Indian-American Shuchita Patel challenges 16-year Georgia incumbent

Shuchita Patel is challenging long-serving Republican incumbent Todd Levent in Forsyth County. Her candidacy reflects the county's demographic transformation and growing demand for local change.Cumming,Nov 2, 2026 04:34 ISTIndian-American accountant Shuchita Patel is contesting a local leadership election in the US state of Georgia, taking on a Republican incumbent who has been elected unopposed for 16 years, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Patel, a Democrat, is running for the Forsyth County commissioner’s post in the November 3 mid-term elections. She said she entered the race to stand up to an opponent she described as a bully and to help build a better community for children.Patel is the first Indian-American to run for public office in Forsyth County, which has a history of racial violence. In 1912, white residents and Ku Klux Klan groups forcibly drove out virtually the entire Black population, and the county remained almost entirely white for much of the 20th century.Patel, the US-born daughter of Indian immigrants, is challenging Todd Levent, who has been elected unopposed for 16 years. Her candidature reflects the changes in Forsyth County and the wider United States over the decades, even as the country remains sharply divided between supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump. The mid-term elections will determine the composition of the two chambers of the US Congress, which is similar to India’s Parliament. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 37 seats in the 100-member Senate are at stake on November 3. Several states will also elect governors and local representatives, including county commissioners and school board heads.Most opinion polls predict that Trump’s Republican Party will lose control of the House of Representatives and could also lose the Senate amid anger over unfulfilled promises, the high cost of groceries, petrol and healthcare, and wider frustration with politics. In an interview with PTI while travelling to canvass in a low-income neighbourhood populated largely by Latino migrants, Patel said economic concerns were the immediate priority for many voters.“To be clear, I strongly believe in supporting our transgender neighbours and constituents. I want to protect our immigrant community. But no one cares about pronouns, no one cares about immigration, no one cares about whether someone is illegal or not if they can’t pay for their groceries,” the 40-year-old said.“We are reaching a boiling point in the country as a whole. There are the elites, the ruling class, the Epstein class that is truly 1 per cent that is wealthy, and there is the rest of us,” she added.Despite expectations that anger against the Trump administration could turn some traditionally Republican states against the party, Georgia remains a strong Republican state.Forsyth County, about an hour’s drive from Atlanta, remains predominantly white, with white residents accounting for about 61 per cent of its population of 2.8 lakh. However, the Indian community has grown from about 200 residents in 2000 to nearly 48,000 people, or around 16 per cent of the county’s population.Although she belongs to a minority community, Patel believes she has a good chance of winning. She said the responsibilities of a county commissioner, such as deciding which roads should be repaired and which sports facilities should be upgraded, remain the same regardless of the winner’s political party.Patel also said voters were tired of Levent, alleging that he had remained unopposed because “he intimidated and bullied” potential challengers.She acknowledged that she had no political experience and had previously believed there was “nothing I could do” to bring about change. Her view shifted after she was approached about contesting the election.“It felt attainable. I felt I could make a difference in a very small section of my world. They also said my opponent has managed to bully and intimidate everyone who has dared to run against him. They said they need someone with thick skin and who is not afraid to stand up to a bully. So I said, ‘You got the right girl!’” Patel told PTI.Patel said her seven-year-old daughter had asked why she was running for office if it was so difficult. She replied: “I want this community to be better for you guys. I want you to have a beautiful community to grow up in. I want the future generations — that means you guys and your friends — I want you to have a beautiful world to grow up in.”As voters prepare for the November 3 elections, Patel’s campaign combines local issues such as roads and sports facilities with her effort to challenge a long-serving incumbent and improve the community for future generations.With PTI Inputs- Ends