Democrats and 19 Republicans. Suhas Subramanyam, the Democrat who ran successfully to replace the retiring Democrat Jennifer Wexton in Congress is no longer in the state senate.
On November 16, Virginia Republicans and Democrats chose their candidates for State Senate District 32. On January 7, 2025 the voters of Senate District 32 will choose their state senator. A Republican win would change control of the state senate. A 20-20 senate combined with a Republican Lt. Governor would help Governor Glenn Youngkin finish his term with control of the state senate and with leverage. Youngkin was elected to his single term as governor in 2021 (Virginia limits governors from running for a second continuous term) with hopes of becoming a national figure. That hope is diminished, but not extinguished.
Do Republicans have any hope at all of winning VASD32? Let’s answer that question with a question. Has Donald Trump changed the equation in the suburbs? VASD32 is based in Loudon County. Look at a map of Virginia. Virginia reaches a peak northwest of Washington DC. Southeast of that peak, there is a second, lower peak — Loudon County. VASD32 is a northeastern leaning rectangle within. Loudon County that does not quite reach the state border. The County, the Senate District are suburbs of Washington, DC. The Senate District is 64% white. The next largest group is Asian – 17%. The Democratic candidate to replace the new Congressman, Suhas Subramanyam, is Delegate (State Rep) Kannan Srinivasan. The Republican candidate is a Member of the Board of Supervisors, former teacher and education activist Tumay Harding.
Kennan Srinivasan is different from most politicians. Not that he is Indian-American. There are many Indian-American politicians. The demographics seem to be something like American Jews. More Democrats, but a noticeable number of Republicans.
Kennan Srinivasan is different because he does not tell his story. Not in his website. Not in interviews. Nothing I could find. He tells his story through his actions and his life. Kennan Srinivasan went to college in India. His two Bachelor Degrees, one from Madras University, the other from the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College are in business and commerce. He came to this country having been credentialed there as a chartered accountant.
In the US, in Virginia really, he earned a certificate from UVA’s business school in design thinking and a Master’s Degree from Old Dominion in accounting and cost management. Beginning in 1998, he spent 22 years, 20 of them as a Director, working for a firm that insured devices like your cell phone and mine. Having made enough to be a little adventurous, had became VP for Finance and Planning for the Jose Andres Group,
Jose Andres group was a restaurant business, but not only that. They say they have a mission: “To Change the World Through the Power of Food.” His connection with Jose Andres lasted less than four years. His interest in affecting the world preceded that connection. Also interested in politics, he participated in the University of Virginia’s Institute for Political Leadership’s Candidate Training Program.
In 2017, the Democratic governor appointed him as Chair of the Board that oversees Medicaid’s medical assistance services. Continuing his focus on medical issues, in 2018 he became a Member of the Board of the Heard and Vascular Institute of George Washington University’s medical school. In 2019, Kennan Srinivasan ran for County Treasurer and lost. In 2022, he ran to be a Delegate to the Virginia Assembly and won. In 2024, having amassed endorsements from Congressmen and Senators and from the state legislative leadership, he gained the Democratic nomination for state senate district 32.
A money guy? And a Democrat. Look at his campaign focus. His top issue is defending democracy. He wants to expand ballot access for voters and limit the influence of corporate lobbyists. And he does not mention Trump at all.
Substantive issues? First among them is healthcare. He expresses a special interest in ensuring that pediatric health care is addressed with minimal costs to families. He is interested in reducing prescription drug costs and expanding the availability of doctors. His plan for doctors is to allow physicians from other countries to be able to get provisional licenses.
Next up on his list of issues is reducing gun violence. He is an advocate for red flag laws and was part of a successful effort to criminalize selling, owning, or creating a device that can turn a device that can transform a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic one. He also argues for youth outreach and other community initiatives that can break a cycle of violence.
His Republican opponent, Tumay Harding, is a talker. A former sales executive, the daughter of Uzbek-Turkish immigrants, she has been battling the Loudon County schools for years. She earns some something for one battle. Her daughter and some friends complained of a teacher sexually harassing them, fondling them even. Harding’s complaint and other complaints about a rape and an assault by a student led to a publicized grand jury investigation that was critical of the school department’s communication about these incidents. The superintendent of the 80,000 pupil school district was fired after the report.
Tumay Harding is unlikely to broaden her support beyond the Republican base with her other views: “We will flip the Senate and usher in a pro-family, pro-business majority that will ensure Virginia remains the best state for business and becomes a better place to live and raise a family. I will fight to end the car and grocery taxes, eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, slash red tape, fix our broken energy policy, and keep our communities safe from crime and opioids.” This is especially the case since she was defeated in her run for Ashburn Supervisor by incumbent Mike Turner.
Kennan Srinivasan may need only a victory. We need more. In Loudon County, Trump received a higher percentage of the vote, 41%, than he had in 2020 (36%) or 2016 (38%). We need a victory that keeps Tumay Harding at 35% or below. We need a signal that Democrats are still strong in the suburbs. Help with that signal. DONATE to Kennan Srinivasan. Let’s win this seat convincingly.
Consider donations right now.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024. Jim Kitchens for Mississippi Supreme Court DONATE See Len’s Political note #685 https://justicekitchens.com
Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Kannan Srinivasan for Virginia Senate District 32 DONATE. Today’s Len’s Political Note #686
Tuesday, April 1 2025. Susan M. Crawford for Wisconsin Supreme Court DONATE See Len’s Political Note #684
