BY VEENA RAO
Atlanta, GA, August 14, 2019: Former Iowa state legislator and US ambassador of Asian Development Bank Swati Dandekar is endorsing Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
“I was looking for a candidate who is strong, will get things done, and can bring the country together,” Dandekar told NRI Pulse by phone. “Sen. Klobuchar is strong, intelligent, and has the kind of empathy we need at this moment.”
Since getting into the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Klobuchar has made 12 trips to Iowa where she talked about her “heartland economics”, an expression she’s been using since her campaign launch.
“Sen. Klobuchar understands the Midwest. She has Midwestern values,” Dandekar said.
“There is a growing urban/rural divide. Urban people are feeling left out. Sen. Klobuchar will bridge the divide and bring the country together,” she added.
The Midwest, Dandekar said, holds the keys to the White House. “It is time that Democrats pay attention to the Midwest. The one to win the Midwest wins the White House, as it happened with Barack Obama in 2008.”
Dandekar was the first India-born American woman to hold a state legislative position. Back in 2015, President Obama had nominated her to be United States director of the Asian Development Bank, with the rank of ambassador.
Dandekar is a former Iowa state legislator and member of the Iowa Utilities Board.
She served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013. Prior to joining the Utilities Board, Dandekar served in the Iowa State Senate from 2009 to 2011 and in the Iowa State House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008.
From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors. Dandekar also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002.
