Indian-American candidates recorded several significant victories in the November 3 US midterm elections, winning congressional and state-level contests across the country. However, some closely watched races remained undecided as vote counting continued, while prominent Republicans Vivek Ramaswamy and Saritha Komatireddy suffered defeats.
Among the projected winners was Pia Dandiya, who defeated Republican Casey Askar in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. The former school principal, whose parents immigrated from India, received approximately 52% of the vote against Askar’s 48%.
In Virginia, Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam won re-election in the 10th District, defeating Republican Dave Beckwith. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller also secured another four-year term in Maryland. Meanwhile, Pramila Jayapal retained Washington state’s 7th Congressional District, and Ro Khanna won re-election in California’s 17th District.
In Arizona, physician and former state legislator Amish Shah held a strong lead over Republican Jay Feely in the 1st Congressional District. With around 76% of expected votes counted, Shah had secured 54.9%, compared with Feely’s 43.2%. The contest had not yet been called. California Congressman Ami Bera was also leading Republican Robb Tucker in the newly redrawn 3rd District.
The biggest setbacks came in statewide races. Democrat Amy Acton defeated Ramaswamy in Ohio’s gubernatorial contest, receiving approximately 51% against his 46%. In New York, incumbent Letitia James defeated Republican attorney Saritha Komatireddy in the attorney general’s race.
At the state level, Arvind Venkat and Ram Villivalam won re-election in Pennsylvania and Illinois, respectively. Nabeela Syed and Jyot Singh were leading in their Illinois and Georgia legislative contests, while Pooja Sethi declared victory in Texas.
The elections will shape control of Congress, governorships and state legislatures during the second half of President Donald Trump’s term.
