Six Indian Americans elected to US House of Representatives

Six Indian-Americans have been elected to the House of Representatives, increasing their number from five in the Congress.

A seventh Indian-American could also win.

Suhas Subramanyam

Attorney Suhas Subramanyam created history by becoming the first from the community to be elected from Virginia and the entire East Coast.

Subramanyan, now a Virginia State Senator, defeated Mike Clancy of the Republican Party.

“I am honoured and humbled that the people of Virginia’s 10th District put their trust in me to take on the toughest fight and deliver results in Congress,” Subramanyam said.

“This district is my home. I got married here. My wife Miranda and I are raising our daughters here, and the issues our community faces are personal to our family. It is an honour to continue serving this district in Washington," he added.

Subramanyam, who served as a White House Advisor to President Barack Obama, is a Hindu and is popular among Indian Americans in the country.

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Samosa Caucus

He joins the 'Samosa Caucus' in the Congress that currently comprises five Indian Americans -– Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar.

All the five existing Indian American members were re-elected to the House of Representatives. Shri Thanedar was re-elected for a second consecutive term from the 13th Congressional District of Michigan. He first won it in 2023.

Krishnamoorthi won the seventh Congressional District of Illinois for the fifth consecutive term.

“I am honoured that the people of Illinois’ 8th District have extended my contract to represent them in Congress,” he said.

“My mission in Congress is to fight for all the other families that are pursuing their dreams, no matter where they come from, how they worship, or the number of letters in their names... There are 29 in mine,” he added in a lighter vein.

Khanna represents the seventeenth Congressional District of California while Congresswoman Jayapal represents the seventh Congressional District of Washington State.

A physician by profession, Bera is the senior-most Indian American Congressman representing the sixth Congressional District of California since 2013. He was re-elected for the seventh consecutive term.

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One more Indian-American

Besides the six Indian-Americans, Dr Amish Shah is leading narrowly against his Republican incumbent in the first Congressional District of Arizona.

In Arizona, Shah from the Democratic Party was slightly ahead of his Republican Party incumbent David Schweikett. He had 132,712 votes as against his rival’s 128,606 votes when 63 per cent of the votes had been counted.