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Who is Sharanjit Thind?
Sharanjit Singh Thind filed his candidacy in September 2025 for the US House of Representatives from New York’s District 18 in the Hudson Valley. A lifelong Republican and Sikh born in Punjab, India, Thind believes this Democrat-held seat is ready to flip. He has extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, and his campaign focuses on promoting business, making jobs AI-proof, defending family values, and prioritizing community safety.
Thind says he has the blessing of the party’s establishment. Before filing his nomination papers in September, he met with New York Republican State Committee Chairman Ed Cox to discuss the party’s support. At the time, Thind was told that there were no other Republican candidates in the fray and that the 18th Congressional District (CD-18) would be a strong place for him to run. “But, even with the best intentions and backing of the party leadership, primaries are unavoidable and even healthy,” he says.
Thind describes himself as fully familiar with CD-18 and notes that he is in close contact with local party leadership, thanks to Chairman Cox. “I am getting a very enthusiastic response when I interact with constituents of all stripes and backgrounds,” he added.
While agreeing that the incumbent, Patrick Ryan, defeated Alison Esposito (R) by 14 points in 2024, Thind points to a changed environment that would help him emerge victorious on November 3, the election day in 2026. “People were fed up seeing hotels and motels teeming with illegal migrants housed in the Hudson Valley under President Biden and Mayor Adams. Under President Trump, that threat to law and order has been cleared.”
The recent election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City is worrying, claims Thind. In sharp contrast are Trump’s America First, pro-business policies, which he supports and which he feels have made America the world’s largest economy and a magnet for the world’s best. By putting business first, says Thind, you have to know about business, which he does, having run media and real estate businesses.
Policy Platform
“The biggest challenge in the coming months and years,” Thind says, “is that many, many jobs will evaporate under the AI heat. I am not against AI or automation, but I will make the AI behemoth companies accountable, to make them funnel back some of their profits to retrain the retrenched workers.” He adds that banks should be held accountable for the financial scams happening under their nose that upend so many seniors’ lives.
He also plans to promote tourism in the picturesque Hudson Valley “I will give tourism full attention to attract high-paying visitors and create jobs,” says Thind while pointing to a recent Netflix series, ‘Four Seasons’, which was shot there and stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey. With his business acumen and the region’s appeal, he is confident that more entertainment projects will follow.
Thind arrived in America armed with an MBA and a journalism degree. He lives with his wife and two sons on Long Island. Over the years, he worked for many reputed companies, founded his own ad agency in Manhattan, and has been Editor-Publisher of ‘The South Asian Insider’ for almost two decades. Recently, he authored “The Beginning – Mad Men of Nu Way Advertising,” highlighting his experience at the helm of an ad agency on Madison Avenue.
Thind’s campaign promise to be a representative who will bring more jobs and protect those jobs from AI, bring more tourism to the Hudson Valley, expand healthcare benefits, protect family values, and pass laws to save senior citizens from scams.
Experience in Government and Politics
Since 2012, Thind has worked in government, serving as a Commissioner on the Nassau County Human Rights Commission until 2018. He also worked with the Receiver of Taxes office in the Town of Hempstead, America’s largest township.
Thind has gained experience in electoral politics, helping others run for office. “From local councilman, mayoral to state senate and assembly to DA to Congress races, I have been very closely involved, spending long hours strategizing policy. I have helped raise and also personally contributed to the campaigns of quite a few races,” he says. He has received the Congressional Excellence Award.
Thind says he will draw on the perspective he gained as an editor on how government is run and what needs to be done to fix what is broken in his run for Congress.