SILVER SPRING, Md. – “We did it,” said Nalini Kukke, sighing after walking out of the voting location in Leisure World. “I didn’t sleep last night.”
“I want the Senate to be Democratic, the Congress to be Democratic and, of course, the president to be Democratic,” said Kukke, 75. She said she is, of course, a Democrat.
Her hometown of Bangalore in India is a “stone’s throw away” –roughly 200 miles – from presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ ancestral village of Chennai, Kukke said. But, she said, the personal connection she feels for Harris extends beyond those close geographical roots.
“She’s very human, she can relate to people,” said Kukke, who moved to the U.S. when she was 20 and did software testing for the Army for 25 years. “And the way she’s smiling” and showing joy, “those are some things we need. We don’t want any bickering, complaints, all those things.”
Her two daughters are also “absolutely Democrats” and are passionate about abortion rights, which Kukke believes is the most important issue in this election.
“I’m a woman, I want all these youngsters, these girls, people, to get the proper service when they need,” said Kukke. “That itself is enough to convince me.”
In Maryland, a ballot question would embed abortion rights in the state constitution.
Kukke also said she supported U.S. Senate nominee Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive who visited Leisure World twice during her campaign.
“I got so many answers,” said Kukke, finding the same reassurance with Harris. “It’s just right, I think.”
“I wish I had a Kamala hat,” said Kukke, posing for a photo. “Oh, by the way, I wore this,” she said, holding her pearl necklace. “Her favorite!”
