LOWELL, MA –Beej Das, Democratic candidate for US Congress from Massachusetts third Congressional District, announced that he has raised $425,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017, his campaign’s first fundraising quarter, and that his campaign currently has $550,000 cash on hand.
Mr. Das is the first Indian-American to run for US House of Representative from Massachusetts. He faces about a dozen Democratic candidates in the primary. If he wins, Mr. Das will replace Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, who is retiring. Primary will be held on Sept. 18, 2018.
Major towns in the Third Congressional district includes 37 towns including Lowell, Lawrence, Andover, Chelmsford, Sudbury and Marlborough among others. Mr. Das is the only South Asian in the race.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the number of individuals who believe in my campaign enough to support it financially,” said Das. “I’m particularly proud that more than half of our donations in the fourth quarter are small donations under $200. We were determined to raise the necessary funds for a competitive race that will allow us to run a grassroots campaign and meet as many voters as possible. ”
In an earlier interview with INDIA New England News, Mr. Das said that the primary will be a very competitive race but he is likely to win because he is a disruptive candidate.
Mr. Das said his top priorities will be economic development, healthcare, immigration reform, improving education system, tax reforms and promoting women’s rights.
Mr. Das is a constitutional lawyer by training and an entrepreneur, who founded a hospitality company that owns and manages Troca Hotels.
From Pike School in Andover, Mr. Das went to Brooks School in North Andover, and UMass Lowell before graduating with Political Science degree from Middlebury College in Vermont. He worked with several Boston law firms and later as a hotel developer, first with Hilton Worldwide, then with his own company, Troca Hotels, in Tyngsboro, MA, according to his official website.
His parents immigrated to United States from India in the 1960’s and together they studied as foreign students and both received their Ph.D.s at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
