A Democrat running for a U.S. House seat in Orange County, California, who sent out a message saying he was suspending his campaign over a “lack of joy” announced hours later that he actually has no intention of dropping out.
Aditya Pai, a 45th Congressional District candidate seeking to win over the district represented by Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), apologized in a second email on Thursday, claiming the prior missive was “sent by a now-former aide in error.”
“I wrote that letter as an emotional processing exercise after an exhausting glimpse into the political machine,” Pai said. “I sent it to some mentors and staff for perspective before getting back to work; it was never supposed to be shared.”
Though Pai conceded that the thought of “calling it quits has occurred to me,” he stressed that he will “absolutely NOT be suspending my campaign.”
Pai is a 31-year-old trial attorney who was born in Bombay, India, and moved to Southern California at the age of 8 with his parents, according to his campaign website. Pai’s “key” issues included fighting corruption in Washington, D.C., codifying Roe v. Wade, lowering the cost of housing, boosting small businesses, and encouraging more legal immigration.
OOPS!
8am: #CA45 House candidate Aditya Pai tells donors he's dropping out
4pm: jk, Pai says that was sent by "a now-former aide in error," he's still running pic.twitter.com/RRe5lz1hVZ
— Jeremy B. White (@JeremyBWhite) August 10, 2023
Jeremy White, a reporter for POLITICO, noted that Pai’s new email got sent eight hours after the first message went out on Thursday morning. Pai’s now-retracted message said his 2024 effort was “going well” but found his “heart is not quite in it” and announced the suspension of his congressional campaign for a “simple” reason: “a lack of joy.”
The Orange County Register noted on Thursday that Pai has raised slightly more than $139,000, nearly $17,000 of which came from a loan to himself. The report said two other Democrats in the race, UC Irvine Law graduate and TikTok influencer Cheyenne Hunt and Garden Grove Councilmember Kim Bernice Nguyen, have raised about $170,000 and $151,000, respectively, while Steel has raised more than $2 million.
The primaries are set to take place in California in March. In the general election, Democrats are hoping to flip several GOP-held seats in the state, including the district held by two-term Steel, as part of a strategy to retake the House, according to the Associated Press.
Pai’s new message said his “call to service — not politics — far outweighs” the “emotional weight” of his candidacy. He cited his “deep frustration with the lack of nonpartisan service” as a reason for why he is running and told supporters to “rest assured: I am here to run, win, and serve you to the absolute best of my ability come what may and this has only strengthened my resolve to do so.”