Five Indian-American Democrats secure seats in US House of Representatives

Washington, Nov 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Five Indian-American Democrats secured seats in the US House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, while a sixth congressional victory remained within reach as physician Amish Shah held a substantial lead in Arizona and Nithya Raman moved ahead in the closely contested Los Angeles mayoral race.

Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member, overtook incumbent Mayor Karen Bass as additional ballots were counted overnight in the race to lead America's second-largest city.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported Raman receiving 354,214 votes, or 50.55 per cent, against Bass's 346,513 votes, or 49.45 per cent, in results released at 2:05 a.m. Pacific Time. The contest remained too close to call.

In congressional elections, Indian-American Democrats Pia Dandiya, Suhas Subramanyam, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Ami Bera were projected winners, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Dandiya, a former school principal whose parents immigrated from India, defeated Republican Casey Askar in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, securing approximately 52 per cent against Askar's 48 per cent.

In Virginia, Subramanyam won a second term from the 10th Congressional District, defeating Republican Dave Beckwith with approximately 61.5 per cent of the vote.

"The campaign is over, but the work is just beginning. I look forward to working with our community to deliver change in Washington," Subramanyam said in his victory statement.

In Washington state, Jayapal won re-election from the 7th Congressional District, while Khanna defeated fellow Indian-American Republican Ritesh Tandon in California's 17th District.

California Democrat Bera was also projected to win another term from the newly redrawn 3rd District, defeating Republican Robb Tucker.

Indian Americans were also in contention for a sixth House seat, with Democrat Amish Shah leading Republican Jay Feely in Arizona's 1st Congressional District, though the race remained uncalled.

Shah, a physician and former Arizona state legislator, had secured approximately 54.6 per cent against Feely's 43.5 per cent, with about 81 per cent of the expected vote counted in an overnight Decision Desk HQ update.

In neighbouring Maryland, Indian-American Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller secured another four-year term after Democratic Governor Wes Moore won re-election.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, whose father is of Indian origin, was also re-elected, defeating Republican Eric Toney.

Indian-American candidates registered significant gains in state legislative contests.

In Texas, Democrat Pooja Sethi led Republican Jennifer Mushtaler in House District 47 by approximately 63.4 per cent to 36.6 per cent, with more than 95 per cent counted. Sethi declared victory, although an independent projection was not immediately available.

In Georgia, Democrat Jyot Singh declared victory in House District 97 after unofficial returns showed him leading Republican Yassin Moghazy by approximately 68 per cent to 32 per cent.

In Illinois, Democrat Nabeela Syed led Republican incumbent Darby Hills in Senate District 26 with approximately 57 per cent of the vote. Ram Villivalam retained another Illinois Senate seat, while Arvind Venkat won re-election to Pennsylvania's House of Representatives.

The most prominent Indian-American Republican defeat came in Ohio, where Democrat Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy in the Governor's election despite strong backing from President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Vance.

Ramaswamy, whose family traces its roots to Kerala's Palakkad district, conceded the race late Tuesday.

In New York, Republican Saritha Komatireddy lost the attorney general's election to Democratic incumbent Letitia James. Other Indian-American candidates who lost included Mahesh Ganorkar in North Carolina and Sandeep Dixit in Ohio.

The November 3 elections, held halfway through Trump's second presidential term, gave Democrats projected control of both chambers of Congress. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats were contested alongside Governorships and state and local offices.

Indian-American political representation has expanded since Dalip Singh Saund became the first Indian-born member of Congress in 1957. Candidates of Indian descent now compete for congressional, statewide and local offices across both major political parties.

Source: IANS