Before entering politics, Venkat was an attending physician at Allegheny General Hospital, specializing in emergency medicine.

[2] In his announcement, Venkat said that he was motivated to run to address issues that often intersected with his work as an emergency physician, especially those that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic;[2] he identified strengthening emergency medical services and other first responder services, expanding access to affordable healthcare, and upgrading infrastructure as some of his priorities.

[2][3][7] Venkat also voiced his support for voting rights protections,[2] gun control,[7] and efforts to combat climate change.

[2] In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and threatened abortion rights in many states where the Republican Party controlled one or more branches of state government, Venkat spoke in favor of protecting abortion rights in Pennsylvania; he highlighted his perspective as a candidate with a medical background, recounting an experience where he treated a patient who needed emergency care following a covert, self-induced abortion.

He faced Republican former Allegheny County Councilmember Cindy Kirk in the general election, prevailing by a margin of over 10 percentage points.