Five Indian-American lawmakers elected to US House of Representatives for the first time

In the United States midterm elections, a record five Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party have been elected to the US House of Representatives. According to reports, several others were elected in state legislatures.

57-year-old Ami Bera defeated Republican Tamika Hamilton from California’s 7th Congressional District. Bera is the longest-serving Indian-American in Congress and has been holding the seat since 2013. Indian-American entrepreneur Shri Thanedar created a record as he become the first Indian-American to win the Congressional elections from Michigan defeating Republican candidate Martell Bivings.

In the eighth Congressional District of Illinois, 49-year-old Raja Krishnamoorthi was re-elected for the fourth consecutive term, defeating Republican candidate Chris Dargis. In Silicon Valley, R.O. Khanna defeated Republican opponent Ritesh Tandon in the 17th Congressional District of California.

Chennai-born Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal defeated her GOP rival Cliff Moon in the 7th Congressional District of Washington State. Jayapal is the only Indian-American woman lawmaker in the House of Representatives. Indian-Americans candidates also won State legislatures seats. In Maryland, Aruna Miller scripted history by becoming the first Indian-American politician to win the race of Lieutenant Governor.

According to reports, Indian-Americans who have made it to state legislatures include Arvind Venkat, 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.