Kerala-born Peter Jacob, a newcomer candidate, has been taking on formidable Republican rival Leonard Lance.
Indian American Democrat Peter Jacob – newcomer Congressional candidate from New Jersey’s 7th District taking on a formidable Republican rival – has become a target of racist ire. Swastika signs were painted on the sidewalk in front of his home first, and later on the wall, in two separate incidents, recently.
A web platform carried an article that posted his photograph alongside the picture of the Orlando shooter who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in June. Republican Leonard Lance, who has been defending the seat that he holds since 2009 shared the article on his Facebook page, triggering a pushback from Mr. Jacob’s millennial supporters. Mr. Lance later removed the post.
Mr. Jacob’s youthful charm and the political platform that is in line with Bernie Sanders’s philosophy have enabled him to make inroads in the district that has been emphatically Republican, and he has managed to close the gap in some measure. The bearded, soft-spoken, 31 years old told The Hindu, during a break between door-to-door campaigning recently, “We are now trailing by three points. We hope to make that up in the next three weeks,” .
He has 300 fulltime volunteers with him and he is one the candidates endorsed by Mr. Sanders.
Born in Vazhoor near Kottayam in Kerala, he came to the U.S as a toddler, and was raised a Christian. His name appeared to have caught the attention of the dormant anti-Semitic groups that revile the large presence of the Jewish community in the area. While Mr. Lance sided with Mr. Jacob against the anti-Semitic hate, he was quick to link the Democrat to an Islamist terrorist.
Mr. Jacob had described the Orlando shooter as a “an individual who felt challenged by internalised homophobia and had easy access to weapons of mass destruction.” In the Republican rendering, he is only a “radical Islamic terrorist.” Republicans opposed any move for gun control and promote homophobia themselves.
On Saturday he walked into a home that had a prominent Trump sign outside. He said, “Normally candidates don’t enter such a house. But I routinely approach Trump supporters and explain to them that the U.S Congress needs people like me to argue the case of people like them. People want change, and they are receptive to our message” .
Mr. Lance’s image of being a Washington insider, and Mr. Jacob’s promise of being the change hold the potential of a surprise here. Mr. Jacob said, “We have requested Mr. Sanders to campaign. That will give us a big push.”
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By Prakriti Neogi
