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Jay Vaingankar launches first congressional campaign video ad
Vaingankar noted that his campaign video was funded by everyday people, not super PACs.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Fri, 15, May 2026
- 04:05 EDT
- 30
Congressional candidate Jay Vaingankar / Jay Vaingankar via Instagram
Indian American Democrat Jay Vaingankar launched his first advertisement for his bid to represent New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. Congress.
Airing the ad on May 14, Vaingankar highlighted that his ad is being “funded by everyday people, not a bunch of super PACs.”
In the ad, the 27-year-old Mercer County native describes his campaign as “people-powered.” Asking for votes, he said, “My opponents bought their way onto that debate stage.”
He continued, “But our campaign is people-powered. Because your democracy should belong to you.”
Vaingankar previously worked in former President Joe Biden’s Department of Energy. Having announced his campaign for the office on Dec. 8, 2025, he seeks to succeed longtime Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
The son of Indian immigrants, Vaingankar graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and worked on Biden’s successful 2020 campaign. After Biden won, he took a job in the Biden White House’s Office of Management and Administration. In 2022, Vaingankar shifted to become a policy adviser in the Energy Department, where he remained until Biden left office at the beginning of this year.
Also Read: Indian American Impact backs Jay Vaingankar for Congress
In the video, Vaingankar spotlights his roots in the city and his experience working for former President Biden, “fighting to lower energy costs for families like yours.”
He says, “Super PACs aren’t in this race to lower your bills or take on Trump. But I am.”
Vaingankar concludes, “My name is Jay Vaingankar, and I’m here to say New Jersey is not for sale. Say it with me on June 2.”
Our first ad is live! Funded by everyday people, not a bunch of super PACs.
— Jay Vaingankar for Jersey (@jayforjersey) May 14, 2026
Help me make sure every voter sees this the next 19 days by donating at the link in bio.
On June 2, let’s show the special interests that New Jersey is Not For Sale. pic.twitter.com/getlf9kdte
Vaingankar will face a long list of candidates vying for the office, including Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, D-Trenton; Somerset Commissioner Shanel Robinson, D-Franklin; East Windsor Mayor Brad Cohen; Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp; fitness studio owner Kyle Little; and former West Windsor mayoral candidate Sujit Singh.
His campaign is centered on addressing the everyday concerns of working- and middle-class families in New Jersey. He is focusing on lowering the cost of living, protecting and expanding access to health care and reproductive rights, building more affordable housing, modernizing the state’s aging rail infrastructure, and creating genuine economic opportunities so that every family has a fair shot at success.
His platform combines practical pocketbook issues with progressive social values, positioning himself as a people-focused candidate fighting against corporate influence and for tangible improvements in daily life.
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