Congressional candidate drops out of race citing ‘lack of joy’
A California congressional candidate accused an aide of sending an email saying he was abandoning the Orange County race for “lack of joy” – but admitted he wrote the email.
“Life is short. I believe work should be enjoyed. I haven’t enjoyed it for the last four months,” Aditya Pai wrote in the email, before announcing he was actually quitting.
The second email, titled “Sorry for the anxiety. I’m not going anywhere.” Mr Pai, 31, said the first email was accidentally sent by a former adviser. However, he said he wrote the email.
“I wrote this letter as an emotional processing exercise after a grueling dive into the political machinery,” Mr. Pai wrote in the second email. “I sent it to some mentors and staff for reference before I got back to work; It should never be shared. Now that it has, I see a silver lining in you seeing it.”
Mr Pai trying to unseat MP Michelle Steel said the Orange County Register that he was at the gym when the first email was sent. He initially thought it was a test email.
But when he realized the email had gone “literally to everyone,” he called his parents and mentors for guidance, who told him he needed to get through the campaign “to be able to.” be to serve in the way I have always enjoyed.” It.”
“In that first email, only the resulting decision was inaccurate,” he told the newspaper.
Now that he has taken off the mask, Mr. Pai said he can conduct an authentic campaign.
“There was a kind of catharsis in the letter that came out,” he said The hill. “There was a silver lining. I feel free to be myself.”
“Rest assured I’m here to run, win and give you my best,” he wrote in the second email.
Mr. Pai and three other Democratic candidates are competing for the Rep Steel seat, which includes California’s 45th congressional district or much of northwestern Orange County.
While Orange County has historically voted mostly Republicans, Demographic change has colored the district purple and Ms. Steel’s district is considered a swing district.
