Rishi Kumar calls out sneaky push polling in Congressional race 

Indian American engineer Rishi Kumar, who is running for US Congress from California’s 16th Congressional district currently held by fellow Democrat Anna Eshoo, has called out what he calls “sneaky push polling” omitting his name.

“We’ve been inundated with emails, texts, and social media messages conveying frustration about Rishi Kumar’s omission from this polling,” his campaign stated in a Jan 4 press release. “We have reviewed the survey, and Rishi Kumar’s name is indeed conspicuously absent.”

Eshoo, who has been in the Congress for 30 years, announced last November that she would not seek another term. The primary for the race is slated for March 5.

The Kumar for Congress team released its own polling data from the reputable Clarity Campaign Labs, showing Rishi Kumar leading the field of all major candidates.

With 33 days until ballots are mailed out, a voter alerted the Kumar campaign to a “suspicious push poll” now underway, the release stated.

READ: Rishi Kumar: From immigrant student to Congressional aspirant (December 6, 2019)

“Hi Rishi, I received a survey phone call tonight, asking my opinion about local election issues and candidates. The caller went through all the candidates announced for Anna Eshoo’s seat, except for your name,” a voter named Jim was cited as writing.

“I asked the survey caller why you were not included in the list and he did not know,” the voter added. “I thought you should be aware that someone funded a survey call in this area for a list of Republican and Democratic congressional candidates but you were not in the list.”

“The questions at the end were all about positioning Joe Simitian as the best candidate,” Jim added.

Another voter named Karen also sent a link to an online survey saying, “This is a link to a survey I received today – you are also not listed on the survey – it’s very unfair and misleading!

Karen”

“False and unethical polling like this is a new low in our congressional district,” the Kumar campaign said. “It’s technically not illegal; however, it’s definitely misleading to both voters and the media.”

Rishi Kumar is the only candidate in this race who has already received 42.2% of this district’s votes in the Nov 2022 election, the release stated.

Kumar for Congress has spent a total of $1.4 million campaigning in this congressional district, and every dollar has come from individual voters, not special interest groups or PACs, it said.

Kumar, the release stated, is the only candidate in this race who has taken a clean money pledge. He is the only candidate who brings a track record of reducing crime.

Kumar stands out as the only candidate in this race with deep roots in the tech industry and an immersive understanding of Silicon Valley’s innovation economy – qualities that are essential for a Congressional Representative from this region, it stated.

Kumar, the release stated works full-time in the software industry as a C-suite executive.