Meet the Indian American candidates and elected officials making headlines in the 2026 midterm elections, from congressional races to contests for state and local office.
Indian Americans are seeking elected office across the United States in the November midterm elections. Those currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives include Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Shri Thanedar and Suhas Subramanyam.
However, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Shri Thanedar lost their respective Democratic primaries this year, while the other four are seeking reelection. Beyond Congress, several Indian American candidates are contesting gubernatorial, state and local races. Indian Americans also currently hold prominent positions, including Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and Pulkit Desai, the mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey.
Here is a list of some Indian American candidates and the offices they are seeking in the upcoming election:
Candidate: Ro Khanna
District: California’s 17th Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Ro Khanna is seeking a fifth term representing California’s 17th Congressional District. He has represented the Silicon Valley-based district since 2017 and serves as vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Khanna has focused on strengthening American manufacturing, creating jobs in technology and investing in science and innovation. He authored the Endless Frontier Act, which formed the basis for the CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden.
He serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Khanna was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Indian immigrant parents who moved to the United States in the 1970s. His father is a chemical engineer, and his mother is a substitute teacher.
Khanna holds an economics degree from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Yale University. Before entering Congress, he taught economics at Stanford University and served as deputy assistant secretary of commerce in the Obama administration.
Khanna is facing Republican challenger Ritesh Tandon in the November midterm elections.
Candidate: Ritesh Tandon
District: California’s 17th Congressional District
Party: Republican
Ritesh Tandon is challenging Democratic incumbent Ro Khanna. Tandon is an engineer and businessman who moved to the United States from India at the age of 28. He has spent more than two decades in Silicon Valley.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from LD College of Engineering in India, as well as a master’s degree in computer engineering and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He previously worked at Cisco and Jabra and is currently the CEO of Kricel Corporation. He also serves as a research fellow at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Tandon’s campaign focuses on lowering living costs, reducing taxes and regulations, promoting innovation and expanding AI education, strengthening border security, enforcing immigration laws and creating a fair system for legal immigration.
Candidate: Pramila Jayapal
District: Washington’s 7th Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Pramila Jayapal is seeking reelection to represent Washington’s 7th Congressional District, which includes most of Seattle and surrounding communities. Elected in 2016, she is serving her fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives and became the first South Asian American woman elected to Congress.
Born in India, Jayapal grew up in India, Indonesia and Singapore before moving to the United States at age 16 to attend Georgetown University. She later earned an MBA from Northwestern University.
Before entering Congress, she spent nearly two decades working in public health, international development and immigrant rights advocacy. She founded and led OneAmerica, one of the immigrant advocacy organizations in the United States.
A prominent progressive voice, Jayapal has championed immigration reform, workers’ rights, income equality and affordable health care.
Candidate: Ami Bera
District: California’s 6th Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Ami Bera has represented California’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. He is the longest-serving Indian American currently in Congress.
A physician by profession, Bera has focused on health care affordability, economic growth, job creation and improving public services. Before entering Congress, he served as Sacramento County’s chief medical officer. He also taught medicine at the University of California, Davis, where he served as a clinical professor and associate dean for admissions and outreach.
Bera is the son of Indian immigrant parents and grew up in California. He has lived in Sacramento County for more than 30 years. He and his wife, Janine, who is also a physician, have a daughter, Sydra.
Candidate: Suhas Subramanyam
District: Virginia’s 10th Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Suhas Subramanyam is a lawyer and former technology policy adviser to President Barack Obama. He previously worked with several technology startups and founded his own business.
He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2019 to 2023 and in the state Senate from 2023 to 2024. He introduced legislation aimed at reducing tolls, utility bills and prescription drug costs.
Subramanyam earned his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and a law degree from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. He has also served his community as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician.
Candidate: Amish Shah
District: Arizona’s 1st Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Amish Shah is an emergency medicine physician and former member of the Arizona House of Representatives. He served three terms in the state legislature after winning elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
“In Congress, he’ll work to lower costs for hardworking Arizonans, protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, fight for abortion rights, and keep families safe,” his campaign website says.
