Indian-origins

Running for senate, top Republican and former aide to Bush, Romney shows party the way to woo ethnic minorities

how Republican Party candidate Romney lost to Barack Obama in 2012, in an election that was for the president to lose.

“Honestly, we have not done a good enough job as a party communicating to many communities,” he said, adding: “And one of the things I have been doing is to change that.”

As Republican Party chairman, he built important bridgeheads to African-Americans and Hispanics. Now, as a senate candidate he is building on them, and adding. He has met IndianAmerican community leaders, visited the largest Korean church in Virginia and ordered copies of his main campaign pamphlet in Spanish and Korean

“Ed has checked all the right boxes,” said Puneet Ahluwalia, a Virginian tasked by the Republican Party to spearhead its outreach to Indian Americans.

Gillespie’s campaign website highlights his support for Crossover Basketball and Scholars Academy, a non-profit that promotes character building through basketball in India.

His son and daughter John and Mollie, he offered excitedly, returned recently from a Crossover camp in Chennai, which, he added, was a great experience for them.

Has he been to India himself ? “No, but would love to.”