Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

The Republic | azcentral.com

Iragavarapu's involvement in Republican politics in 2014

He can't vote, but is excited to be traveling to the Republican National Convention

Avinash Iragavarapu’s unlikely path from working on campaigns in India to the highest staff position within the Arizona Republican Party began with a roadside campaign sign in Chandler.

Iragavarapu, 30, is joining Arizona's delegation to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, his first national U.S. political convention. But as a legal resident, he won't be able to vote for the party's candidates in November.

“I never planned this career," he said. "I feel there is some divine force. ... I just came here for a quick holiday, but this whole thing happened.”

'The political thing'

As a child, Iragavarapu talked politics at the dinner table with his family. They would debate the pros and cons of local candidates, and socialistic and capitalistic ideologies. His grandfather was involved in local politics, he said.

“Somehow, the political thing” was always in him, he said.

In his spare time, Iragavarapu volunteered with campaigns while pursuing a degree in engineering, and later an MBA. After graduation, he briefly work at a corporate start-up, but soon quit to work in politics full time.

In the summer of 2014, he needed downtime after overseeing campaigns on behalf of the YSR Congress Party in the Indian state of Anahra Pradesh. By then, he was building electorate data files from the ground up, organizing hundreds of campaign field workers, and refining messages to target diverse constituencies.

After elections there, around late June 2014, he flew to Arizona to visit his wife. She had attended college in the U.S., and at the time was living in Chandler while working at Intel. They were preparing to return to India.

The governor's race

While driving around the city, he saw a political sign of a candidate who was running for mayor. He was curious how American local elections worked, and wondered how many people were expected to vote in the election.

He raced home and researched voting trends in past elections. That research led him to information about Arizona’s governor’s race, where then-state Treasurer Doug Ducey was vying for the Republican Party’s nomination. Iragavarapu began analyzing data to try to determine the outcome of the election.

“I somehow thought Doug Ducey would have a better chance,” he recalled during an interview with The Arizona Republic at the state GOP headquarters in Phoenix.

Iragavarapu emailed and sent Twitter messages to Ducey’s campaign, offering advice on how they could bolster their efforts in certain geographical areas. Soon he began volunteering on the campaign. He eventually met the candidate and was impressed with Ducey’s background as the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery.

“I like this guy, I should work for him,” he remembered thinking. “The one skill I can always fall back on is my data, because I’m pretty good with numbers.”

Iragavarapu began crunching numbers for Ducey's team, helping determine which precincts to focus on.

After Ducey won the primary election, Iragavarapu began volunteering for the Arizona Republican Party, spending hours at a computer crunching data to supplement Republican candidates’ efforts in the field. His work allowed candidates to better target voters and maximize their messages.

A job and fast ascent

After the general election, state GOP party chairman Robert Graham hired him to be the party’s data director.

“He has political intuition,” said Graham, as he prepared for the convention’s opening day. “It shows the willingness of the state party to bring the best of the best into the state party.”

He quickly rose within the party to become its political director, and finally, its executive director.

GOP party spokesman Tim Sifert said Iragavarapu is the best example of the opportunities this country -- and the party -- have to offer.

"It just goes to show that merit has a lot to do with success in this country," Sifert said.

Iragavarapu never imagined he would witness the nomination of any U.S. president, let alone the nomination of Donald Trump.

As executive director, he will be meeting in Ohio with other state party leaders to share information about campaign strategies, including get-out-the-vote efforts, and digital tactics.

Despite controversies surrounding Trump, Iragavarapu said he supports Trump as the nominee. He described Trump as a “warm” and “welcoming” person. Iragavarapu was present during a private meeting in Phoenix between Trump and tribal leaders during the candidate’s June visit.

“I’m excited that he’s going to be the nominee of the Republican Party,” he said.

Iragavarapu said he and his wife have both applied for green cards, and hope to remain in the United States as citizens. One day, Iragavarapu hopes to cast his own vote for a Republican president.

Until then, he said will continue working for the GOP cause.

“No one can ask for anything more from this party. They’ve given me everything,” he said. “People say that the Republican Party is anti-immigrant, I laugh. The Republicans embrace me.”

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