Tech Entrepreneur Jennifer Davis Seeks Illinois House Seat With Focus on India, Immigration and AI

Chicago — Republican congressional candidate Jennifer Davis is seeking to bring decades of experience in technology, entrepreneurship and business ties with India to Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, where she is running for the seat being vacated by Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Davis, a first-time candidate, grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and later studied education, Russian history and English at university. While still in college, she and her husband started a technology company that eventually grew to hundreds of employees and developed substantial operations in India.

The company opened an office in Kolkata in 2002 before later moving operations to Hyderabad. Davis said the company ultimately employed about 240 people at the time it was sold to private equity in 2019, with an estimated 300 to 400 people working for the business over its history.

Her experience operating in India became a major part of her professional life.

“I really fell in love with the culture when we started to go to India,” Davis said.

She said Indians made up a majority of the company’s employees and recalled helping workers and their families relocate to the United States, including meeting them at airports and assisting them as they settled into new communities.

Davis remained involved with the company in an operating role until January 2023 and served on its board until April 2025.

Her decision to enter politics began taking shape in early 2025. Davis, who has 10 children and seven grandchildren, said the departure of eight of her children from Illinois heightened her concerns about taxes, politics and economic opportunities for younger generations.

“You have two choices when you complain about something: you either need to be quiet or do something about it,” she said.

Krishnamoorthi’s decision to leave the House seat created an opening for Davis, who said her background makes her well suited to address issues including artificial intelligence, data centers, blockchain and immigration.

Her campaign priorities include affordability, government debt and technology policy.

Davis has also proposed what she calls a “Digital Dome,” a policy concept aimed at protecting families from online threats. She argued that while the United States has extensive military defenses, families remain vulnerable to threats entering their homes through phones and other digital devices.

“Our bedrooms and our, you know, our phones are being invaded every single day by predators,” Davis said.

She also said Congress needs more lawmakers with direct technology experience as policymakers confront the rapid growth of AI and other emerging technologies.

Davis has offered a favorable assessment of Krishnamoorthi despite their party differences.

“Raja’s represented me for the last decade, and I feel like he’s represented the district very well,” she said.

Davis said she met with mayors across the district after deciding to run and asked them what Krishnamoorthi had done well and where they believed improvements could be made.

“Regardless of what the letter is behind his name, if he did a good job serving the people, then that’s what I should, you know, that’s the thing I should emulate,” she said.

Immigration is another major focus of Davis’ campaign, particularly given the district’s sizable Indian American population.

“What’s going on right now with the H-1Bs is really hard and not really fair,” she said.

Davis also said international students face difficulties moving from student status into employment in the United States.

“There is not a good transition from a student visa to the work permits,” she said. “We have to create a really strong pathway to citizenship for people who want to create an American dream.”

She said Indian Americans have demonstrated the contributions immigrants can make through entrepreneurship, education and civic engagement.

Davis also said she would not automatically support every policy advanced by President Donald Trump.

“To me, I think that the things that he does well, we should support, and the things that we disagree with, we should disagree with,” she said.

She said she was pleased with tighter border enforcement but dissatisfied with the broader direction of immigration policy.

If elected, Davis said her preferred congressional committee assignments would include Small Business, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services.

She cited her experience with entrepreneurs, technology, energy demand from AI and data centers, and blockchain as reasons those committees would align with her background.

Davis said she has knocked on thousands of doors and made thousands of calls during the campaign. She is also conducting a 211-mile “Ride the Line Bike Tour” along the boundaries of the district to draw attention to gerrymandering.

The race pits Davis against Democrat Melissa Bean for the open seat. Bean previously served in the U.S. House from 2005 to 2011.

For Davis, the campaign is an effort to turn a career built around technology, India, immigration and entrepreneurship into her first elected office. (Source: IANS)