Washington: Three Indian-American Democrats were projected to win election or re-election as results emerged from the US midterm elections, while Republican Vivek Ramaswamy trailed Democrat Amy Acton in Ohio’s closely watched governor’s race.
Pia Dandiya won Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican Casey Askar, according to a CBS News projection. The victory gave Democrats a newly redrawn South Florida district and added another Indian-American woman to Congress.
Dandiya, a former school principal and White House fellow whose parents immigrated from India, campaigned on education, affordability and economic opportunity.
In Virginia, Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam won re-election from the state’s 10th Congressional District, defeating Republican Dave Beckwith and independent candidate Ahsen Malik. NBC News projected his victory earlier in the evening.
Subramanyam, who became Virginia’s first Indian-American member of Congress in 2024, said he would focus his second term on protecting federal workers, lowering living costs, addressing healthcare cuts and introducing safeguards for artificial intelligence and data centres.
“The campaign is over, but the work is just beginning. I look forward to working with our community to deliver change in Washington,” he said in a statement issued by his campaign.
In neighbouring Maryland, Indian-American Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller secured another term after Democratic Governor Wes Moore defeated Republican Dan Cox. CBS News projected Moore’s re-election shortly after polls closed.
The three victories contrasted with developments in Ohio, where Acton maintained a lead over Ramaswamy, although her advantage had narrowed as counting progressed.
An NBC News results snapshot cited in an earlier IANS election-night dispatch showed Acton with 54.3 per cent against Ramaswamy’s 42.8 per cent, with approximately 46 per cent of the expected vote counted around 9 p.m. The contest had not been called at that stage.
Ramaswamy, a biotechnology entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, is seeking to succeed term-limited Republican Governor Mike DeWine.
In another major development, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor’s race, defeating Republican Rick Jackson, according to a CBS News projection at 9:29 p.m.
The former Atlanta mayor is set to become the first Black woman elected governor in American history. Her victory ended more than two decades of Republican control of Georgia’s governorship.
In Florida, Republican Congressman Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly in the governor’s election, according to a Politico election-night alert. Donalds will succeed term-limited Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
Indian-American candidates also registered encouraging early leads in state legislative contests.
In Georgia, Democrat Jyot Singh led Republican Yassin Moghazy in House District 97. An unofficial results tracker showed Singh receiving 10,176 votes against Moghazy’s 4,226, with counting continuing.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic incumbent Arvind Venkat led Republican Libby Blackburn in House District 30 in earlier partial returns. In Illinois, Democratic state Representative Nabeela Syed was ahead of Republican incumbent Darby Hills in Senate District 26.
In North Carolina, Democratic Congresswoman Valerie Foushee was projected to defeat Indian-American Republican Mahesh Ganorkar in the 4th Congressional District.
Nationally, Democrats gained a Republican-held Senate seat in North Carolina, where former Governor Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley. Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, while Chris Pappas captured New Hampshire’s Senate seat.
(IANS)
