Nine Indian Americans in Congressional races

Suhas Subramanyan, 38, is likely to create history

• Pramod Thomas
• 05 November, 2024

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By: Pramod Thomas

NINE Indian Americans are running for the US House of Representatives, including the re-election bid by five of them, while another three of them are having their maiden foray into Congressional politics.

Suhas Subramanyan, 38, is likely to create history by becoming the first Indian American to be elected from Virginia and the East Coast.

Running for the US House of Representatives from the 10th Congressional District of Virginia, a Democratic stronghold, Subramanyam is currently a Virginia state senator.

He lives in a district that has a significant large Indian American population in a Virginia suburb of Washington DC.

Subramanyam, who previously served as a White House advisor to president Barack Obama, is a Hindu by faith and is popular among Indian Americans nationwide.

A physician by profession, Dr Ami Bera is the senior-most Indian American Congressman representing the sixth Congressional District of California since 2013. Bera, 59, is all set to get a senior leadership position if the Democrats gain a majority in the House of Representatives.

Representing the seventh Congressional district of Washington state, since 2017, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, 59, has emerged as a powerful legislative leader within the Democratic Party. Her re-election is considered to be a foregone conclusion so does that of the three other Indian American lawmakers.

They are Raja Krishnamoorthi, representing seventh Congressional district of Illinois since 2017; Ro Khanna representing seventeenth Congressional district of California since 2017 and Shri Thanedar, 69, representing thirteenth Congressional district of Michigan since 2023. All the three are Democratic strongholds.

After three successful victories in the Arizona State Assembly in 2018, 2020 and 2022, Dr Amish Shah is now running for House of Representatives in Arizona’s First Congressional district.

An emergency room physician, Dr Shah is challenging seven-term incumbent Republican David Schweikert from Arizona’s first Congressional district.

Republican Dr Prasanth Reddy, is running for the House of Representatives from the third Congressional District of Kansas against three-term Democrat Sharice Davids.

Dr Rakesh Mohan is running for the House of Representatives from the third Congressional district of New Jersey. He is from the Republican party. But both Dr Reddy and Mohan have a slim chance of winning this time.

Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian American elected to the Congress from the 29th Congressional district of California in 1957. He served for three terms.

Decades later, Bobby Jindal was elected to the House of Representatives from Louisiana in 2005. He was elected for two terms, after which he went on to be elected as the Louisiana governor for two terms.

(PTI)