Indian-Americans script history in US midterms with record wins, re-elections

The fortunes of Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party showed a remarkable upsurge during Wednesday's mid-term polls. A record five Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party, including Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera have been elected to the US House of Representatives.

In an election that saw none of the much-expected'Red Wave' but insteadturning of the tide towards Republicans, several Indian-Americanswere elected tostate legislatures as well.

Shri Thanedar

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Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-politician and Democrat Shri Thanedar became the first Indian-American to win the Congressional elections from Michigan, defeatingRepublican candidate Martell Bivings.

Thanedar, 67, willrepresentthe third district in the Michigan House.

Raja Krishnamoorthi

In the eighth Congressional District of Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi, 49, was re-elected for the fourth consecutive term by a comfortable margin.He defeated his Republican opponent Chris Dargis.

Ro Khanna

In Silicon Valley, Indian-American Ro Khanna, 46, defeated his compatriot Republican opponent Ritesh Tandon in the 17th Congressional District of California. This was Khanna's second consecutive win for the senate.

Pramila Jayapal

Chennai-born Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the only Indian-American woman lawmaker in the House of Representatives, defeated her GOP rival, Cliff Moon in the 7th Congressional District of Washington State.

Ami Bera

Bera, 57, is the longest-serving Indian-American in the Congress. He has been representing California’s 7th Congressional District since 2013. Bera has defeated Republican Tamika Hamilton.

Indian-Americancandidates wonseats in state legislatures as well.

Aruna Miller

In Maryland, the Democrat Aruna Miller scripted history by becoming the first Indian-American politician to win the race of Lieutenant Governor.

Miller, 58, a former delegate to the Maryland House, was on the Lieutenant Governor ticket along with Wes Moore — the Democratic Governor-elect.

Indian-Americans comprise just one per cent of the total US population of 331 million. However, the large number of young Indian-American candidates reflects the remarkable political presence made by the community in the US.

Indian-Americans who have made it to various state legislatures include Arvind Venkat, and Tarik Khan in Pennsylvania; Salman Bhojani and Suleman Lalani in Texas; Sam Singh and Ranjeev Puri in Michigan, Nabeela Syed, Megan Srinivas and Kavin Olickal in Illinois, Nabliah Islam and Farooq Mughal in Georgia; Kumar Bharve in Maryland, and Anita Samani in Ohio.

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K P George has been reelected to the Texas Fort Bend County Judge, Monica Singh to the Texas Harris County Judge and Ajay Raman has been elected as Oakland County Commissioner.

There are several races where Indian Americans are involved in a tightly contested race and many of them could be declared winners.

They are Padma Kuppa for the Michigan State Senate; Jeremy Cooney for the New York State Senate; Anna Thomas for the Pennsylvania State House; Juli Mathew for Fort Bend County Judge; Surendran Pattel for Fort Bend County Judge and Zohaib Qadri who is heading into a runoff for the Texas City Council.

Counting is still on in four other races where Indian Americans are involved.

They are Priya Sundareshan for the Arizona State Senate; Janani Ramachandran for the Oakland City Council; Sim Gill for Salt Lake County District Attorney and Manka Dhingra for Washington State Senate.

The midterm elections will have a significant impact on the direction of the nation, as well as the fate of the person and the party in power in the White House.

Currently, Democrats are in the majority due to the tie-breaking power of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves ex officio as the president of the Senate.

The outcome will influence the playing field for the 2024 presidential campaign. The full results will also determine whether Republicans rally behind former US President Donald Trump or not.

(With inputs from agencies)

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