Indian American candidates faced a mixed election night across the country, with incumbent Ro Khanna securing a commanding victory in California’s 17th Congressional District while several other South Asian candidates fell short in competitive races.
With just over half the votes counted and the race already called, Khanna received 38,105 votes, comfortably ahead of Republican challenger Ritesh Tandon, who garnered 11,337 votes, or roughly 17% of the vote. Tandon’s performance exceeded some polling and market expectations and placed him in contention for one of the district’s two spots in November’s general election under California’s top-two primary system.
Under that system, the two highest vote-getters advance regardless of party affiliation. At the time results were reported, Tandon was competing with fellow Republican Jennie Ha Phan for second place.
Khanna, a progressive Democrat representing the heart of Silicon Valley, celebrated the result in a post-election statement that framed the race as a contest between grassroots organizing and wealthy political interests.
“Tonight, we showed that you can stand up to billionaires in the heart of Silicon Valley and prevail,” Khanna wrote on social media. “When I supported a billionaire tax, the tech lords recruited a candidate to primary me and spent $1 million on false attacks. They predicted an ‘end’ to my career. The results speak for themselves.”
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Khanna also congratulated his opponents, including Tandon, Phan and Ethan Agarwal, acknowledging the challenges of mounting a congressional campaign.
“I absolutely love the democratic process, and tonight reminds us to never underestimate the power of citizens over big money and special interests,” Khanna wrote.
Elsewhere, Indian American candidates struggled in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. With 93% of precincts reporting, physician and Republican candidate Dr. Michael Hamawy led decisively with 20,437 votes. Indian American candidates Sujit Singh and Jay Vaingankar trailed with 2,886 and 2,189 votes, respectively.
The results drew attention among Indian American political observers, particularly because Singh previously received more than 4,700 votes in a West Windsor mayoral race last year, suggesting challenges in translating local support into a congressional campaign.
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The election outcomes underscore both the growing participation of Indian Americans in U.S. politics and the continuing difficulty many first-time candidates face in building district-wide coalitions. While Khanna remains one of the most prominent Indian American voices in Congress, candidates such as Tandon demonstrated that South Asian contenders continue to seek influence across party lines in an increasingly competitive political landscape.
Attention now turns to November, when Khanna is expected to face the second-place finisher in California’s 17th District, while Republicans look to capitalize on broader national momentum heading into the midterm elections.