Several Indian Americans, who contested the US midterm elections as Democratic candidates from different states, have been elected.
Kumar Barve, member of the Maryland
House of Delegates, who was the first Indian-American to be elected to a state legislature in the United States, was re-elected.
Sam Singh, a former Michigan state representative and House Democratic leader won the race for the 28th State Senate district of Michigan while Washington State Senator Manka Dhingra won the election to the State Senate for the third consecutive time. Dr Anita Somani beat Republican Omar Tarazi in the race for State Representative in Ohio’s 11th District.
Jeremy Cooney was re-elected to serve another term in the State Senate of New York and Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar gained second terms to the New York State Assembly after running unopposed.
Michigan State Representative Ranjeev Puri was re-elected; as was Washington State Representative Dr Vandana Slatter. Megan Srinivas, an infectious diseases doctor, has defeated Republican Jerry Cheevers in the election to Iowa House District 30. She will be the second Indian American woman to serve in the Iowa House after
Swati Dandekar.
Nabeela Syed, a 23-year-old Muslim Indian American woman, has won the election for the 51st House district of the Illinois State Legislature. She had won the Democratic primary and has now flipped a Republican district against incumbent Chris Bos.
Syed, who becomes the first South Asian in the Illinois state legislature, will also be the youngest member of the state assembly. She promises to be an advocate for causes the community members hold dear to their hearts, such as equal rights, healthcare, education, and taxes.
Dr Arvind Venkat has won a top competitive race for District 30 in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives.
There was a disappointment, however, for Padma Kuppa, two-term Democrat State Representative in Michigan, who was running for District 9 of the State Senate of Michigan. She was defeated by Republican candidate Michael Webber.
“We left everything on the field on this campaign. While the results are not reflective of our hopes, I am proud – of my team , the tens of thousands of people who supported this campaign, and how close we came to victory,” Kuppa said in a press release after the results were called; thanking her voters, volunteers and supporters.
Om Duggal, a hotelier and real estate developer, who contested on a Democratic ticket for the Georgia House of Representatives, too, was defeated by Republican Matt Reeves. Rishi Bagga (Democrat), who contested from Florida House District 35, lost to incumbent Republican Fred Hawkins.