Silicon Valley’s newest congressman wants tech giants like Apple to bring jobs to the Midwest

A Q&A with Rep Ro Khanna (D-CA).

Rep Ro Khanna (D-CA), a Yale law school graduate and former Department of Commerce official, ran his successful campaign for the US House of Representatives against incumbent Mike Honda on a quixotic appeal: deliver more tech jobs in Ohio, and everywhere across middle America. “I care about my district but we also have an obligation to the nation,” says Rep Khanna, 39, a Democrat who will represent California’s 17th district south of San Francisco. “My job in Congress is going to be to connect the tech leaders with my colleagues across the Midwest, across the South. How can we work together to make sure that you can participate in the global economy, in the innovation economy.” Rep Khanna, boasting endorsements from Bay Area liberal leaders, as well as executives such as Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, says he wants to rebuild the Democrats’ message that the party can deliver jobs, a message that Donald Trump used to gain the White House.