His campaign says he had more bills signed into law than any other Arizona Democrat in the previous decade. He also served underserved communities across the state, flying small aircraft to reach patients.
Shah earned his medical degree and continues to practice emergency medicine in Arizona. He speaks Gujarati and conversational Spanish. He has three adopted cats.
The Democratic nominee is challenging Republican Jay Feely, a former National Football League kicker who has received President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Candidate: Pia Dandiya
District: Florida’s 22nd Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Pia Dandiya is a former teacher, high school principal and White House fellow running for Congress in Florida. Born and raised in Palm Beach County to Indian immigrant parents, Dandiya began her career as a middle and high school teacher and became a founding high school principal at age 28.
She later served as a White House fellow at the Domestic Policy Council and the Department of Education under Democratic and Republican administrations. She also led public sector initiatives at Apple.
“I will be a proud voice for policies that put all Americans on a path to prosperity, including preparing Americans for jobs in the 21st century amid the rise of AI, advocating for universal pre-K, reinstating reproductive rights, fighting inflation and ensuring Americans’ hard-earned dollars go further,” Dandiya says on her website.
The Democratic nominee is challenging Republican Casey Askar.
Candidate: Vivek Ramaswamy
Post: Ohio governor candidate
Party: Republican
Vivek Ramaswamy is a businessman and former presidential candidate. He is a Cincinnati native and the son of Indian immigrant parents. He is challenging Democrat Amy Acton in one of the country’s closely watched statewide contests.
A graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, Ramaswamy previously founded the biotechnology company Roivant Sciences and co-founded the asset management firm Strive. He is married to Dr. Apoorva Ramaswamy, an Ohio State University throat surgeon, and they have two children. The family lives in the greater Columbus area.
He has built his campaign around expanding economic opportunities, empowering parents in education and strengthening local communities across all 88 Ohio counties, which he says he has personally visited during his campaign.
Candidate: Saritha Komatireddy
Post: New York attorney general candidate
Party: Republican
Saritha Komatireddy is a former federal prosecutor and national security expert. She has spent more than a decade handling cases involving terrorism, cybercrime, drug trafficking, money laundering and public corruption. In the midterm election, she is challenging Democratic incumbent Letitia James.
She served as chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which has around 10,000 personnel worldwide.
A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Komatireddy began her legal career as a clerk for then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh. She is currently a partner at Holtzman Vogel and teaches at Columbia Law School. She is also a mother of four.
Candidate: Aruna Miller
Post: Lieutenant governor of Maryland
Party: Democrat
Aruna K. Miller currently serves as Maryland’s 10th lieutenant governor. She is the second woman to hold the position and the first woman of color and immigrant to be elected to statewide office in Maryland. She is seeking another term alongside Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.
Born in Andhra Pradesh, India, Miller moved to the United States with her family at age 7. She earned a degree in civil engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, after which she spent 25 years working for the Montgomery County Department of Transportation.
From 2010 to 2018, she represented Maryland’s 15th District in the House of Delegates. During her tenure, she worked on legislation supporting STEM education, small businesses, working families, survivors of domestic violence and environmental protection.
Miller and her husband, Dave, have three daughters and raised their family in Montgomery County.
Candidate: Nithya Raman
Post: Mayor of Los Angeles candidate
Party: Democrat
Nithya Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member, is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, 73, a veteran lawmaker who served in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., in the Nov. 3 general election. The race is officially nonpartisan.
Raman is an immigrant from India who moved to the United States with her family at age 6. She is an urban planner by training and has focused her public service on housing affordability, homelessness and government accountability. She co-founded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition to help people experiencing homelessness.
In 2020, Raman won a City Council seat, defeating incumbent council member David Ryu and becoming the first South Asian person elected to the council. She won reelection in 2024.
Raman holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She lives in Silver Lake with her husband and their twins.