Even better, one of them has won from the Congressional district that is home to President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. TOI correpsondent in Washington: The Samosa Caucus is back on the menu in Washington DC. After two years in political wilderness, courtesy of Republican control of Congress, Indian-Americans reclaimed their seats at the US legislative table — with a larger cohort and possibly a bigger say in what gets served.
Her victory is particularly noteworthy in a state not exactly known for rolling out the welcome mat to Democrats. freshman Pia Dandiya broke new ground in Florida, becoming the first Indian-American elected to the US House from the Sunshine State, defeating Republican Casey Askar in the 22nd Congressional District which includes Palm Beach, where Mar-a-Lago is located While the four surviving Democratic members of the Caucus were re-elected on Tuesday.
With 54.9 per cent against Feely’s 43.2 per cent in the early returns, Shah appeared well positioned to become another Indian-American addition to Congress. Ami Bera won an eighth term in California, while Ro Khanna retained his Silicon Valley seat and Pramila Jayapal secured a sixth term in Washington state. In Arizona, Democrat Amish Shah was also enjoying a promising election night, leading former NFL kicker Jay Feely in the contest for the state’s 1st Congressional District which includes most of Phoenix and Scottsdale. The established Indian-American Dem contingent had plenty to celebrate. Suhas Subramanyam also held Virginia’s 10th Congressional District outside Washington DC, consolidating the desi presence in the House.
There were other minor casualties in intra-Indian-American contests in Dem strongholds, notably in California where Republican Ritesh Tandon polled around 30 per cent votes to Ro Khanna’s 70 per cent, and in Washington state where Republican Nirav Sheth polled only around 13 per cent votes while going down to Pramila Jayapal who polled 87 per cent. Maryland’s Aruna Miller retained her lieutenant-governorship alongside Governor Wes Moore; Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul won another term; and Aparna Raj won Washington DC Council’s Ward 1, which includes some of the most storied areas in the capital, including Adams Morgan, Kalorama, and Columbia Heights. with Democrats back in charge, it could regain a platform from which to influence legislation, congressional oversight and the debate over America’s relationship with India — although this may not necessarily be music to the ears of the current dispensation in New Delhi While the informally-named Samosa Caucus had lost some of its political heft when Republicans controlled both chambers. Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur and former presidential hopeful who enjoyed Donald Trump’s endorsement and considerable attention from the Republican establishment, lost the Ohio gubernatorial contest to Democrat Amy Acton. In North Carolina, Republican Mahesh Ganorkar lost to Democratic incumbent Valerie Foushee.
Some members of the caucus, notably Pramila Jayapal, a progressive, have been asked to “go back to India” by MAGA nutters. For a community that has traditionally punched above its demographic weight in technology, medicine, academia and business, the electoral showing is another indication that it is increasingly comfortable wrestling in the political arena. The victories also come with a larger institutional significance: Democrats have wrested control of both the House and Senate from Republicans, ending the period in which the Indian-American congressional contingent was effectively marooned in the opposition. Some of the caucus members are critical of the right-wing not just in the US but also in India. Still, the caucus will make its way into the corridors of power in Washington DC at precisely the moment when immigration has become one of the most contentious issues in American politics. H-1B visas, restrictions on foreign workers, green-card backlogs and the future of international students have made life increasingly nerve-racking for the very community celebrating its political success. In other words, the community is acquiring more seats at the table while worrying about who gets to enter the country in the first place. Meanwhile, the Republican side of the Indian-American ledger tells a rather different story. Even the considerable political backing of Trump and Vice-President JD Vance could not get Ramaswamy across the finish line after a campaign fiasco of his own making. Meanwhile, Los Angeles offered perhaps the most intriguing unfinished chapter of the Indian-American electoral story. Nithya Raman, the Kerala-born urban planner and Los Angeles City Council member of a socialist democrat persuasion, was locked in a dead-heat with establishment Democrat Karen Bass, with leads changing frequently. There were victories beyond Capitol Hill, too. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.