Sanjyot Dunung, Congressional candidate for Illinois 8th District, received the endorsement of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Rising & Empowering Political Action Committee (ASPIRE PAC), her campaign announced May 28.
ASPIRE PAC is the political arm of the Democratic Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Members of Congress. District 8 is the seat from where Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has been elected to Congress for the last 3 terms. He is now running for the US Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dick Durbin, in the November 2026 general election.
District 8 consists of parts of St. Charles, Geneva, and Kane County, as well as sections of Cook and DuPage counties.
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“Sanjyot Dunung is committed to building a future that is more affordable, safer, and healthier for all Americans. She understands the issues that matter to our communities—from lowering costs to protecting our democracy—and is focused on commonsense solutions that will help working families get ahead. Sanjyot is a leader who will fight for what’s right, and ASPIRE PAC is proud to endorse her campaign,” ASPIRE Chair Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash), is quoted saying in the press release.
“As a proud Asian American, I am honored to receive ASPIRE PAC’s endorsement,” Dunung said. “My experiences as an Indian-born, American-made small business owner, single mom, and civic leader inform everything I do,” she added.
Dunung serves on the Board of Directors for the National Small Business Association, Truman Center for National Policy, and was on President Biden’s Foreign Policy Working Group on international trade. Dunung also served on the Board of Directors for UNICEF USA.
She was a 2021 recipient of the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) Outstanding 50 in Business.
Raised in Des Plaines, Illinois, from the age of 6, by immigrant parents from India, Dunung is the mother of three sons.
From the age of 10 when she turned her baby sitting experience into a small business, Dunung showed her business acumen, going by her bio on the campaign website sanjyotforcongress.com. She raised her three sons as a single mom, while taking care of her small business and aging parents.
“I was born in India, but Made in America,” is among the notable statements she makes in a video declaring her run on May 13. (https://www.facebook.com/SanjyotForCongress/ )
“Her life was Made in America. This campaign was Made in America. It could not have happened anywhere else,” her bio says, adding that she is motivated to run now “because of her frustration with the lack of common sense problem-solving” in government.
On her Facebook page, Dunung said in a May 13 post, “I’m a small business owner and proud mother of three sons, including one in the military. In a time of real chaos and frustration with the status quo, I am the change candidate stepping up to fight for the American Dream and put people over politics,” Dunung said in the post. “I won’t be tied to special interests or political insiders that perpetuate the same old outcomes for our community. I will deliver new solutions for a brighter future for all Americans—one where life is more affordable, safer, and healthier.”
A graduate of Northwestern University, Dunung is the author of 17 books on international business, and a young adult novel “Maddie & Sayara,” according to the news outlet dailynorthwestern.com.
Apart from Krishnamoorthi who remains on the ballot for now though he is retiring to seek the Senate seat, there are 5 Democrats including Dunung, and one Republican, vying for the primaries. One other Indian American Neil Khot is among the Democrats seeking the Party’s endorsement to run for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.
District 8, has been described as “Solid Democrat” by the Cook Political Report. The date for the primaries is yet to be announced. Dunung’s page on the Federal Election Committee website has no entries yet regarding her campaign finances.