At least six Indian Americans have won the elections to the House of Representatives, increasing their number from five in the current Congress. Indian-American lawyer Suhas Subramanyam created history by becoming the first from the community to be elected from Virginia and the entire East Coast. Subramanyan defeated Mike Clancy of the Republican Party. He is currently a Virginia State Senator.
There is a possibility that the number of Indian Americans in the House of Representatives increased to seven as Dr Amish Shah was leading by a slender margin against his Republican incumbent in the first Congressional District of Arizona.
Suhas Subramanyam
“I am honoured and humbled that the people of Virginia’s 10th District put their trust in me to take on the toughest fights and deliver results in Congress. This district is my home. I got married here, my wife Miranda and I are raising our daughters here, and the issues our community faces are personal to our family.It is an honour to continue serving this district in Washington," Subramanyam said.
Subramanyam, who previously served as a White House Advisor to President Barack Obama, is a Hindu by faith and is popular among Indian Americans nationwide. He joins the 'Samosa Caucus' in the Congress that currently comprises five Indian Americans – Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar.
All the five existing Indian American members were re-elected to the House of Representatives. Shri Thanedar was re-elected for the second consecutive term from the 13th Congressional District of Michigan. He won it for the first time in 2023.
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Raja Krishnamoorthi won the seventh Congressional District of Illinois for the fifth consecutive term. While the battles for control of the White House and Congress remain close, I am honoured that the people of Illinois’ 8th District have extended my contract to represent them in Congress,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“My parents came to this country with little more than a dream for their family’s future and the faith that they could achieve it here in America,” Krishnamoorthi concluded. “Despite some hard times, we did.”
“My mission in Congress is to fight for all the other families that are pursuing their dreams, no matter where they come from, how they worship, or the number of letters in their names...there are 29 in mine.”
Ro Khanna
So did Ro Khanna who represents the seventeenth Congressional District of California and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who represents the seventh Congressional District of Washington State.
Khanna serves on the House Armed Services Committee and on the Oversight and Accountability Committee. The 17th district, which includes parts of Silicon Valley south of San Francisco, has been a safe Democratic seat since at least 1990.
Dr Ami Bera
A physician by profession, Dr Ami Bera is the senior-most Indian American Congressman representing the sixth Congressional District of California since 2013. He was re-elected for the seventh consecutive term.
In Arizona, Shah from the Democratic Party was slightly ahead of his Republican Party’s incumbent David Schweikett. He has 132,712 votes as against his rival’s 128,606 votes when 63 per cent of the votes were counted.
Shri Thanedar
Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar was re-elected from the thirteenth Congressional District of Michigan.
He defeated his Republican rival Martell Bivings by a margin of over 35 percentage points as he was re-elected for the second term. In a statement he credited his victory to his record of delivering strong constituent services, standing up for working families, fighting for unions, and always fighting for reproductive freedom.
(With inputs from agency)
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