Democrat Who ‘Dropped Out’ of House Race Due to ‘Lack of Joy’ Claims It Was a Mistake And Is Back in the Race

paiforcongress.com

A California Democrat has reversed course after a campaign email sent Thursday claimed he was dropping out of a congressional primary race due to “a lack of joy.”

Aditya Pai was running to be the Democratic nominee for California’s 45th Congressional District, hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel.

Reporter Hanna King with the Orange County Register tweeted the email that included Pai’s signature.

“Dear friends, voters, and cherished supporters:” the email began, adding:

I’m writing to announce the suspension of my congressional campaign, Pai for Congress. The reason is simple: a lack of joy.

Life is short. I believe one should enjoy their work. For the past four months, have not enjoyed mine.

The campaign is going well. We’ve canvassed every part of CA-45 at least once. We have a service message that resonates here in a purple district. We’re raising the money to be competitive. But my heart is not quite in it.

I love the subject matter dearly: politics, law, policy, government. I love helping people. But at least at this moment, I don’t enjoy the life of a politician. And were I fortunate enough to be elected, am now certain, I would be unhappy in
Congress.

Pai’s campaign sent out another email eight hours later that declared, “Sorry for the scare” and “I am not going anywhere,” King reported. Pai said the email was never meant to be sent and was “an emotional processing exercise after an exhausting glimpse into the political machine.”

Pai said he “stands by” the email, just not the part that said he was dropping out of the race.

“I’m staying in the race but I went through a lot of soul-searching where I questioned the system,” Pai told OCR. “I questioned my own character and my track record. I mean, I don’t do things unless there’s a sense of joy. I really believe that service should be joyful.”

Pai said the staffer who sent out the email resigned immediately “given the gravity of the mistake.”

Read The Orange County Register story here.

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