Donna Imam The Most Suited to Finding Solutions for Complicated
Challenges in Texas’ 31st Congressional District
Donna Imam (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 31st Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
• Imam said that her background in computer engineering and as an entrepreneur made her suited to finding solutions for complicated challenges.
• Imam said “Veterans should not have to spend a whole day driving to a VA clinic only to be denied care or require an advocate to receive what they have earned.”
• Imam said most Americans had been left behind economically and said she would require businesses compensate workers enough to afford a commute, save for retirement, and seek career advancement opportunities.
Political neophyte Donna Imam believes she has the right qualifications to represent her district in the U.S. Congress.
Imam, a tech entrepreneur, has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 18 years. Her professional experience includes working as a computer engineer and tech entrepreneur. Imam has served as board president of ProductCamp Austin.
She worked as a computer engineer and product manager at technology companies like Siemens and Dell. In 2014, she founded Inteleaf, a business-to-business technology company.
“My experience in product, financial analysis, and cost reduction have made me apt at solving complicated challenges,” she says on her website. It is with this experience, and support of her constituents that Imam is seeking to unseat longtime Republican Congressman John Carter. If elected, she will become the first South Asian woman from Texas in U.S. Congress. In the July Democratic primary, Imam, who ran on a progressive platform that embraced Medicare for all, defeated physician Christine Mann, with 70 percent of precincts reporting.
Texas’s 31st congressional district covers a central strip of the state from the northern Austin suburbs up to Temple. The state is being seen as central to building on the Democratic party’s House majority in 2020. Although Imam has not been elevated by the DCCC with Red to Blue status (which helps top candidates with organizational and funding support), she has some high-profile endorsements.
Prior to the July 14 primary, Imam was endorsed by Andrew Yang, the former 2020 presidential candidate. After the runoff, she has received support from Julián Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development; former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke; Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren; and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, among others. She has also been endorsed by EMGAGE USA, USA, a Muslim outreach organization, which seeks to mobilize American Muslims to advocate for legislation and policies.
Imam’s platform is “simple,” focused on the needs of her district. Inspired by her mother’s quote, “Possibilities are endless,” Imam says she “looked closely” at the district and “listened to the needs of its people.” On her website she lists her “original policy proposals with solutions.” Imam says her platform “rebuilds the crumbling foundation of this country, lifts up every American, so we can all flourish together, continue to innovate, and lead economically.”
Imam earned a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Trine University.
