Indian-American Candidates Achieve Success in U.S. Elections
Victories for Indian-American Candidates
File image of Amish Shah(Photo: IANS)
Washington, Nov 4: Indian-American candidates have made significant strides in the recent congressional and state elections across the United States. Notably, Democrat Dr. Amish Shah is leading a closely monitored House race in Arizona, while two prominent Indian-American Republicans, Vivek Ramaswamy and Saritha Komatireddy, faced defeats in statewide contests.
Among those projected to win are Pia Dandiya in Florida, Suhas Subramanyam in Virginia, Pramila Jayapal in Washington, Ro Khanna in California, and Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller in Maryland.
Several Indian-American candidates also achieved victories in state legislative races, with others holding strong leads as vote counting continued late into the night.
Dandiya, a former school principal whose parents immigrated from India, triumphed over Republican Casey Askar in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, securing around 52% of the vote compared to Askar's 48%, thus adding another Indian-American woman to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In Virginia, Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam successfully won re-election in the 10th Congressional District against Republican Dave Beckwith. He expressed his eagerness to collaborate with the community to bring about change in Washington.
In Maryland, Aruna Miller was re-elected as lieutenant governor following Democrat Wes Moore's victory.
On the West Coast, Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was projected to retain her seat in Washington state's 7th Congressional District, defeating Republican Nirav Sheth.
In California, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna won re-election in the 17th Congressional District, overcoming Republican Ritesh Tandon. Fellow Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera was leading Republican Robb Tucker by about 60% to 40% in the newly redrawn 3rd District, although that race had not yet been called.
In Arizona, Indian-American physician and former state lawmaker Amish Shah was ahead of Republican Jay Feely in the 1st Congressional District, with Decision Desk HQ reporting Shah at 54.9% against Feely's 43.2%, with around 76% of the expected votes counted. No winner has been declared yet.
This contest, which includes Scottsdale and parts of metropolitan Phoenix, could potentially add another Indian-American Democrat to Congress.
The most notable defeat occurred in Ohio, where Democrat Amy Acton won against Trump-backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the gubernatorial election, receiving approximately 51% of the votes to Ramaswamy's 46% in late returns.
In New York, Republican Saritha Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor, lost the attorney general's race to Democratic incumbent Letitia James, who led with about 62% of the vote.
Other losses included Republican Mahesh Ganorkar in North Carolina, independent Sandeep Dixit in Ohio, and independent Anil Kumar in Michigan congressional races.
At the state legislative level, Democrat Arvind Venkat was re-elected in Pennsylvania's House District 30, while Ram Villivalam retained his seat in Illinois Senate District 8.
In Illinois Senate District 26, Indian-American Democrat Nabeela Syed was leading Republican incumbent Darby Hills by approximately 57% to 43%, with over 95% of estimated votes counted, although the contest remains uncalled.
In Georgia, Democrat Jyot Singh was ahead of Republican Yassin Moghazy by about 68% to 32% in House District 97.
In Texas, Democrat Pooja Sethi also declared victory in House District 47.
The midterm elections held on November 3 will play a crucial role in determining control of the 435-member House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats, as well as governorships and state legislative offices, occurring midway through President Donald Trump's second term.