• by Ray Schultz , August 11, 2023

People who communicate by email have to think twice before pushing the send button. 

Aditya Pai, a Democratic candidate for Congress, “accidentally” sent out an email with the subject line, "I am suspending my campaign today. Thank you for your support," according to media reports. 

But eight hours later, Pai took it back, saying the email was never supposed to be sent. 

Pai is running for the House seat of Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.).

In the original email, Pai admitted to a degree of campaign burnout.  

"Life is short,” he said. “I believe one should enjoy their work. For the past four months, I have not enjoyed mine. My pursuit of office ends today."

The follow-up email explained the gaffe as follows:

"I wrote that letter as an emotional processing exercise after an exhausting glimpse into the political machine,” he said. 

“I sent it to some mentors and staff for perspective before getting back to work; it was never supposed to be shared.” 

But now that it has, “I see a silver lining in your seeing it. You should know the thought of calling it quits has occurred to me. Running is hard and sometimes painful: 'an MRI for the soul.'" 

The incident has drawn nationwide publicity.  

Meanwhile, Pai has rebooted his campaign. He still has to defeat two Democratic primary rivals before running up against Steel.