David Axelrod Endorses Raja's Campaign for Congress in Illinois' 8th District

Today, former Senior Advisor to the President, David Axelrod, endorsed Raja Krishnamoorthi’s campaign for Congress in the 8th District of Illinois.

In his endorsement, Axelrod said, “I came to know Raja 12 years ago, when, as a young lawyer, he volunteered his time to act as the policy director for Barack Obama’s long-shot campaign for the U.S. Senate. Now, as then, Raja is a bright, public spirited leader, thinking of innovative ways to attack stubborn problems. Since we first met, his experience as an entrepreneur and small businessman has only deepened his insights into how to make our economy work for hard-working people. He would be a tireless representative for the 8th District and a valuable addition to a Congress that badly needs his energy, ideas and drive to get things done.”

Responding to the endorsement, Raja Krishnamoorthi said, “I am flattered that my campaign earned the endorsement of one of the most brilliant campaign strategists of our time in David Axelrod. It is more evidence that our message of helping working families reach and hold onto economic security; our 100-strong Women for Raja committee; and the endorsements of nearly 100 elected officials and local leaders and organizations are creating strong momentum for our campaign and have put us in a position to win.”

Alone among the candidates, Raja released a five point plan for working families that helps more families earn a living wage, qualify for overtime pay, receive paid maternity leave, earn paid sick leave and obtain tax benefits to help with the cost of raising children.

Raja also advocated to expand affordable child care and early childhood education programs, policies that help individual children and increase job opportunities for parents and strengthen our economy as a whole.

Raja Krishnamoorthi currently serves as President of Sivananthan Labs and Episolar, Inc., small businesses that sell products in the national security and renewable energy industries. He is a co-founder of InSPIRE, a non-profit organization that provides training to Illinois students and veterans in solar technology, and was formerly Vice-Chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council, whose mission is to promote innovative technologies that support economic growth and job creation in Illinois. Raja resides in Schaumburg with his wife, Priya, and their two sons.