Two Asians including one of Indian origin have been elected to the New York State Senate. It’s the first time two people of Asian origin will enter New York Senate.
Kevin Thomas, an Indian American Democrat who immigrated to the United States at the age of ten, has been elected from the state’s District 6 Senate seat, Huffington Post reported.
Thomas, who was running against Republican candidate Kemp Hannon, tweeted after the win saying “Proud to be your Senator-elect from District 6. Thank you to all my volunteers and staff. I wouldn’t be here without you!”
Proud to be your Senator-elect from District 6. Thank you to all my volunteers and staff. I wouldn't be here without you!
— Kevin Thomas (@KevinThomasNY) November 7, 2018
Another Asian-American Democrat, John Liu won from the District 11 state Senate seat against three other challengers, becoming one of the first two Asian-Americans to be elected to the New York State Senate.
We did it! Proud to be the Senator Elect in New York's 11th District.
Photo credit: Maria Muzalevskaya pic.twitter.com/KjF75zidlM
— John C. Liu (@LiuNewYork) November 7, 2018
Thomas, based in Levittown, works as an attorney and an appointee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to the New York State Advisory Committee, a federal agency tasked with civil rights oversight. Before this, Thomas stood for a congressional seat in New York’s Second District, but withdrew prior to the June primary, Huffington Post said.
“I left the Congressional race because I can protect more New Yorkers in the state Senate and the Democratic Party has endorsed me as their nominee,” he was quoted as saying in an earlier report by India-West.
Thomas told HuffPost that his reason for running for the State Senate seat lies in his experience defending student loan borrowers.
He stated, “When I saw what the Trump administration did to consumer protection, I knew I had to do something,” adding, “I ran for office as my form of resistance. To do what I have always done, stand up for the little guy, to do what is right. As an Asian-American, that is just who we are and those are the values my parents raised me with.”
He also talked about bringing up issues faced by Asian-Americans in Long Island. “I ran to represent everyone in my district and that is what I intend to do. But … I will certainly be bringing the issues of the Asian-American community to the state legislature,” Thomas was quoted as saying by the publication.