Raja Krishnamoorthi Launches Historic Senate Campaign: Aiming to Make Indian-American History

Krishnamoorthi's Ambitious Senate Bid

Washington: On Wednesday, Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic representative, declared his candidacy for the US Senate. If successful, he would become only the second individual of Indian heritage to serve in this prestigious body.

In a video announcement, Krishnamoorthi expressed, “My goal is to advocate for families similar to those I grew up with—individuals striving for opportunities to work hard and achieve their aspirations.”

He plans to kick off his campaign with a series of events throughout Illinois on Friday.

Currently, Krishnamoorthi represents Illinois in the House of Representatives and is competing for the Senate seat left open by Dick Durbin, a long-standing figure in the predominantly Democratic state.

Originally from New Delhi, Krishnamoorthi moved to the United States at the age of three. He pursued a law degree and later served as the Policy Director for Barack Obama during his Senate campaign. Elected to the House in 2016, he quickly gained recognition, notably coining the term 'Samosa Caucus' to refer to a group of four House members of Indian descent, including Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, and Pramila Jayapal. This group has since expanded to six with the addition of Shri Thanedar and Suhas Subramanyam.

Should he win, Krishnamoorthi would join Kamala Harris as only the second Indian-American senator. Harris secured her position from California in the same election cycle as Krishnamoorthi's first term, alongside Khanna and Jayapal. At that time, the Samosa Caucus also included Harris, who later departed to support Joe Biden's presidential campaign and subsequently served as Vice President from 2021 to 2025.