Susheela Jayapal, a county commissioner in Portland, launched her campaign for Congress on Wednesday in hopes of joining her younger sister, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), in the fight for human and civil rights at the federal level.
Jayapal is running for the congressional seat of Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a fellow progressive Oregonian who announced on Monday that he plans to retire at the end of his term next year.
Blumenauer has represented Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District ― which covers eastern Portland and more rural areas in central Oregon ― in the House since 1996. The potentially competitive Democratic primary for the 2024 election is expected to take place on May 21, 2024.
In her first interview as a congressional candidate, Susheela Jayapal spoke with HuffPost about her campaign and how her close relationship with her sister shaped who she is today. Pramila Jayapal, who serves as the chair for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also participated in the interview.
“I cannot imagine being on this path without Pramila and I can’t wait to work with her ― and we’re gonna irritate each other along the way,” Susheela Jayapal said as both sisters laughed.
Susheela Jayapal moved to the United States from India when she was 16 to attend college, graduating at age 20 to work as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs before earning her law degree. After working in the legal field for several years, including as Adidas America’s general counsel, Jayapal made the switch to nonprofit work in the Portland area. She has lived in Portland for nearly three decades.
Jovelle Tamayo/The Washington Post via Getty Images
In May 2018, Jayapal was elected to Portland’s nonpartisan Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, winning more than 60% of the vote to serve the city’s north and northeast areas. She became the first Indian American to hold elected office at the county level in Oregon.
“We are very good friends,” Pramila Jayapal said. “She has been a great inspiration for me. I mean, she was the first of us to come to this country and make it on her own at the age of 16. And she sort of helped me to see that I could do this thing too.”
“Of course, I’m supporting her because she’s my sister and I adore her, but I’m also supporting her because she is going to do such incredible things for the people of the district once she’s elected,” she added.
Susheela Jayapal had not seriously considered running for office before 2017, but changed her mind partly in response to former President Donald Trump’s election and partly due to her desire to tackle housing affordability and homelessness in the Portland area. If elected, the commissioner hopes to also focus on climate change, abortion rights and health care.
Susheela Jayapal is three years older than her sister, Pramila Jayapal, who was elected in 2016 to represent the Seattle area in the House. The Jayapals would be the second pair of sisters to have ever jointly served in Congress if Susheela is elected.
Pramila Jayapal initially worked as a political organizer, founding the Seattle-based immigration rights group OneAmerica. She was then elected to the Washington Senate in 2014 before becoming a member of the U.S. Congress. Pramila Jayapal encouraged Susheela to run for office in 2018, serving as a supportive sister and experienced lawmaker.
“Susheela is such her own person,” her sister said. “She is really grounded. She also has her own set of experiences. She is incredibly skilled in a whole host of areas; some of them are the same, some of them are different.”
“She will carve her own path, I have no doubt about that. And people will come to know her for who she is, for Susheela Jayapal,” the lawmaker said.