Hirsh Vardhan Singh has become the third Republican of Indian origin to join the race for US President in 2024. He officially filed his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, according to The Hill.
The announcement comes as Republicans are scheduled to meet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 15 to 18, 2024, for their national convention to formally select their party's next presidential nominee.
In a three-minute video, the 38-year-old said, “My name is Hirsh Singh, a lifelong Republican and an America-first, constitutional carry, and pro-life conservative who helped restore the conservative wing of New Jersey’s Republican Party starting in 2017.”
"We need strong leadership to reverse the changes that have occurred in the past few years and restore American values. That is why I have decided to seek the Republican Party's nomination for the 2024 election for the office of president of the United States,” Singh said.
Who is Hirsh Vardhan Singh?
Singh, hailing from New Jersey's Atlantic County, pursued his bachelor's degree in engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2009. He has been working in the aerospace and defense industries. He referred to himself as the only pure-blood candidate in the recent video because he never gave in to the COVID vaccinations.
He ran in the Republican primaries for governor of New Jersey in 2017 and 2021, for a House seat in 2018 and for Senate in 2020 but failed to get the Republican Party's nomination, The Hill reported.
Other Republican candidates
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, 51, is another Indian-origin person to join the fray. She was Donald Trump's first ambassador to the United Nations and the only woman in the Republican primary contest.
Another Indian-origin person to join the crowded Republican field of candidates running for the top US post is millionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, 37. Despite being an outsider, he has now jumped to No. 3, behind just Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
However, Trump is leading in the race for the Republican nomination for 2024 despite his legal woes. Other candidates running for the White House include former Cranston, Rhode Island, Mayor Steve Laffey, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson and Texas pastor Ryan Binkley.