Local limelight: State Sen. Jay Chaudhuri

Welcome back to Local Limelight, where we talk to influential people in the community. This week’s feature is North Carolina state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, the deputy minority leader in the chamber and a representative of Raleigh.

Here are his picks:

🌮 Favorite local place to eat: Taqueria El Portal, inside a bp gas station on Capital Boulevard.

• Plus: You can watch them make handmade tortillas in the shop!

⚽ What the Triangle is missing: A Major League Soccer team.

📧 First read in the morning: Four newsletters. Axios Raleigh, NC Insider, Politico Playbook, NC Tribune.

📖 Last great book he read: "Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia," which he read as part of his family bookclub.

🎧 Go-to podcast: "Do Politics Better," hosted by North Carolina lobbyists Brian Lewis and Skye Davis.

• "It's a great way to understand and get to know [legislative] members' stories and their backgrounds better," Chaudhuri said.

🏝️ Favorite long-weekend spot: Ocracoke Island.

🐶 Family pet: Lincoln, the golden retriever.

• Fun fact: Chaudhuri's daughter put together a powerpoint presentation to help the family decide whether to get a lab or a golden.
• A quote from the powerpoint, obtained exclusively by Axios Raleigh: "At the [end] of the presentation we should we able to choose a clear winner and if not, we will do more research."

🐿️ How he ended up in the Triangle: He moved here in 1995 to serve as the policy advisor to Charlie Sanders' campaign for U.S.

🩺 If he could pass any law, it would be: Medicaid expansion, and fully funding early childhood education.

🦃 Something he's looking forward to: Having some downtime after the election, and cooking turkey and stuffing for Thanksgiving.

🔌 How he unplugs: Going home to his family, putting his phone away until after 9pm and having dinner with his family.