Four Indian Americans Re-elected to U.S. House in Midterm Elections

By Little India Desk | November 9, 2018

In the just concluded mid-term elections for U.S. Congress, four Indian-American Congressmen from the Democratic Party were re-elected to the House of Representatives and over a dozen others Indian-American candidates won various other races across the country in midterm elections held Oct. 6.

The four re-elected Indian Americans are Raja Krishnamoorthi from the 8th District near Chicago in Illinois, Ami Bera from California’s 7th District, Pramila Jayapal from Washington’s 7^th Congressional district and Ro Khanna from California’s 17th District.

Krishnamoorthy defeated his Indian American Republican opponent J D Diganvker by a margin of more than 30 percentage points, PTI reported. He was previously elected on Nov 8, 2016 for the first time, Outlook India reported.

Krishnamoorthy had introduced a bill to reform and streamline the H-1B visa earlier this year, to allow visa holders to easily switch jobs without losing legal status while increasing investment in American Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.

The Indian-American lawmaker, a graduate from Harvard Law School, who met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Apr 6, said that he would work with his counterparts to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

According to a CNBC TV18 report, at least 100 Indian Americans stood for public office this year and twelve Indian origin members stood for Congressional seats (out of these, four were up for re-election).

Dr. Ami Bera, who acquired 52.7 percent vote in the elections, said, “It’s been an honor serving the 7th congressional district as your Congressman and I am grateful to serve again.” He added, “If we are truly going to heal this country, we must start by rebuilding our trust in government, working across party lines and putting people before politics.”

India-born Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from the Washington State Senate, won against Craig Keller of Republican by securing 84 percent votes.

“The American people voted to put the Democrats back in control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, we are primed to restore the balance of power between the branches of government and push back even more strongly against the Trump administration’s deeply destructive policies. Our communities are sick and tired of the corruption and injustice,” Jayapal said in her victory speech, PTI reported.

84%!!!!

Thank you Washington's 7th District, for re-electing me – a proud immigrant, strong woman of color, and fierce progressive – to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Oh and this time, I'll be serving in the majority!! pic.twitter.com/RjCZ7NCgrd

— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) November 7, 2018

Ro Khanna, who stood against Ron Cohen of the Republican Party, won with 44 percentage point in the 17th Congressional District of California. “Tonight was a great night for our campaign and for Democrats across the country. I’m grateful to the voters of #CA17 for giving me the opportunity to continue to represent you in Congress. This has been the honor of my life,” PTI quoted a victorious Khanna as saying.

He continued, “With Democrats in control of the House, we will push for economic and foreign policy populism.”

Almost a dozen members of Indian American community secured seats in the additional races including state assemblies. Gautam Raghavan from the Indian American Impact Fund said, “It was a good night for Indian American candidates. We re-elected every incumbent, including all four members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and also elected at least six new state legislators, four of whom will be the very first ever elected to that office in Kentucky, New York, Illinois, and Arizona,” PTI cited.