Patel first ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Representative
Carolyn Maloney in 2018, and again in 2020.[3][9][10][11]
Patel announced his candidacy for the
2022 US congressional elections on February 14, 2022.[12][13] He was endorsed by environmental lawyer
Steven Donziger in May 2022, by former Democratic presidential and New York mayoral candidate
Andrew Yang in June 2022,[14][15] and journalist
Matthew Yglesias.[16] Running against Maloney and
Jerrold Nadler in the redrawn 12th congressional district, Patel finished in third place with 19 percent of the vote.[17]
A 30-second campaign advertisement for Patel was required to remove at least one "sensitive" topic before it aired on the streaming service
Hulu.[18][19] The original advertisement had included footage of the
January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, and references to climate change.[18][20][21]
Political positions
Patel describes himself as a "practical and progressive" Democrat.[22] His platform for the 2022 US congressional election has included a
technocratic focus on reducing housing and transit regulation, along with support for rezoning initiatives.[3] A self-described "
YIMBY", Patel supports the theory of
market urbanism that encourages large-scale infrastructure and zoning reforms to address high housing costs.[23] Patel has advocated for increased road safety standards and reforming street design.[24]
Patel is a proponent of “The Abundant Society” plan, a
supply-side progressivism policy targeted at reducing inflation through a combination of tariff reductions, suspending the
Jones Act and
Foreign Dredge Act, and expanding domestic manufacturing through passing federal spending bills like the
COMPETES Act.[25][4]
Patel has previously advocated for increased competition from challengers in congressional primary races.[26][27] Patel supports
congestion pricing.[28]
Personal life
Patel was born in Mississippi to parents of
Gujarati Indian origin, and grew up in Indianapolis.[29][30] He speaks English and Gujarati.[31] In 2022, Patel became engaged to Emily Bina, a producer at The Atlantic.[32]
Selected works
Delayed Justice: A Case Study of Texaco and the Republic of Ecuador's Operations, Harms, and Possible Redress in the Ecuadorian AmazonTulane Environmental Law Journal, 2012[33]