Hoboken's First Sikh Mayor to be Inaugurated

New Jersey's first Sikh mayor spoke to Cheddar about 2017's groundbreaking elections. Bhalla says that American citizens wanted to have their voices heard at the ballot boxes.

As part of Cheddar's special coverage of the New Hampshire primary, Baker Machado sat down with NPR Political Correspondent Scott Detrow to talk about Biden's sudden move to leave New Hampshire on primary day to focus on South Carolina and how moderates are moving to Buttigieg and Klobuchar.

Ravi Bhalla is the newly-elected mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey. He is the state's first Sikh mayor and joins us to discuss the context surrounding his history-making victory. Bhalla says he campaigned to represent unspoken-for minorities, pointing to a "full-frontal assault" from the federal government on Constitutional rights. Looking back on the week since his election, Bhalla says his most inspiring memory is the people of Hoboken's collective reaction to hatred and racism. Just days before Bhalla's election, Hoboken was plastered with flyers calling the candidate a "terrorist." He says the response at the polls proves that kind of thinking is not what his city is all about. Many Democrats are pointing to the 2017 elections as a turning point heading into the 2018 midterms. Bhalla says he's no political pundit, but he is "hopeful" that Trump's more controversial policies will inspire more people to get involved in politics. As for the lasting legacy of the election that put him in office, Bhalla says it will be remembered as "the year Americans finally stood up to Trump."