Ritesh Tandon

Ritesh Tandon is an engineer and business executive who has been the Republican candidate for California's 17th District before: he finished second to Rep. Ro Khanna in the general elections of 2020 and 2022, and ran in the 2024 primary as a Democrat. He was the lead plaintiff in Tandon v. Newsom, a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court case on COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings. His 2026 Ballotpedia survey describes affordability, public safety and education as priorities.[1][3]

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][2] 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][2] 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]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.