Washington, Nov 4 The Samosa caucus is set to regain its heft on Capitol Hill with Democrats wresting control of the US House of Representatives, and newcomers Pia Dandiya and Amish Shah set to join four Indian American lawmakers.
The Samosa Caucus, the informal group of Indian American lawmakers, was set to shrink to four with Congressman Shri Thanedar losing the Democratic primary from Michigan and Raja Krishnamoorthi making an unsuccessful bid to contest the Senate poll from Illinois.
Indian-American Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Suhas Subramanyam and Pramila Jayapal have been re-elected to the US House of Representatives, while Dandiya made a strong debut by winning the newly carved out 22nd congressional district in Florida, a Republican stronghold.
Shah, an emergency room doctor, was on course to win Arizona’s first Congressional district bagging 52.6 per cent votes against 45.4 polled by Republican Jay Feely. The results were yet to be declared as 85 per cent votes have been counted.
Several other Indian-American candidates contested elections for offices ranging from governor to state legislatures and local bodies.
The elections, held on Tuesday, covered all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats, 36 gubernatorial posts and several local public offices.
Bera, 61, has won re-election to the US House from California’s 3rd Congressional District, defeating Republican Robb Tucker. He has secured an eighth term.
A physician-turned-politician, Bera is the longest-serving Indian-American in the US Congress and is considered a prominent voice on healthcare and diplomacy.
He was first elected to Congress in 2012 and took office in January 2013. He currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Born in Los Angeles in 1965 to Gujarati immigrant parents, Bera attended public schools in California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Irvine.
Khanna, 50, has won re-election from California’s 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley. He is completing his fifth term and will begin his sixth in January.
Khanna was born in Philadelphia to a middle-class family. Both his parents immigrated to the United States from India in the 1970s.
Subramanyam, 40, has been re-elected from Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, defeating Republican Dave Beckwith. He secured over 61 per cent of the vote against Beckwith.
Subramanyam previously served as an adviser to former US President Barack Obama. Born in Houston to Indian parents, he attended Tulane University in New Orleans. He was first elected to Congress in 2024 and will now serve his second term.
Jayapal, who represents Washington’s 7th Congressional District, has secured a sixth term in the House of Representatives.
Last month, her criticism of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls drew a public rebuke from India’s ambassador to the US.
Jayapal, who was first elected to Congress in 2016, has been a prominent voice on immigration reform and healthcare issues.
Dandiya, 39, won Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican Casey Askar. She secured 51.9 per cent of the vote.
A former high school principal, Dandiya was born and raised in Palm Beach County in Florida. She began her career as a teacher before becoming a high school principal in Harlem, New York.
In Maryland, Indian-American Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, a Democrat, secured another term.
Meanwhile, Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy, who was backed by US President Donald Trump, lost Ohio’s gubernatorial race to Democrat Amy Acton. Ramaswamy, the son of immigrants from Kerala, had won the Republican primary in May.
Republican Mahesh Ganorkar lost the contest for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District to Democratic incumbent Valerie Foushee.
Democrats have won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, taking control of Congress from the Republican Party.
The Congress elected on November 3 is sworn in on January 3, 2027.
In Texas, Democrat Pooja Sethi defeated Republican Jennifer Mushtaler in House District 47 to become the first Indian-American and Hindu to be elected to the state legislature.
Fellow Democrat Sandeep Srivastava lost the election to the Texas House to Republican Matt Shaheen in District 66.
The Indian-American community is estimated to number over five million, making it the second-largest Asian-origin population in the United States.
(PTI News)
