WiseUp TX

Lydia Bean is running for Texas State Representative (House District 93) as the Democratic Candidate. This district includes parts of Arlington, “Mid Cities", and North Fort Worth, stretching through much of Tarrant County. Lydia says her South Asian voters want what her other constituents are looking for too - well-funded public education, access to healthcare, and civility. She talks about how coming from a family of faith shaped her aspirations to work in public service.

You can learn more about Lydia on her website.

WiseUp TX is nonpartisan and does not support any candidate

Pooja Sethi is running for City Council in Austin, Texas (District 10). She shares how her South Asian identity influences her campaign - if she wins, she will be the first South Asian American to serve on Austin's City Council. Her work as an immigration lawyer taking on pro bono cases for domestic violence survivors motivated her to become a local leader. She has served the City on various Task Forces and decided to run for City Council to be a voice for those often unheard. You can learn more about her on her website.

Karthik Soora and Hena Rafiq are two of the co-founders of the They See Blue Texas Chapter. They See Blue is a National organization mobilizing South Asian Americans to help Democrats win races. Hear more about how their organization engages the South Asian community. With less than three months until the election, and amidst a pandemic, they are motivating South Asian Texans to vote for Democrats, and that Texas state races matter in addition to the Presidential and National races, reminding folks that politics is local.  WiseUp TX is a non-partisan organization and does not support any political party or candidate. 

We all know how Super Tuesday turned out for the Presidential Candidates but how about the down ballot races in Texas? Lots of South Asians ran on both the Congressional and State levels! Punam and Azra talk about how South Asian candidates fared and discuss results of the races with a heavy South Asian population. Tune in to hear all this and how South Asians could make a difference in the upcoming November election.

U.S. Congressional District 3 covers parts of Collin County, including parts of Plano, Frisco, Allen, and McKinney. An area known for its South Asian population! In this episode we meet with democratic candidate Lulu Seikaly. Seikaly believes the South Asian vote is critical for this election cycle. As a daughter of immigrants and Arab American, she feels uniquely qualified to serve her diverse constituents.

The Iowa caucus is TODAY! You may be wondering what is a caucus, how do they work, are there differences between a Republican and Democratic caucus, etc... Don't worry--we are here to help you WiseUp on what is a caucus! Tune in to hear more!

The Houston runoff elections have arrived! Raj Salhotra is in a runoff for an at large city council position. Tune in to WiseUp on his platform and how he intends to fix the educational, flooding, and transportation issues facing Houston. 

Judge KP George, representing the Fort Bend county area, was one of the first South Asian judges elected in Texas. Tune in to hear more about what a county judge does, what prompted him to run for office, the hurdles he overcame, and how he hopes to move a fractured South Asian community forward after the visit of Prime Minister Modi. 

**Interview was done at TribFest on September 27, 2019.**