Ami Bera (L), Aruna Miller (C) and Arvind Venkat (R). (Source: Twitter/@RepBera/@arunamiller/@DrArvindVenkat)Many prominent Indian-American politicians put their hat in the ring for elections to the US House of Representatives as the country went for its midterm polls on November 8.
The midterm elections will help signal the direction of future politics in the United States as it will decide which party will control the US Congress.
As the election results have started pouring in, let’s take a look at the contesting Indian American candidates:
Ami Bera- A member of the Democratic Party, Ami Bera has been representing California’s 7th congressional district in the US House of Representatives since 2013. He is a first-generation American born and raised in California.
Bera is currently a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation.
Raja Krishnamoorthi – Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi won the re-election to US House in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, which includes Chicago’s west and northwest suburbs. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University, and received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
Krishnamoorthi lives with his wife and two sons and a daughter in Schaumburg.
Ro Khanna – A Democrat, Ro Khanna won re-election to US House in California’s 17th Congressional District. He will be serving a 4th consecutive term.
Khanna is the Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; serves as an Assistant Whip for the Democratic Caucus and is the Democratic Vice Chair of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans.
Pramila Jayapal – Democrat Pramila Jayapal has won the re-election to US House in Washington’s 7th Congressional District.
Jayapal was in news recently as a letter she had written to the President to pursue more diplomacy in Russia Ukraine war- a move that appeared to undercut her party’s resolute support for Ukraine- became public. Jayapal serves as the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Shri Thanedar – Entrepreneur and businessman Shri Thanedar has been elected from the Michigan’s 13th Congressional District in Detroit. He is a Democrat.
He immigrated to the United States in 1979 from Belgaum, India. Thanedar obtained his PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Akron (1982) after receiving a Masters Degree at the University of Bombay (1977).
Aruna Miller – The civil engineer-turned-politician made history as she became the first immigrant to hold the office of Lieutenant Governor in Maryland. She is also the first Asian American elected statewide.
Before I ask you for anything, I want to thank you for everything. Thank you for being here today and for being a part of this moment.
We need you. We need your hope, we need your stories, we need your partnership — and I can promise you this, we’re only just getting started.
— Aruna Miller (@arunamiller) November 9, 2022
“Ever since I came to this country in 1972, I’ve never stopped being excited for the promise of America. I will never stop fighting to make sure that promise is available to everyone,” she wrote on Twitter.
Megan Srinivas – Democrat Megan Srinivas defeated Republican Jerry Cheevers as she claimed victory for the redrawn Iowa House District 30, which covers south Des Moines according to a report by Des Moines Register newspaper.
An Infectious Disease Physician, Clinical Instructor, she has earned degrees from the University of Iowa, Harvard School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Medical School and the University of North Carolina.