Meet Suhas Subramanyam - First Indian-American to win Virginia Democratic primary

Indian-American Suhas Subramanyam defeated 11 other candidates, including fellow Indian-American Krystle Kaul, to win the Democratic primary for a congressional seat in Virginia's 10th Congressional District. In the general election, 37-year-old Subramanyam will compete against Republican Party candidate Mike Clancy.

Conversely, Suhas was born in Houston. He is a Virginia Senate member and an American lawyer. He has two children with his wife, Miranda.

He created history by being the first South Asian, Hindu, and Indian-American to be elected to both the Virginia State Senate in 2023 and the General Assembly in 2019.

His campaign for the United States House of Representatives is another noteworthy milestone.

In a statement released on Tuesday (June 18), Subramanyam said, “I am honoured to be your Democratic nominee for Virginia's 10th Congressional District.”

“I am so thankful for our volunteers, activists, supporters, staff, and family for coming together to pull off this incredible victory," he added.

"My parents are from Bengaluru and Chennai and spent some time in Secunderabad as well. They came here because they wanted to start a new life here. They wanted to be physicians and you can make a great life in America as a physician," Suhas told PTI news agency earlier this year.

"They didn't have much when they came here, but they became successful through education and hard work. I want to make sure that everyone has a chance at that American dream. Everyone has a chance of creating a great business if that's what they want to do or being a part of a great business and that they can empower themselves economically," he told PTI in an interview.

In 2015, then-President Barack Obama nominated Subramanyam to serve as a White House technology policy advisor, demonstrating his dedication to public service. His candidacy received a boost with the endorsement of incumbent US Representative Jennifer Wexton, an established member of the Democratic Party.

"The Congress is here to solve problems and to be proactive about the future. We should not be legislating not just for the next two years, but for the next 20 or 30 years. I want my children -- I've got two girls who are two and three -- I want them to live in a better country and in a better world than what we found,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)