Ritesh Tandon

Tandon describes himself as having come to the United States from India at age 28 and as a Silicon Valley resident for two decades, according to his Ballotpedia survey.[1] He earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from L.D. College of Engineering in India, and an M.S. in computer engineering and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University.[1] He worked on unified communications products at Cisco, starting in engineering and moving into technical marketing, and later managed global strategic alliances at Jabra, according to his 2022 survey; his 2026 survey says he spent 24 years in the tech industry before founding his own company.[1][4] He is CEO of Kricel Corporation and a research fellow at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.[1]

Tandon has served as chief liaison officer for the Smart Village Movement, as vice-chairman of UPMA, and on the executive committee of the Sankara Eye Foundation.[1] He was the first-named applicant in Tandon v. Newsom, in which the U.S. Supreme Court on April 9, 2021 granted an injunction against California limits on at-home religious gatherings over four dissents. His 2026 survey describes the 5-4 decision as a win for the right to worship.[3][4] As the Republican nominee he ran against Khanna in the 2020 general election (28.7%) and the 2022 general election (29.1%). In the March 2024 primary he appeared on the ballot as a Democrat and received 4.9%, not advancing.[1] His 2026 Ballotpedia survey described affordability, public safety and education as priorities.[4] He received 28.2% of the vote to Ro Khanna's 71.8%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[2]