Hotelier Ravi Patel, 29, president of Burlington, Iowa-based Hawkeye Hotels, is running for Congress from Iowaâ€™s 1st congressional District.

Announcing his candidacy, Patel said, â€˜I am excited to announce that I am entering the race for Congress in Iowaâ€™s first congressional district!

â€˜Throughout this campaign you will often hear me say, â€˜I am not a politician. I am a pro-growth progressive.â€™ This is because I have a track record of growing businesses that give back to their communities and provide good-paying jobs that Iowans need.

â€˜Our country is facing many complex challenges, and the solutions to those challenges include all of us. We need a fresh perspective and new leadership. We need a Congressman who is an innovative thinker; who is genuinely interested in serving our country and seeing it succeed,â€™ the statement said.

He becomes the second Democrat to announce congressional aspirations in the Democratic-leaning district in the northeast portion of the state, according to The Daily Iowan. Cedar Rapids City Councilor Monica Vernon unveiled a bid to unseat first-term Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa.

Vernon, who was former state Sen. Jack Hatchâ€™s lieutenant-governor pick in the 2014 gubernatorial election, has already amassed over a dozen endorsements and is weeks from what she has described will be an aggressive fundraising campaign, the paper said.

Patel, in his statement added, â€˜My campaign will be about broadening economic opportunity for Iowa families. Right now, America is experiencing the dawn of the New Economy. In order for us to thrive and flourish, we need a compassionate agenda for Iowaâ€™s working families. This means we must stand up for pay equity, invest heavily in a robust education system, and work toward meaningful reforms to our immigration system.

â€˜As this campaign progresses, I will outline more of my ideas. I hope to have positive conversations with the voters in the district and demonstrate why I am the best choice to represent northeast Iowa. I hope you will join my campaign!â€™

He was born in Mena, Arkansas after his family purchased a small roadside motel there. Ravi and his siblings learned the hotel business at an early age, working every job at the hotel from maintenance, to housekeeping, to night shifts at the front desk.

Eventually his family moved to Burlington, Iowa where they continued to grow their family business. Upon graduating from the University of Iowa, Ravi joined his familyâ€™s company full-time and now serves as Principal and President.

Hawkeye Hotels is one of the fastest growing, privately owned hotel companies in the country. Since joining Hawkeye Hotels, Patel has personally overseen more than forty acquisition and new development projects. Under Raviâ€™s leadership, the company has grown to become a fully vertically integrated hospitality firm, offering a variety of services that range from design and construction to management and development.

Ravi has mentored and funded over a dozen companies around Iowa. These startups are transforming entire industries ranging from the education space to healthcare and philanthropy.

Ravi wants to make sure that the same opportunity to succeed is there for every other American family. To that end, Ravi co-founded Built By Iowa, an early and mid-stage business accelerator that launched in the fall of 2013. This accelerator brings growth capital, mentors, and technical infrastructure to Iowa-based startups looking to scale their companies and bring their products and services to wider markets.

Ravi serves on several boards and committees throughout Iowa, including the Kirkwood College Hospitality Arts Advisory Board, the University of Iowa College of Business Alumni Board and the State of Iowa Hospitality and Tourism Careers Committee. Ravi graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in Business Management and Entrepreneurship.

29-year old Ravi Patel contests for Congress from Iowa