CHANDIGARH: The US midterm elections witnessed a growing presence of Indian-American candidates in American politics, with several securing victories in key congressional and state-level contests.
Pia Dandiya, a first-generation Indian American, won the election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida’s 22nd congressional district, defeating Casey Askar, a Marine veteran.
Dandiya (39), a former high school principal, bagged 51.9 per cent of the votes to become the newest Indian-American U.S. congresswoman, as per the results declared on Tuesday.
Born to parents who migrated to the US from India, she is a first-generation American policy leader and technology innovator. She was born and raised in Palm Beach County, Florida.
She began her career as a teacher and later served as a high school principal in Harlem. She founded a high school aimed at helping students from low-income families achieve economic independence.
Every graduate of the school secured college admission. Significantly, 86 per cent came from low-income households. She also served as a White House Fellow and worked at Apple.
According to her campaign website, she became the founding principal at 28, making her one of the youngest high school principals in the country.
Her victory in Florida's newly created 22nd district has now secured her a seat in the US House of Representatives. Dandiya had earlier sought to challenge Republican Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in Florida's 21st district.
She later shifted to South Florida's 22nd district, which was created during redistricting and had no incumbent in the fray.
In a statement, Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact SA, said, "Florida's 22nd District was one of the most competitive districts for Democrats, and Pia just turned it blue. Indian American Impact has been proud to support her from the beginning, and we congratulate her on her victory.’’
Meanwhile, Democrat 40-year-old Suhas Subramayam has won from Virginia's 10th Congressional District, as he defeated Republican challenger Dave Beckwith and independent candidate Ahsen Malik.
He got 63.16 per cent of the vote or 1,73,106 votes, while Beckwith received 34.66 per cent, or 94,990 votes.
Subramanyam had urged Indian-Americans to actively take part in the midterm elections, stating that their votes and voices mattered more than ever amid rising hate and discrimination in the US.
Born in Virginia in 1979 to Indian immigrant parents, Subramanyam is the first Indian-American to represent the state's 10th Congressional District. His mother is from Bengaluru, while his father grew up in Chennai and Secunderabad.
Subramanyam, a lawyer by profession, holds degrees from Tulane University and Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. He previously worked as a technology policy adviser in the White House under former President Barack Obama.
He entered electoral politics in 2019 after being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He subsequently served in the state Senate from 2023 to 2024 before entering the US House of Representatives in 2024, succeeding retiring Democratic representative Jennifer Wexton.
While Maryland Lieutenant Governor, 61-year-old Aruna Miller won another term alongside Democratic Governor Wes Moore. Thus, her re-election ensures continued Indian-American representation in one of the country's highest state executive offices.
Born in Hyderabad, India, on November 6, 1964, she moved to the US at the age of 7 with her family. She studied civil engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology and graduated in 1989.
Her political career kicked off in 2010 when she served in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 15 from 2010 to 2018. Miller joined Moore on the Democratic ticket in 2022, which was a breakthrough in her political career.
Meanwhile, the electoral fate of other Indian-American candidates, including Republican Mahesh Ganorkar in North Carolina, Democrat Ro Khanna in California, Democrat Ami Bera, and Democrat Pooja Sethi in Texas, remained undecided as counting continues.
The public health physician and former COVID-19-era state health director Amy Acton defeated Trump-backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio. He is a biotechnology entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Indian-American Democrat Jyot Singh was holding an early lead over Republican Yassin Moghazy in Georgia’s state legislative election for House District 97.
Democrat Nithya Raman, who was born in Kerala, was in a close contest with her former boss Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor. Fellow Democrat Amish Shah was contesting a competitive race in an attempt to enter Congress for the first time.