Indian American Oncologist Prasanth Reddy Announces Bid for U.S. Congress From Kansas’ 3rd District
- A political newcomer, the Republican serves as a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, with over 17 years of service.
Indian American oncologist Prasanth Reddy, a Kansas-based Republican and military officer launched his campaign today to challenge Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids next year. He is the third candidate to file for the Republican primary in the 3rd congressional district along with Karen Crnkovich and Jonathon Westbrook, as reported by The Kansas City Star.
An executive at Labcorp in Enterprise Oncology, Reddy emphasized his life experience as an immigrant and officer in the Air Force Reserve in his launch announcement. “As an immigrant, I’ve lived the American dream, and I’ve spent my life trying to give back to the country that gave me everything.” He called for secure borders, support for police and parental voice in education in his launch statement. “I’m not a politician. I’ve never wanted to run for office. But the unique experiences I’ve had as an immigrant, a military officer, a physician and a businessman put me in a position to help save our country. Extremist views cannot be the norm,” he said.
The Kansas City Star says Reddy has an uphill battle against the incumbent. “Whoever wins the primary will have an uphill battle in a district that Davids has won by increasing margins each cycle since she first ousted Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder in 2018.” Mohona Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for Davids’ campaign told the daily that “the congresswoman will press Republicans on their abortion positions and how they voted on last year’s abortion ballot measure.”
Axios notes that Reddy’s campaign is an indication that “Republicans see a winning strategy in pulling together a slate of diverse candidates for the most competitive seats next year.”
Reddy immigrated to Kansas from Chennai as a child. He attended Kansas State University and the University of Kansas Medical Center. He has “played an integral role in advancing oncology efforts at Labcorp,” the global life sciences company said in a press release. Since joining the company, “he oversaw the acquisitions of OmniSeq and PGDx expanding Labcorp’s leading oncology portfolio of NGS-based genomic profiling capabilities,” the press release said.
He previously served as vice president of Medical Affairs at Foundation Medicine. He is triple board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology. He earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he completed his internal medicine residency and clinical hematology/oncology fellowship. He obtained a master’s degree in public health (MPH) through an NIH Clinical Research Curriculum Award (K30) program and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School. Additionally, he is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He serves as a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, with over 17 years of service.