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Jayapal announces re-election bid in Seattle
Jayapal, a leading progressive Democrat and former Congressional Progressive Caucus chair, has represented Seattle’s 7th Congressional District since 2017.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 09, May 2026
- 13:05 EDT
- 75
Pramila Jayapal / FB / Pramila Jayapal
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal filed to run for re-election in Washington’s 7th Congressional District on May 9, launching her campaign targeting President Donald Trump and corporate influence in politics.
“Today is the filing deadline – and yes, the paperwork is in! I’m officially running for re-election to continue fighting for Seattle’s working families in Congress,” Jayapal said in a social media post.
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The Democrat accused Trump and his “right-wing billionaire allies” of exploiting working-class Americans, saying their “power, and their profits, depend on the continued exploitation of poor and working people across the country.”
Today is the filing deadline — and yes, the paperwork is in! I’m officially running for re-election to continue fighting for Seattle’s working families in Congress.
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) May 8, 2026
Donald Trump and his right-wing billionaire allies are determined to stop our movement. Their power, and their… pic.twitter.com/ZoeYSNDc8Y
In a video statement released alongside her filing announcement, Jayapal said she was running because “power belongs to the people and not to a wannabe king.”
“We need leaders in Congress who stick to their values, who don't hedge when real lives are at stake,” she said.
Jayapal also highlighted her refusal to accept corporate PAC money, saying that when she first ran for Congress she was “one of only four members who vowed never to take corporate PAC money.” She said she had built coalitions of working people and taken on “billionaires and the giant corporations who are profiting off of our labor and our pain.”
The congresswoman said her campaign would continue to focus on immigrant rights, human rights, economic justice, gender justice, and universal health care.
“I’m running for Congress because I believe in the power of the people,” Jayapal said. “Our democracy is on the line, our futures are on the line, so let’s do this together.”
Jayapal has represented the Seattle-area district since 2017 and is one of the most prominent progressive Democrats in Congress. She previously served as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus from 2021 to 2025 and remains active in its leadership as chair emerita and co-chair of the caucus’ political action committee.
Born in Chennai, India, Jayapal became the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and is among a small number of naturalized citizens serving in Congress. Before entering electoral politics, she was a longtime immigrant-rights organizer in Seattle and founded the advocacy group Hate Free Zone, later renamed OneAmerica, following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Jayapal first won the seat in 2016 after defeating fellow Democrat Brady Walkinshaw in an all-Democrat general election following the retirement of longtime Congressman Jim McDermott.
She currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she has focused on immigration, civil rights, and international affairs. She is also the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.
The election for Washington’s 7th Congressional District seat will take place on Nov. 3, with the state’s nonpartisan top-two primary scheduled for Aug. 4.
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